cheerful as an empty handed search party

Although it had been some time since they'd departed on their search, Theo recognized Void's voice at the border. She had hoped to hear happier songs at the border when they returned. Big, trumpeting calls - Hello! We're home! We're safe! We found them! - but things were never really that easy, were they? Theory's vibrant childhood optimism had since been forged into a steely pragmatism. Nevertheless, a dim light flickered warmly in her heart, bending towards the good of things wherever it could. There was no light here. Not that she could see. No matter - she would welcome them home all the same. Selfishly she hoped that they were now here to stay. It was always difficult to let go of a family member, especially when they had lost so much. She picked up the pace, uncertain what she would see when Void greeted her at the border. Were they travelling together still or had he returned home alone? Her heart beat erratically in her chest as she closed the distance between her den and the border where they'd called.

The earth had slowly come alive again, although patches of ice and filthy snow remained. When she had spent months wishing for it all to melt, she'd forgotten what mud was like. Theo picked her way past the wetter patches until she had them within her sight: Void and Gloom waited for her on the border. "Welcome back," she called, her tail and ears at half mast. She wasn't sure what news they'd bring and her body language reflected the uncertainty. "Do you find anything?" Theory asked carefully.