how far we find ourselves from home

He stared off distantly, tears pricking his eyes after the howl died down, his paws drumming anxiously on the grass. Fear, excitement, shame, joy, and other emotions he had no hope of identifying swirled inside of him to the point that he looked at the world with dizziness and haziness; everything was a blur, and he couldn't focus. He couldn't calm down, he couldn't relax - the anticipation was searing through him so much that he didn't even notice the watcher with the pups in the den, that he didn't notice Odysseus anymore. He wanted one thing, and that was it: his family. And... he was too scared to ask for his parents.

He wasn't sure the time that passed between his call and that familiar scent drawing closer. Seconds? Minutes? All he knew is that one moment Corvus wasn't there - and then he was coming, running hard. In a flash, Aiden was on his paws, anxiously prancing - unsure if he ought to meet his brother, or wait. The decision was taken out of his paws though, because the second Corvus was close enough, Aiden couldn't resist anymore. Silently, tears tracked down his cheeks, as he met the green eyes of his brother wordlessly, and in a flash, Aiden threw himself at Corvus.

It was there - for the first time in months - that sobs wracked him. Sobs that caused his body to shudder even as his brother questioned what on earth happened. "Corvus," he whispered quietly, his voice cracking on the name. "I - I." He couldn't get the words out; he couldn't speak, instead, another sob broke free, Aiden's body shuddering at the force of all of it. He - he really hadn't expected to see them again. He'd hoped. And prayed. But that hope - that hope Odysseus had restored - had drifted away a couple months back. This was... a dream. A dream he never expected to see, a dream he never expected to become true. A dream that caused tears to pour from his eyes, but at least the body-shaking sobs had stopped. He still didn't know what to say, what to even think; this had played in his mind so many times in his dreams, and yet, now he was speechless.

It took a few moments to even realize Shaye's presence, and he backed off from Corvus a bit and turned to regard her quietly. He hadn't seen her before. Odysseus had explained some of it on the way here, but he hadn't been listening; it all drifted away like wisps of smoke. He could see the tell-tale Destruction marks, however, ones that he lacked, and knew she was family - but how? "I-I am Aiden," he stumbled over the words, trying to wrestle his emotions under control. It didn't work to well, as was evidence by Aiden's consistent side-eyeing and ear flickering back towards his brother; a part of him still thought that this was unreal; he couldn't help but to double check constantly that it was true, that Corvus really was there right next to him. "I am Corvus' brother." His voice steadied out, but unlike the jubilant tones that Corvus would remember, this was much quieter, much more solemn and severe. He paused there, unknowing what to say, what to do, what to think. Finally, he settled on something else.

He wasn't sure who Vail was, but the tone bespoke urgency, and he could only gather a healer, especially if she didn't know who he was. "I am unharmed. Only malnourished, and fatigued." The clinical language slipped so easily into him; something that had become a habit and one of the only ways of coping with the tragedies he'd been faced with - and it was something that now he cringed a bit to hear, but didn't take his statement back. And of course, right afterwards, he glanced back at Corvus again, tears pricking his eyes all over again and glimmering even as he looked back at Shaye.

"Speech" "You"