If nothing else she at least now had a name and a direction. As she set out from the hot springs everything felt right, as though she had done this journey before… (well, apparently she had). It wasn’t until she crossed the bifrost and the castle loomed in the distance that the trepidation set in. Maybe, it was a bad idea coming south, after all, all she had was a name. The journey, while enjoyable hadn’t stirred any missing memories, hadn’t triggered anything meaningful. What if they hated her? What if she had done something that meant she had to leave?

She should have asked Grimshaw for more information.

To distract herself, she began to nose through the plants that grew to either side of the partially obscured pavers. The scents tickled the back of her brain, like she should know more about them than she did. It was all so frustrating.

"speech".

I could use some friends for a change

Following the raid on the Hallows, Artorias had stepped up security around the pack. Border patrol frequencies were increased, run with two guards instead of the usual one. They'd managed to defeat and repel the pirates, but the fact that violence had come so easily to his doorstep did not make the Aegis happy. And so it was, Artorias was patrolling around the eastern border of Hallowed lands, keeping his eyes, ears, and nose up and alert. He wouldn't put it past the pirates to try something again, and if they did, he'd be ready to meet violence with violence. He half expected to see them still lurking around the borders, spying on them, waiting for an opportunity to strike. But he found no sign of threats near the border. Instead, what he did find brought his whole world so a sudden stop.

Walking past the borders near the wild gardens to the southeast, Artorias' nose picked up a subtle scent on the wind. It was faint, but it instantly sparked innate memories deep inside him. The dire brute froze mid-stride, eyes shooting wide open as he sampled the scent on the air much more fervently. He recognized the scent of the wolf, ringing in his brain like a bell. Though from a time long ago and nearly forgotten, it could never wholly be removed from his memory. It can't be... Artorias' head snapped to face the gardens, passing swiftly over the borders and sprinting up the hillside to reach the top. He hurried about the clusters of herbs and wildflowers, head turning wildly as he tried to locate the source of the scent.

He found her in the middle of the old gardens, sniffing at some wildflowers. At first, he almost didn't recognize her. It had been a year since they'd seen each other last, both wolves having grown to maturity and filled out from their youthful puppy states. But there was no denying it. He recognized the dark fur segmented by silver streaks, the unique lines curving their way down her sides. He caught a glimpse of the two-toned eyes, golden and mint. Artorias was staring at his long-lost sister. Mouth hung agape, unable to say anything, unable to do anything. She was here; she'd come back home. A tightening gripped his chest and Artorias felt like he couldn't breathe, the emotion was too thick. First Grim, then Bowen, now Daphne. The Carpathians were one by one returning home.

"Daphne..." Artorias called out to her, a touch of apprehension in his voice, just for the off chance that this wasn't his sister, but a specter of his past he was fantasizing. He needed her to respond. He needed her to confirm that she was real and his sister had come home.

"Artorias Carpathius"

The large girl was startled by the voice, as a stabbing pain lanced through her skull with the name on his lips. Glowing eyes, and too many teeth. She did sincerely hope that would stop happening one day soon. "So I’ve been told…" she answered carefully, mismatched eyes searching the amber eyes of the blue wolf before her as she turned to face him, seeking out any sign of recognition.

Once again, the cinnamon raccoon raced forward, clutching the firefly in the bottle in her paws and waving it, chittering madly at the man that had found them. She certainly seemed to recognise him, even if Daphne didn’t. She was putting on an impressive pantomime for the wolf, making threatening spooky gestures with her arms and pointing to the bottle, pulling something out of her ear and blowing it free on the breeze before slumping dejectedly at the strangers paws. "The only memories I have, are of a thousand eyes…" she almost whispered, "and too many teeth. A wolf found me at the hot springs, called me by the same name. Is that really my name?" It didn’t seem to fit right, not yet anyway.

"speech".

I could use some friends for a change

If there had been any doubt lingering in Artorias' mind that this was his long-lost sister, it was immediately dispelled when she looked up at him and met his gaze, those familiar mismatched eyes showing no recognition for him, yet his held all the remembrance for her. Her chubby cinnamon-coated companion came racing up to him, another testament to his sister's identity, and Art beamed brightly. "Hey, it's you!" His smile slowly began to droop from his face as the raccoon set about miming out Daphne's ordeal, using the firefly the bottle as a prop. Artorias eyed the bottled insect with trepidation, recognizing that ethereal blue glow immediately. Although Artorias didn't fully understand the story from the small mammal, he got enough of the gist to understand Daphne had encountered the same entity he had that had stolen his sight. But what had he stolen from Daphne? Something coming out of her head...?

Artorias' unspoken question was answered when Daphne claimed the only things she remembered were thousands of eyes and too many teeth, and while the blue-furred brute didn't know what that meant, he knew what had been stolen from his sister. She doesn't remember anything... The cold realization hit him like a slap in the face. Artorias gazed at Daphne in a state of stupor, mouth hung open dumbly while he tried to get any semblance of a thought started. She really didn't recognize him or remember anything. Not him, not their family, not the Hallows—not even her own name.

"Yes, that is your name," answered Art, nodding his head slowly. He took a measured step closer to her, fighting back the urge to rush up and embrace her for fear he might scare her off in her state. But gods, the emotions of having his family all returning home after so long...! "You're Daphne. And I'm Artorias. You're my sister, and I'm your brother. We have three other siblings too. Rudyard, Gwynevere, and Bowen. Do you remember them? Or our mother, Tamsyn?" Artorias looked his younger sister over, taking in her appearance from a distance to make sure she was okay. A hot meal and warm bed would be awaiting her in her near future, but for now, Artorias would content himself with just making sure she was healthy and uninjured.

