Yale had only just returned from his doomed mission and the sense of failure he felt still weighed heavily on him. He had sworn to show the strength of his god by finding the missing child and now that he had been called back he felt ashamed and embarrassed. Yale understood that Ley sometimes poised challenges and that Obadiah himself faced his own challenges of those who did not believe in His glory. He knew that in time Ley would provide for him and he would triumph, but facing the doubt of his packmates in the present made him feel ill. He closed his eyes and breathed in the salt air of the plain, more than any other member Yale dreaded telling Roza, the alphess, that he had failed. She had seemed to take heart to his telling of Obadiah and the Great Tale and he wondered with dread if his failure would cause her to doubt Ley and all his glory. Speech,

Ganta's return home was a relief almost as much as it was a worry. Without some kind of active search for Philomena the anxiety and stress around the idea that she may never be found continued to build. She had searched a little bit herself, but it was hard to go very far from the pack with Ulric here to care for. She knew Yale had still been on the hunt as well so she just tried to keep the hope alive that perhaps he would find her instead. She just could not bear to send Ganta out to search for her again. Not yet anyway. While she was out on her patrol around the edge of the sea's plain, she happened to catch Yale's fresh scent on the breeze and her head popped up hopefully. Her paws moved more quickly as she picked up the pace to go find him... but she very quickly realized as she got closer that Philomena's scent was nowhere to be found on or near him. The momentary excitement washed away with a sigh, but she continued on toward him none of the less. He was easy enough to find and she managed to bring a smile onto her muzzle. If nothing else he was a dedicated pack member and had done much more for her and her family than she had really expected him to. "Hello, Yale, it's good to see you back," she said as she slowed to a stop beside him. Talk Abbey Others

“Greetings my lady.” He greeted with a tip of his head, his voice the rumble of a distant storm. He opened his mouth to speak, then closed it, opened it again, and then closed it again. He looked away, his jaw set tightly. He sat suddenly, hanging his head as though the words would come to him from somewhere between the guilt and disappoint in himself that currently occupied his thoughts. “I have failed you.” He said after a long pause, closing his eyes with his neck arched downward in shame. He couldn’t bring himself to look at her, was far too ashamed to even think of it. He exhaled slowly, meditatively and watched the fog of his hot breath form and dissipate in the frigid late Autumn air. It was going to be cold this winter, he could feel it. An image of the boy flashed briefly in his mind, of his body half buried in the snow, his skin pulled taught over his bones from starvation and his toes black and gangrenous from frostbite. He wondered if the princess would meet a fate similar to the one he had imagined for his nephew- his son as far as Dagan was concerned- and could feel hot tears stinging the backs of his eyes. What had he done? Speech,

Roza watched as Yale struggled to speak. She remained silent and allowed him the time to find the words he was struggling to say. She already knew the result of his search so when he confirmed it by telling her he had failed there wasn't much of an impact on her. Her heart ached with longing to see her daughter again, but she could never put the blame on anyone but herself and Ganta's brothers. She had let Philomena out of her sight despite knowing full well how terrible those wolves were. She had the memories and the scar to prove it. "You spent so much time and energy searching for her even though she isn't your family and no one expected it of you. You could never fail me." She leaned forward and gently nudged his head up with her muzzle. "I know she is okay. I can feel it. We'll find her." Saying it out loud helped her believe it more, but it was hard to say it with enough conviction to really make it sound true. "If nothing else you've gone above and beyond what I would expect of anyone in the pack. If you accept and Ganta agrees I'd like to have you as one of our betas." Talk Abbey Others