The storm's first few snowflakes twirled to the frozen ground just as Brandr approached the Abaven border. His breath caught in his throat as he gazed across the familiar lands. He could hardly believe he was back. He'd spent the past seasons wandering with his family, rekindling their nomadic roots until fate deposited the family right into the lap of his mother's own nomadic pack. It had been a rough reunion full of tears and anger and finally acceptance. He'd learned much, some he liked, some he didn't.

Brandr turned to look behind him, Corentine and his daughter Lucine on his heels. He felt a stab of pain in his heart at the absence of Halation but he knew the young man had set his course. It was customary for yearling males to go off on their own for a certain amount of time. In addition he'd made a number of close friends and had a teacher he adored. Halation wanted to stay with his mother's band and now that he was a yearling Brandr felt it was time to start letting go, difficult as it was. With all the talk of family and the past it was decided that they would return to visit Abaven. Corentine longed to see her mother again and Brandr wanted to check in and see how everything was going. He hoped Shaye wouldn't mind a few visitors and he was more than happy to pull his weight.

Tipping back his head he howled for the alpha.

Speech

"Corentine speech" & 'Corentine thoughts'

The lands grew more and more familiar and after the length of time away she too was feeling a bit emotional. What all had happened? Was her brother's pack still up and running? How was her mother and the rest of her siblings? She was both afraid and anxious hoping dearly that nothing bad had happened in their absence. She remained calm as she trailed behind Brandr trying to stow away her emotions. Right now wasn't the time to be emotional and she had to be strong. There had been a lot happened in the past few weeks to a couple months that had made her a bit of a mess, including leaving Halation behind, but she could not hold him back from becoming the man he was meant to be and was sure he would do fine with the nomadic clan. She had to be strong both for Brandr and for Lucine and to provide comfort to both of them whether it was in public or in private.

Gold eyes took in the familiar world until they made it to the familiar borders. Brandr would stop and look back to them and she would smile softly, coming up to stand beside him as he howled for the alpha. She would gently nudge her nose into his neck before sitting beside him to wait. She looked to Lucine as she would set beside her and would smile at her daughter. Gently she would nudge her as well before looking back to the pack. She had already had a small talk with Lucine to prepare her, to ensure she would show her manners and be open minded about coming back. She knew she was in a funk since parting with her brother and hoped that coming back would help her out of it.

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speech & thoughts

She trailed quietly behind her parents as they made their way to Abaven. She had never been there, but it was where her mother grew up and where she and Brandr had met. She understood they had attachment to the pack, but she was unsure why they were really going back. She had been in a sour mood since they had left, torn between remaining with her mother and father or staying with Halation. She had not made many friends in the nomadic clan and really didn't feel like staying, but that meant she would leave her brother and her only friend behind. It was depressing, but she tried to push on.

Lost in her thoughts she almost ran into her mother when they stopped, but was able to stop herself just in time. Baby blue eyes looked up as her father called and she filed in to sit beside her mother. Her mothers smile was a bit reassuring, but she wanted her brother here, she wanted them all to be together like it had been for her entire life so far.

Art by Fecu

Like deja vu, there was a howl at her borders. Only, this time she knew who was behind the voice. She well remembered the man that had visited her to get news on Sparrow on the pack, and how she had shared the hard news with him. She had offered for him to take some time in Abaven to say goodbye, if he had so wished, and he had at the time told her no. Perhaps he had changed his mind, or come for another reason. She was about to hop out of her den when motif woke up, and bounced after her. She paused, and was on the verge of nudging the young girl back into her den, when she considered the friendliness of Brandr the last time they had met. It couldn't hurt, and if anything in the situation changed she would call over one of her warriors to take charge of the girl. “Keep up then” she told Motif, hiding her smile as she kept to a gentle pace. She made her way over the borders, and had a friendly smile on her features by the time she arrived, she nodded her head at the man as she approached, and came to a stop in front of him. She didn’t recognise his companions, but he had spoken last time of having family. “Brandr, it’s lovely to see you again. And hello there” she greeted the two wolves with him. “I’m Shaye, and this is my daughter, Motif. What brings you all to Abaven?” "Talk"

She felt her mother move, and woke up to find Shaye on the verge of sneaking out of the den. She jumped to her paws, excited to be a part of whatever was going on. She bounded after her mother, her sweet face all smiles, and she could see a hesitance in Shaye, before it faded. “I will, mumma!” she promised, and bounded after Shaye for all she was worth. Despite speaking a big game, it was really easy to keep with with Shaye, and they arrived at the borders together.

