His paws dragged under him, sheer exhaustion lingering in his very bones. He had left Wren with the little ones as soon as he had picked up the scent of his borders, the need to be there was too strong to wait any more. He was almost there, so close that he could almost taste it. He had to slow to a walk though, panting heavily. It had been hard for Bass to stop on the journey home, despite the nagging of his kids. There was no use in trying to stop him, he needed to get to Abaven a week ago. He missed his pack and family to his very core -- and while he did not regret his trip he knew that it was too long to be away from all of those that he cared so deeply for. Even though being an alpha was heavy on his shoulders at times, he found that he was missing it nearly as much as he missed his sisters and fellow Abaven members. Finally, finally his toes touched the scent markers, and he nearly collapsed with relief. The first wolf that he needed to see was Motif, he knew that she would have had her pups by now. Bass needed to see his dearest sister, and the newest addition to the family. Before he even fully crossed the border he lifted his muzzle, calling out to Motif with all his heart. He needed to see her before he went to talk to Allen and see how everything was. Before he got back to being the boss he needed his sister. Letting out a soft whine after his song was done he trotted further into the pack lands, sunshine gaze scanning the plains in search for his chocolate sister. It concerned him slightly that it seemed rather quite around here, but he put that all into the back of his mind. That would come later. "SPEAK!"

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She couldn't actually believe her ears, when a families voice howled out her name. She froze, dumbfounded for a long, long moment, before letting out an inappropriate squeal of delight. "Vail.... VAIL" She gasped, the pure excitement and joy in her tone should tell her daughter there wasn't danger and she wasn't in trouble. She didn't give her daughter much of a chance to respond however before she grabbed her by the scuff if her neck and RAN. She didn't stop until she found him. Her cheeks where already damp, tears of joy ran freely down them, and likely mattered vails beuitful coat. She gently laid Vail at his feet before attacking him, flying into his arms and sobbing harder as she buried herself in his coat. "Bass... oh bass... your home" she gasped between her tears.

She had never felt so relieved and happy in her life, oh she could just aboht steal him away, wished she could spend an entire day with him, simply playing and talking like they use to. He was an alpha now, and she would have to steal what moments she could of him. "Vail... meet your uncle bass. He's the alpha of abaven, he looks out for us all and he will love you so much" she said, moving from bass to kiss her daughter. "Bass... my youngest daughter" she said, almost shyly, looking up at him through her lashes as she waited for him to realize she was blind.

Vail was sleeping quite peacefully, she wouldn't even make notice of the call, and wouldn't have moved if her mother hadn't squealed excitedly. The tiny pink child would startle, and with no explanation Motif would grab her child up and whisk her away. She wasn't sure that Motif had ever run this fast with her in her jaws. She would bump against her mother's chest softly as she barreled towards her uncle Bass. The child didn't recognize the man's scent when she was placed at his feet, but there were few wolves Motif would greet like this, it was easy to tell he was important. Of course though, hr attention would never be far from Vail, and with out further interruption she would back up and introduce the only child she'd birthed in the last pregnancy. Vail would smile softly and wag her tail slowly behind her as she stared up at Bass with her almost sightless eyes. He hadn't even said anything to her yet and she knew that she loved him. "Hi, uncle Bass." She'd offer back shyly and she rocked on her heels. ""

It really didn't take long for his sister to show herself, in fact she was moving towards him so fast that he almost missed her. He didn't even have time to notice the pink bundle in her jaws before she placed the young one down, tackling Bass. The air rushed out of his lungs at Motif clung to him, a gasp sounding before he felt the dampness of her tears. Ears pulled back slightly as he licked at her head, cheeks, face, anywhere he could reach. Letting out a whine he wrapped a forelimb around her awkwardly, hugging his dearest sister close to his chest. "Mo, I'm home. I'm home," he whispered, pale tail beating against the cool earth. Bass clung to Motif almost as much as she desperately hung from him, his face burying into her soft scruff. He drunk in her familiar scent, golden eyes closing as he held her close. He just wanted this moment to last forever, for him to be able to just sit here and hold him. But she moved to pull away too quick, and he held on for one more heartbeat before finally letting her go. Pulling back, his pale coat wet with her tears, at last he noticed the little tiny bundle on the ground. He eyed her in amazement for so long, head tilting to the side. He hardly even heard her words, picking up just the little ones name. Vail. Shyly the girl said hello to him, and he leaned down and nuzzled her softly. "Hi there little Vail, you're so big already! If I came any later I bet you were going to be taller than me!" he said softly. He did not miss the pigmentation of her eyes, the slight redness that her pupils held. Blind. Somewhat, if not all. But she was the only one in her litter, just like Shaye. He looked to Motif, a huge smile on his lips. He didn't even care, she was too cute! "She's so pink!" Bass exclaimed, his tail wagging even faster behind him. How in the world did they end up with a girl so pink from two coats that were so dark? Love and adoration shone in his eyes already. "SPEAK!"

