How fitting that it would be a new moon as she approached the pack lands, silver dipped toes splaying as she struggled to maneuver the beaches’ surface. Once she had proudly floated across the sharp sand but now she stumbled, cut her paw and forced herself to keep trudging on. A part of her was screaming she shouldn’t be here… not anymore; but the pull of the sun, her sun, had been a constant force on her mind since she left and she was too weak to resist any longer. She was weak, and tired, and ragged. In truth she wasn’t sure if she really belonged anymore. She had fallen suddenly ill and in a fit of fever had wandered away from the pack. By the time she had really come too she was lost and tired. From there things had devolved further, she wasn’t even exactly sure how long she had been gone but she knew it was much too long. Memories of that time were a haze of fever and weakness: hunger, thirst, lack of sleep. Even after the illness had run its course she had not sought her family out, embarrassment and wounded pride had kept her locked away in her found cage. Sol… It had been her twin pounding around in her head that had finally dragged her from her self-imposed hell and she had walked for days on end, not even stopping to bask in the waning moonlight. A familiar scent assaulted her weakened mind and she nearly turned tail right then, nearly broke down, instead the ragged vixen only faltered. Starlight eyes growing wide and she stopped. It felt like a life time that she stood there waiting, for what she didn’t know. Finally she tipped her head back and let loose a weak, wavering call for her family. She did not settle, forcing herself to remain standing despite her trembling legs, despite the weakness tugging her down harder than the force of gravity. Speech,

Bathed in the light of the new moon, the dark coat of the Titan held a silvery glint, dancing against the lighter tones he boosted in a way not seen in the light of day. Restless, that was how the man felt as he paced the borders of their pack lands. Anais was tucked home in the safety of their ocean territory, their children, so tiny their eyes could not yet open would be snuggled against her side. It begged the question, why was he out here? Why was he alone in the night when the most perfect family he could imagine waited in his den? It was that restless energy that spurred him on. He had left the side of his love so he would not disturb her and their little ones. Things didn't feel right here in Donostrea. He felt that urge to fix them twisting his gut and refusing him happiness. He wanted to find Current and Illume, he needed to know that Current still lived, that Illume still lived. He wanted Arcus home, he wanted his stormy brother to lay witness to the children he had fathered. He wanted Selini, he wanted her for Solari's and for their pack he wanted Voltage's children to grow up with his, like he had always assumed they would, like he assumed the sun would rise each day. He wanted everything that was suppose to be here beside them and that fate had seen fit to rip from him. He was ripped from his thoughts by the sound of a soft, weak, howl at the borders. He titled his head, astonished at the feeling of familiarity that washed over him. He knew that howler... before he even knew what he was doing, he was gone, tearing across the lightly snowed landscape towards her. He pulled to a stop when she came into view, before continuing on more slowly, stopping again when he was before her. He would be startled by the wave of anger that vibrated through his body, and his next breath was thick with it. “Selini. It's been a year. A year.” he pointed out to her “I did not even know if you lived, if I would ever see you again. Storms have risen and fallen in your absence. Arcus has left our pack for another. Your brother had children. children Selini. And then, one was washed out to sea. And we know not if she lives. She would be nearly a year old now, we should be preparing to celebrate our spring birthdays, that she would have been a part of, not mourning a loss. Instead, you left us, she left us. My children are two weeks old. Solari's asked the sun and the stars their elements without you.” his voice grew softer “We needed you Selini, how could you abandon us? Have you forgotten what it means to be an Elementas?” he was breathless with the accusation, it hurt him to merely suggest it, and yet, he must. "Speech"

  

Walk | Talk | Think She was up and at it again, racing down the length of the shoreline since sleep was avoiding her. Somewhere during the tangle of thoughts as she tried to relax inside the communal den, she had got to thinking again about the dates she was supposed to be planning for her starry sister and what sorts of individuals she should find. Imagining the possibilities, and Astrea's likely responses to each of them, had been far too entertaining, waking her up and preventing her from getting into a state of mind for sleep, and so she had given up to run for a while, something that helped her think. And thinking she did. Would Astrea like a quiet guy? A social guy? Someone really tall, or maybe of a more average height? Would she like someone with a great sense of humor? Someone who was unfailingly smart? A super serious type? Or maybe someone really warm and doting? It was hard trying to pin her - she was usually so quiet and reserved that Gale was realizing quickly she knew nothing of her sister's tastes. Finding potential dates was either going to be incredibly easy or frustratingly hard. Her thoughts were still wrapped up in it when she heard faintly the sound of a howl. She almost missed it beneath the sound of the wind from her running, but she stopped, skidding in the sands, and halted to listen. And felt her expression blanked as she recognized the voice. Selini? Was she back? Full of disbelief and a growing irritation - Where's she been all this time?! - Gale tore across the beach toward where the sound had originated from, arriving breathless to find Glacier already there. She gave no thought to what he was doing up at this hour when he had kids and a mate to take care of, but instead was taken aback by her sister's apparent poor health. The flare of irritation she had felt deflated, sizzled out, as she stared at her sister and absently heard her brother speak as she stood behind him. What in the world had happened to her?