She felt a touch of shyness overtake her when she saw the small crowd at the border, she hadn’t known what her mother's business had been, and hadn’t expected this. She ducked behind one of her mothers over sized paws, and peeked her head around to see them. She offered a shy smile when her mother introduced her, but didn’t say anything yet.

""

Pleased with his call he turned his head to lightly nuzzle Corentine as she came to stand beside him. If there was one thing he'd learned on his travels it was that home was wherever she was. He was surprised and pleased to find that his love for her still felt as strong as it had when they'd decided to become a mated pair. He still felt a pleasant contentment warm him whenever she was close. He also hoped that Abaven would have some other yearlings that Lucine could bond with. He was concerned about her and knew she was taking her separation from her brother rather hard.

Brandr's call was swiftly answered by Shaye who appeared with a pup in tow. He smiled. "Shaye, it is good to see you as well. A pleasure to meet you Motif. This is my wife Corentine and my daughter Lucine. Well, it's a bit of a story, but in short we were all wondering how Abaven was doing and since Corentine's mother is still here in Boreas we decided to pay a visit. We also wanted to re-examine pack life having spent time as part of a nomadic group. Anyway, there is much to talk about. What I wanted to know was if you would be fine with offering us a place to stay in Abaven while we make our travels and visitations. In turn we offer our skills in service of Abaven. I'm an experienced hunter and my wife practices both hunting and healing. My daughter desires to become a skilled hunter as well."

Speech

"Corentine speech" & 'Corentine thoughts'

Brandr had probably told her before they had left Boreas about the changes in Abaven, but she had forgotten about all of them. She didn't remember who was currently the alpha of Abaven, but knew she would soon find out. A older women of black and white met them at the border and Corentine would quietly smile dipping her head in a greeting to the women before Brandr began to explain the reason they were here. She had also brought a pup that looked similar to Shaye, but with more white on her. She was shy and hiding behind Shaye. Corentine assumed this was Shaye's daughter just by how the pup acted. She would smile, her gold eyes warm as she looked down to the pup, remembering when her two were that small.

Before to long she would look back up to Shaye as Brandr finished speaking. She was hopeful to have a place to settle in while she looked for her mother, heck maybe even Shaye was aware of how her brother's pack was making out. She was unaware of all the changes, the downfall of Dauntless, of her father's pack, and the rise of Ty's second pack. So much would be needed to find out, but mostly her concerns were about her mother.

Art by Monster!

speech & thoughts

Lucine was quiet for the short wait they had, blue eyes looking up when she heard the approach. Not one, but two wolves came into view. An adult female and a young pup. Blue eyes looked over the similarities of the two before her blue eyes looked down to her paws. She was focusing on behaving even though right now she just wanted to shrink away. She didn't want to make herself look bad, but right now she just didn't feel in the mood to meet anyone new.

She let her parents to most of the talking, listening halfheartedly. She had listened enough to learn the two pack wolves names, but the rest of it she really didn't need to know. The yearling then let her baby blues look around, taking in the territory that surrounded the small group.

Art by Fecu

Brandr was quick to explain himself, giving some detail on what brought them back this way, and what he was after with Abaven. The Alpha gave him a warm smile, already knowing in her heart that she had no intention of turning him away. “Of course, your welcome in Abaven. Hunters are always handy, and I would be happy to assist in teaching Her hunting, if she wishes.” she raised a brow, moving her eyes to the second youngest wolf there with a smile, directing the question towards her. “But please, make yourselves at home here” she said, taking a step back in a gesture of invitation. She was careful not to tread on the little wolf behind her paws as she did so.

The two wolves with Brendr where quite, and it was clear that he was taking the lead. In truth, the others looked a little tired and uncertain. “For today, feel free to help yourself from the kill pile, and settle into one of the dens not in use, you guys look like you could do with a rest.” she said kindly.

Brandr was slightly nervous as he waited for Shaye's answer. He didn't really have much of a backup plan beyond going south for the winter, likely back to Wolfpaw Lake if it remained unclaimed. If needed they could set up a home base there while they went to see old friends and family. Shaye spoke and welcomed them and Brandr felt relief wash over him. He looked to Lucine and smiled as Shaye offered to help with the girls training. It would be good for her to learn from a number of different tutors. From there she could pick through the knowledge and advice offered and find what worked best for her. A pack was an excellent opportunity to gain more experience.

"Thank you, Shaye. We greatly appreciate it. I will make sure to add to the pile what we have taken after some rest." He reached out to nuzzle both his wife and his daughter as he walked back into the lands of Abaven.

-exit?-

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