Satu returned Novella's nuzzle happily. It wasn't that her old pack wasn't affectionate, but it just hadn't felt quite the same without her sister and cousins there, and she found herself missing the contact with them as though she'd been completely alone since they left rather than with the rest of the pack.
"It is a long and uhm," she sighed, shaking her head with a wry smile, "little bit embarrassing story. Maybe I'll tell you later when the sting has faded a little and I can really do it justice."
She wasn't sure she was ready to tell that story to just anyone quite yet, still feeling guilty about having abandoned her pack and her mother, but Novella would be the exception. She was enough like Satu that she would probably find enjoyment in the crazy circumstances and adventures that led to Satu finally finding Cirala here, and she wouldn't judge Satu at all.
"How about you, Novella? How have you been? Had any adventures of your own?"
All the while she had a silly, happy grin on her face. It was so very good to be seeing her family again, even if it was slowly and in piecemeal. She was starting to feel much happier and more comfortable with her decision to stay - seeing all the wolves who meant so much to her was worth the guilt.