"Artorias Carpathius"

He seemed to remember her raccoon, which she supposed meant that he did know her. The critter didn’t seem interested in anyone else, and when he confirmed that it was her name he had spoken, she gave an uncertain nod. Well she supposed she could live with it.

Daphne took note of each of the names, but couldn’t put a face to any of them. Distress was probably beginning to show at the corners of her eyes and the way her lips drew tightly back against her teeth in worry. It added up, she supposed. They were of a similar size, he hadn’t outright attacked her so maybe that was a sign too. "Is the other guy our brother too? The one from the hot springs? He looked a bit green… and was big…" Although now she thought on it, maybe he had too many teeth too… "I kept going back to the same place, but I couldn’t figure out why. Did we live there? Or were we always here?" Her head was beginning to ache from trying to force connections and make pieces fit, but there was nothing there to piece together. It was like she was slamming her head against a firmly closed door.

"speech".

I could use some friends for a change

Artorias could see the uncertainty, the confusion, the frustration on Daphne's face with every word he spoke. It looked like she was trying to connect the dots in her head, but wasn't sure where the dots began or what order they fell in. He couldn't begin to imagine what it must feel like for her to be trapped inside her own head, sorting through things you're rediscovering. What is truth, what is fiction, and what falls somewhere in between? Artorias' heart ached to see her like this, but he had no idea how to fix it. She asked about the other man, and when she began to describe him, he knew who she was talking about. "Sort of," Art began to explain. "His name is Grimshaw. He's our adopted brother." He left it at that for now. Short, simple answers. There would be no benefit to overwhelming her with details until she felt ready to receive them.

Amber eyes blinked in shock when Daphne began to draw up some foggy details, like vaguely remembering that they'd lived in the Hot Springs. He smiled softly and nodded, reclining back onto his haunches to relax his posture. "We did. We were born there, up by the falls. That was our home for a season, and then we came here." He could see the mounting frustrations clouding her eyes, wrinkling her temples. It was starting to get to be too much. Artorias stood once more, taking another slow step towards Daphne. "Daphne... come home with me. You don't need to remember everything right now. You can come home, have something to eat, get a good night's sleep. Come see our family again. We've all missed you so, so much." Another step forward, then Artorias extended a paw out to her, pleading with gentle fire-toned eyes for her to take it. He needed to protect his family, and right now that meant bringing Daphne somewhere safe where they could see about getting her better again.

"Artorias Carpathius"

Well being born there might have explained the pull of the place. The raccoon had returned and scrambled up her let to sit astride her back. Brows drew together with thinly veiled annoyance, but she would allow it for now. There were bigger problems to deal with than a rodent that didn’t respect personal boundaries.

She committed the other name to the empty space where she used to keep memories. Brother, but adopted. She wasn’t sure why that mattered, but she made a note anyway.

His invitation and welcoming movement was met with turned back ears and a body leaning away from the offer. Fear touched the edge of her eyes as her tail instinctively tucked closer between her legs. There was a tightness in her throat, and she wasn’t sure if she could get words out around it. "I-is that a good idea?" She wasn’t sure, herself. How long had her memories been missing for? What if they were upset with her for leaving? Although her stomach did rumble its agreement at the mention of food.

The raccoon on her back drummed its heels into her sides, urging her on, and her head whipped to flash teeth at the pest. But she supposed it had a point. She took a steadying breath and turned her ears back forward, giving an uncertain smile as she stepped closer to her brother and pressed her nose to the thick fur on his neck. "If I ate it, do you think I’d be upset with myself when I get my memories back?" She pulled back to show a lop-sided smile, waiting for her brother to lead the way.

"speech".

I could use some friends for a change

It was slightly humorous to Artorias to watch amnesia-afflicted Daphne grow annoyed by her own companion. He recalled how close the two had been, and though it was heartbreaking to see that she didn't even remember her little friend, it warmed his heart to know that through it all the raccoon had stayed with her. His advances caused Daphne to recoil in fear, the alarm and hesitance apparent on her countenance. Artorias was patient with her though, giving her all the space and time she needed to come to her own decision. For a moment, she looked like she was struggling to find the words to say, and then she asked if it was a good idea. "I think so. We've all missed you terribly, Daphne. We thought..." The young male's words trailed off while he swallowed back a tightness forming in his throat. He didn't dare utter the fears he'd felt over his sister's disappearance. They were the same fears he'd felt when Bowen was abducted. Yet somehow, both sisters had survived and followed their feet back home.

Dark ears pricked up to catch the sound of Daphne's growling stomach and a knowing smirk twitched at his lips. "I see your stomach has voted," he quipped with a bit of gentle humor. Her companion nudged her ribs with its heels like a rider ushering a steed on, and Daphne turned with a growl at the cinnamon raccoon, nearly making Artorias snicker aloud. With time, Daphne started to move towards him, looking a little more confident in herself. Artorias urged her on with a warm smile, having to resist the wave of emotions threatening to make him tear up as he watched his sister finally come home. When he felt the cold pad of her nose push into his fur, Artorias finally allowed himself to show Daphne the love she deserved. He tilted his head to nuzzle his cheek against her crown, wanting to weep with joy. Daphne was home.

His sister's grimly humorous words made the Aegis bark with laughter, matching her smile with a big grin of his own, fiery eyes flashing mischievously. "Yeah, maybe just a bit. Besides, we have tastier things to eat back home." With a nod of his head, Artorias turned to lead the way back home—but not before he would pause to go to press his nose to Daphne's cheek in a sweet familial kiss. "You don't know how happy I am to see you're all right. C'mon, let's get you fed." Taking the lead, Artorias began the trek back towards the castle. He couldn't wait to see the reactions on his family's face when they saw who he was coming home with!

"Artorias Carpathius"