The night still haunted him. He felt himself getting more and more exhausted as the days wore on. Recently he hadn't been able to sleep very well, but his attraction to the sun wouldn't allow him not to be out in the sun as much as possible. He still greeted the sunset with as much dedication as he had as a pup, even if it meant that he only slept a couple of hours each night. He sat on the beach only a few feet from the lapping waves, staring up at the sky. Seeing the moon hurt his aching heart, but not having the moon to light up the beach seemed to hurt him even more. It reminded him too much of the life he was currently living and the darkness that seemed to constantly plague him when he was alone. He honestly didn't hear his twin's voice. He was so wrapped up in his thoughts and musing that his hears were deaf to the weak howl. What did catch his attention was the heavy sound of his older brother's paws beating against the sand as he ran past, shortly followed by Gale. His ears perked and with some curiosity he would rise and start walking in the direction that they had headed. He wasn't a fighter and he knew that if there was some kind of physical threat he wouldn't be of much help, but he didn't want to just sit there and not at least see if he could be of assistance. He trotted forward, following Glacier's scent... until another scent reached him and hit him like a boulder falling off a cliff. He stumbled and came to a stop from the weight of it. He had imagined finding her scent so many times when she first left, the faint traces of it tricking him into thinking that she was actually there. But this.... This was real. Too real for him to second guess. With his heart pounding in his chest and tears choking him, he made himself walk forward again. He wouldn't run, unable to make himself face this reality too quickly. He was so afraid- no, he was terrified that he would get there and realize this was all a dream or a lie. But no, he would arrive and would look between Gale and Glacier and would see his twin's black and silver form. A crushing wave of relief would come over him and he would walk forward with his eyes fixed on her, completely deaf to whatever it was Glacier was saying to her. He'd step between Glacier and Gale to come to a stop inches from Selini, so close their noses could have touched if he just leaned forward a bit. Which is exactly what he would do. He'd slowly lean his nose toward her and the moment his nose brushed hers he felt something inside of him break. She was real. She was here. He'd step forward without a word, wrapping his neck around hers as the tears came to his orange gaze as the tears that he had been holding in for a year finally came to the surface. He'd sit on his haunches and lift his forelegs up around her shoulders to pull her tight to him while a sob racked through his form and he buried his face into her scruff. Right now he didn't care where she had gone. He didn't care if the rest of his family was angry. He didn't care about anything other than the fact that his moon was here. His missing piece had returned. Speak Thought Others

Of course she was hoping against hope it would be her twin that found her first but in truth she cared little who it was that she laid eyes upon at first so long as it was a familiar face. The ice giant crested the horizon and it filled her with some relief which couldn’t even be squashed by the sudden rage that ran across Glacier’s face. Of course it didn’t stay much longer as he began to lecture her. The elation at seeing family was drowned out by each and every bit of information he hurled at her. A year… A whole year she had been away from them, so much could change between then and now… so much. Pale yellows turned down to her paws but she remained standing, visibly flinching as more news struck her. Their stormy brother, the black sheep of the litter gone to join another pack… A pup had been lost in her absence and more had been born… Her twin, her sun had fulfilled the duty they were supposed to do together all by himself. Each new thing felt like a weight thrown upon her back which she shouldered as though it were her fault. Somewhere she was vaguely aware of Gale joining them but she could not bring herself to lift her gaze. Then the final barb, and she pulled her head back for the first time. “No I-“ But what excuse did she have? “I- I’m Sorry.” Then she turned her gaze back to her paws. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry-” The words fell from her lips, one after the other in an unbroken stream of her guilt and remorse. She stopped only when he joined them. His scent washing over her like a tidal wave and she looked up again; her apologies dying on her lips as she watched him approach. Felt him as he closed the much to big gap between them. It was only as he tugged at her that the weakened female finally collapsed. Then the stream began again, at first unobscured but slowly as she pushed her face into his fur it became muffled. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry-” She was unaware of her twin’s crying, mostly because her resolve had fled her and she couldn’t separate her own trembling from his shaking sobs. Tears squeezed themselves out of the corners of her eyes and drenched his shoulder fur. The stream grew softer as she struggled to speak between sobs. “-I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry-“ And on and on. Speech,