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He licked her face, and most likely tasted the salt of her tears. She held him close, insanely happy to see him again. Bass was a part of her, just as Rhythm was. They had all been a family of their own not so long ago, now they where split apart and for a long while Motif had been alone, with none of her first family to rest her head again. Rhythm had been in Imperium, Bass on his journey. Her chest swelled with happiness now that he had returned to her, them. She wanted to show off the family she had created in his absence, she wanted him to see her beautiful girl and fall as head over heels in love with her as Motif had done. “i'm home, i'm home” he chanted in return to her own exuberant greeting and she chuckled softly, as at last she could look at him without crying. When she pulled away, she felt his own reluctance before he released her, but then he would notice the little creature she had left on the soft earth. She let the two get to know each other, beaming with pride in the background as Vail greeted him, and he greeted her in return. When he turned to look at her and exclaimed 'she's so pink!' she burst out laughing until tears ran down her cheeks again and she moved forward to draw them both into a hug, taking such care of her little one as she did. “Your home.” she said again, the relief and joy, and everything she felt, was crystal clear in her tone. “I have so much to tell you, Bass, do you have a moment?” she asked softly "SPEAK!"

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Bass wouldn't hesitate in giving her his full attention, she'd find it easy to swiftly lose the shy act and beam up at her relative. She could feel how much Motif adored her brother, and Vail knew, just as much as she knew with her parents, that he was there to love and protect her. He was sure that she was big, and would be bigger, but Vail would only giggle. She wanted to be an adult, but it was unlikely that her height would even reach what would be comparable to her mother. Bass would look back to her mother before exclaiming, "She's so pink!" Vail would giggle at him, "So silly uncle Bass!" She couldn't say much else as Motif grabbed the pair of them and hugged them tight. Vail would squeal excitedly, and nuzzle lovingly into Mo's fur. Not but a second afterwards Shai would appear, knowing he hadn't been invited but he was in need of their daughter. He'd smile at Bass and give a respectful nod before nuzzling Motif affectionately. He'd give a quick excuse and grab Vail, with little protest she would follow after him obediently. -exit Vail- ""

Motif scooped up Vail and himself into a huge hug, and he laughed along with the girl as he kissed both their foreheads. How blesses was he to have a family like this. They all loved and cared for each other so much that there was nothing else in this world that could compare to it. Motif replayed the words that the both of them had stated so much in their brief time together. Nuzzling into her brown cheek before he pulled back, he heard Motif's words and was about to answer when Shai came in. He nodded at the male, smiling and placing one last kiss on the pink child's crown before the two wandered off. Bass watched them until they vanished, turning back to his sister. A frown creased his brow, sudden worry filling him. Heart pounded quickly as he waited, drumming loudly in his head. He had been gone for awhile, it would come as no surprise that a lot of things had happened, but there was still a certain dread that Motif's words carried. Perhaps it was best that Vail's father showed up to take the little one away, this was a talk that should just be between the two adults. "I hope its nothing too bad..." he said softly, sunshine eyes wide as his tail curled around his side. "SPEAK!"

