The truth was, Ara had been an optimistic sort of wolf as a youngster - always positive and seeing the good in things. Years of unfortunate events had molded her into much more or a realist - the painful memories she held with her each day were too numerous to count. The long period that she'd spent fatherless as a child, when her dad had been taken prisoner by the northern tyrant, to everything that Novel had gone through.. it was hard to stay overly positive about the state of things when she knew how much pain and misfortune existed in the world. Though she hoped and tried to convince herself that her family was alive and well, she no longer believed it like she once had - and so even when she pulled back from Hymn, an expression of stunned surprise painted her features.
It was hard to remember how long it'd been since she'd seen him, but she was in awe of how old he looked. Ara remembered her surprise when he'd come home briefly, so many years ago - not all that long after Novel had left for good, after they'd started to settle more permanently in Fiori after wandering the lands together. Her heart ached for those days, but she wouldn't show anything but pure joy at seeing her son again. "I missed you terribly," Ara admitted with no hesitation, taking another moment to press her nose into his scruff and inhale his familiar scent.
She'd promised herself she wouldn't get emotional - but his words made tears well up in her eyes. She stood strong, refusing to let them fall.. yet. "I truly hope you do. Things haven't been the same without you around," she admitted gently, knowing she wouldn't fault him if he decided not to. "I.. don't know if you ventured over toward our old packlands, but Fiori is no longer." Maybe he knew, or maybe he had no idea - she searched his face for any sign of acknowledgment or surprise at the news.