He had eyes only for Selini, and he forced down the parts of him that missed her, that wanted only to draw her into an embrace and welcome her back to their lives and family like nothing had ever happened. Only, it had. She had left them, she hadn't been there when they needed her, when Voltage needed the support and assistance of every last one of them. How could she have missed the birthing of Voltage's litter? Of Glacier's? How could she not even know they existed shortly before they where due to turn a year older, when Current and Illume where gone from here. Her apology offered no explanation or excuse for her absence, and his accusing eyes didn't life from here until Solaris appeared at her side. The mere sight of the boy, the sheer adoration and worry in that boys eyes would have broken Glacier's heart in her place. Perhaps that would be punishment enough to Selini, to see what she had done to her heart-twin. At last, Glacier sighed and bent his great weight to the ground, casting Gale a 'what can a guy do?' look before lowering his head to Selini, drying her tears with nose as he rubbed it against the trail of her eyes. “Selini. You are our family, a part of us. Without you, we are not complete. I will not deny that I expected better of you. But I love you no less.” he really was playing the stern brother, but he felt it was a position he must full. “I'm sure you can see what your absence has done – not just to Solari's but to all of us. In that regard, I will be stripping your rank from you until you earn it back. This isn't something to be ashamed of, this is a chance to strive and prove yourself again to your family. If you want to be a Relcus again, then you must work as an assistant to Gale, Terrea, Anais, Voltage and Locha in whatever way they require until each and every one of them feel you have paid your debt” he said softly. “Once you have done this, you will be utterly and completely forgiven for abandoning us” he said gently. Had this been a normal pack – no doubt they would have cast Selini out and not given her a second chance to join. This wasn't just a pack, this was family, something she was a part of by blood, heritage, and love. He did this to her not as a punishment, but to fix things with everyone in their family, give her a chance to win back all of their love. "Speech"

  

Walk | Talk | Think Even without searching for the signs, Gale could tell that her sister was suffering for having left them. Aside from the obvious weakness that remained visible in her frame, her pale eyes remained averted as their brother addressed her in a reprimand, her posture seemingly sinking in on itself under the weight of her transgressions. The grey wolf felt awful, guilty even herself, but she understood the significance of it, how irresponsible and selfish it was to leave the family without a word to any of them where she was disappearing to. And for so long. Be strong, Selini, she thought encouragingly to her sister, chewing at the inside of her lip as she began to fidget on her paws. The conversation had her full and undivided attention, and it took Solaris walking through her field of vision, right between where she and Glacier stood, for her to realize he had arrived. A chill settled somewhere inside of her, an uncertainty that bordered on fear. What would he do? Of all of them, he had been the closest to their Moonbeam, and her absence had affected him possibly the most, with Astrea being a close second. Gale feared for half a moment that he might be angry, especially given the eerily quiet way in which he approached her, but she could not see his face, had not seen the relief, the longing, the joy, the overwhelming sense of wholeness that made him reach forward and embrace his long lost twin with a sob. Blinking, Gale felt her grey-green eyes fill with sudden tears of her own, staring at the reunited siblings through a blurry filter that she tried unsuccessfully to dash away. She bit her lip, fighting to maintain her composure, and shared a look with her elder brother that she could only return with a watery smile. What more could he do or say at this point? It was obvious Selini had beaten herself up enough over her absence, and having Solaris there had surely settled that very large matter. Following her brother, Gale stepped closer to her distraught sister, hearing how she uttered her apology again and again as if she could never say it enough. Tears leaked against her will from the corners of her eyes, but she refused to get sappy and cry completely. Further punishments were delivered, these based solely upon Selini's status within the pack, and while the discussion of it made Gale uncomfortable she understood why it was done. Their pack might have been exclusively family, but even then carrying your weight was required. She tried not to think about it, however, and forcefully pushed it from her mind, setting it into a pile of complicated, difficult things that she would leave for her elder brothers - the pack's Feraxes - to worry about. Instead, she smiled at her siblings through her teary eyes, and got a better look at her sister. So travel weary, so broken and beaten. She probably needed a good rest, a solid meal... "Well, now that the hard part's over," she said in an imitation of her natural carefree tone, catching just slightly as she still struggled to keep her own emotions in check, "we're really happy to have you back." And that was the honest truth. It was exactly where all their own anger and hurt stemmed from, their fear that they would never have gotten the chance to see her again. But she needed to think of something else, before the waterworks kicked in again. "Maybe, when you're ready, Solaris can take you back to your den?" she suggested, her mind whirling as it thought of what her sister would need. "I can find Astrea and send her over to you two with some food," - she said nothing of how Selini looked like she needed a good meal and a rest - "and I can wake up Terrae and have him drop by if you need anything to help you rest or get comfortable?" He had something for that, right? She hoped so. Remembering her place, she cast a quick glance at her elder brother, meeting his silver gaze and splaying her ears outward with a sudden uncertainty. "That's okay, right?" she asked him quietly, hoping she was not overstepping her place.