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She was drawing her brother and daughter into a hug and all three of them could laugh and rejoice and bass was kissing their heads, Vail's laughter was sweeter then any honey and she reveled in the moment for as long as she could. All too soon, she had to bring their happiness down to earth and bring up important matter. Bass was more then her beloved brother, he was pack Alpha, and she had to catch him up with the going on's of Abaven. In perfect timing, Shai came and took away their daughter, Motif kissed his forehead and smiled at her little one before she was whisked away. The two faced each other, more seriously now then before, but she smiled and leaned forward, placing a kiss on her brothers forehead much as he had to Vail just a moment before. “I'll let you be the judge” she replied, which probably did little to ease his worries. “For starters, I've taken on the daughter of Mira, she was a friend to me and I owed her that much. I gained permission first from Allen, since you weren't around for me to ask. That was fine, for a while, but she almost started a diplomatic incident between Imperium” she sighed, to her at least it was of vital importance that Abaven and Imperium remained friends. What would happen if that changed? She would lose more then just Rhythm, she would lose Shaye as well. “I'm not entirely sure what happened but it appeared she provoked one of Valentines children, and Lillie got the worst end of the stick, she will have scars for life. I split the two up and took Lillie home, but you may need to smooth things over with Valentine” she said with a weary sigh. “Other then that, things have been quite here, too quite perhaps, but its given me a chance to truly appreciate my family, to teach Vail how to live without sight” her eyes had been on the grass at her feet, but she looked up at Bass then, wondering if he had caught on to this in Vail, and if he would judge her for birthing a child not perfect – some packs did not allow such children to live, but she knew Bass would never be that kind of wolf. Still, would he resent a wolf in his pack who could not see? She cringed at the thought, of this, and if Bass might have thought she could have handled the Imperium situation any better. "SPEAK!"

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He closed his eyes for a moment when his sister pressed a tender kiss on his forehead. But at her first words, his eyes opened in a flash and he eyed her with much more concern than before. It didn't sound good, not at all. He let out a sigh, ears folding back to his skull as he waited for her to speak. She started with taking in the daughter of Mira, and his toes bit into the ground slightly at the sound of the woman's name. She had vanished from Abaven twice, the second time not returning at all. But they had her daughter here now? Well, he couldn't blame the girl for her mothers faults, and would not be mad at her for any of it. It was rather interesting though, that she had come here of all places. Had Mirabelle spoken so fondly of his pack that her daughter wanted to experience it for herself? But his pride soon faltered when Motif went on, saying that she nearly caused a spat between Imperium and Abaven. The male growled softly, his tail bristling as his hackles rose. But he said nothing, urging his sister on with only a glance. The packs already had a pretty shaky relationship because of everything that went down with Rhythm. His ears pulled back even further until they nearly vanished into his pale fur. He would need to head over to Imperium to speak to Valentine, Motif was right on that. If they fight had broken out between the two, in his mind it was between the two of them and not the entire pack. But would the giant alpha think the same as him? He would need to make sure. And then she went on to speak of things being quiet in Abaven, and he let out a small grumble. He had had a worry that it would be like that in his absence, that the pack would rebel against Allen being their alpha while he was away. Leaning against his sister wearily, he closed his eyes and drew in a deep breath. "I will head over there when I get some rest, I am pretty tired after that journey." He was about to say that he was going to go lay down in his den, but Allen's howl rang out for the pack. His golden eyes glanced at Motif, a small smirk on his maw. "Looks like he read our mind. Shall we go join them?" He asked, pulling himself up on his weary paws. Rest would have to come later. Waiting for Motif's answer, he kissed her again before slowly making his way towards the call. "SPEAK!"

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She missed her brother more then even she had known. Seeing him now, healthy and whole was like a balm on a throbbing injury she had forgotten was even there. She wanted to stay in his presence for hours, enjoying his company, talking about nothing. She knew she had to catch him up on the packs happenings first, but maybe after that...? maybe they could lie in the grass and watch the clouds. She smiled at the serene thought, and nodded when Bass spoke again. He would go to Imperium, ensure everything was okay, another reason to be grateful to him. She didn't have the authority to speak for the pack, she couldn't go to Imperium and soothe things over as Bass could. She would want to hear how that went when it was over, she needed to know Shaye would still be as safe as could be when going to Imperium in search of Rhythm. She sighed when Allen called his meeting, there went both Bass's plan to rest and her plan to curl up at his side. Instead she would give him a wry smile “Aye brother, we'll join the gathering, but save me a dance” she teased before tagging along behind him. "SPEAK!"

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