ooc: free to anyone in Lirim to respond to. If anyone wants to thread with Miach (looking at you Shelby!) they can have a separate thread since I'm powerplaying him as leaving this thread so no one has to wait on me to post him.

She had been tired, so so tired, but the scent of home had just reached her nostrils. It was enough to give her renewed energy. She'd spent so many months trying to track down her missing nephews. It'd started off as a hopeful journey. She'd had the energy and commitment to find them and she'd been confident in her choice of heir. Rory would have surely lead the pack well with Zell and the others to help him along the way. She had little to no worries other than finding her missing family. Of course that was easier said than done. She'd had no leads to go off of whatsoever. She felt like she'd traipsed all across both continents, but finally she'd picked up a trace. It'd been faint at first, when she'd first come across the trail of Miach in Auster, but finally she'd managed to track him down. He looked more worse for wear than she had at the time, but she could hardly feel sorry for him. The relief at seeing the boy had been outweighed by her anger at him disappearing in the first place. Her words had been something along the lines of "what on earth were you thinking? Your mother is worried sick about you" basically the typical "everyone was stressing over you so how the hell could you just vanish like that?" speech. Luckily for her Miach had done well to keep his mouth shut and not interrupt her while she had chastised him. She'd even managed to get a mumbled apology out of him before she yanked him by his ear to lead him back home. By that point she hadn't even given him the option of staying or going. Their journey back had been a long one and it seemed to be dragging on longer the closer they got. Miach was silent behind her, but even she could sense an excited energy about him as they neared the borders of Lirim. The scent of Rory was strong at the territory line and a wide grin spread across her face. She could also smell Frostbite and Torin's scents strongly there too and she couldn't help but wonder what everyone had been up to. Did this mean Rory had promoted some wolves? Or maybe they were being extra helpful. Either way she couldn't contain the giddy excitement that rolled off of her in waves as she thought about seeing her children. She missed her babies! She let out the loudest howl she could muster as she passed the borders. She didn't falter, but she did glance back to Miach to make sure he was still following. "I will be talking to Rory soon. You will be ranked as Girvin for the time being since you were a major pain in the ass and left without telling anyone." She gave him a stern glare that left no room for argument. Her gaze hardened as the male glared back and opened his mouth to argue anyways before she bared a single fang at him. "No arguments." She said interrupting him before he could get a word in. "You worried me and your mother and I had to travel all the way to Auster to get you so the least you can do is shut up and take your punishment. Now don't make Zuriel wait any longer than she already has. You and your family have some catching up to do." She instructed him. Ears flicked as he let out an irritated sigh before the larger wolf padded off to go find his family. She watched him go before looking around to see if anyone had arrived yet. She was impatient and more than ready to see everyone. Most importantly she wanted to see how her children had fared in her absence. The amount of guilt she felt for leaving them had only grown since she'd slipped across the borders and she couldn't help but worry that they'd be mad at her. Either way she was still excited to see them - whether they hated her or not. Walk, "Talk" Think

Pain changes a heart, love it in the present. A howl summoned her attention and she rose with a bark to Alois. It came from the borders but she would know that howl anywhere. Faite was back! She wagged her tail and grabbed her shawl quickly getting it on before racing towards the border. She had so much to tell Faite. Like how she was teaching Torin French and how she had a new word. Granted she didn't like how she had learned the word but it was her word now. Alois flew close to her side, not sure why the girl was so excited but he knew she must know this other that the howl came from to get such a reaction from the girl. As they reached the boarder Jewell stopped briefly but then barreled towards Faite. She ignored the fact that her adoptive cousin was even there even though he was leaving into the territory. She aimed to tuck her head under Faites chin and happily embrace her in her own way. Alois landed on Jewell's lower back, gripping into her shawl. She was oblivious to any anger Faite had for the moment. She could care less, all she knew was that everything would be right with the world again. "Jewell missed mom Faite. Jewell has a lot to tell Faite. Learned new word. Teach Torin tongue. Torin teach Jewell tongue..... Jewell hurt by Ariet lore.... Rape hurt..... Rory Girvin Ariet lore.... Rory kill Ariet lore........ Jewell love Rory..... Jewell make friend call Alois......" by the time she finished she was breathing hard and tears flowed freely down her face. She wanted Faite to know everything. How Ariet had tricked her into playing his games and made her stay on the island by breaking her leg. How she loved Rory. It had been alot for the young girl to take in. She also wanted to show her all the things she was trying to make. Like the traps for small animals. Though Alois did help alot. Her tail was wagging and she didnt want faite to ever leave again. Walk, "Jewell "Alois" Think

I've learned to slam on the break before I even turn the key, before I make the mistake, before I lead with the worst of me. The howl sent a strange flurry of emotions through him. Relief, joy, excitement, nervousness and under it all a current of dread. It seemed he was about to find out exactly what his mother thought of it all... well maybe not right away but she wasn't going to be left in the dark. He trotted towards his mother's howl, a sharp glance cast in the direction of his cousin as he passed the boy, but as he laid gaze upon his mother's form his tail began to wag weakly behind him. He approached just as Jewell was babbling into their mother's chest. He gently nudged his sister with his shoulder. "Calmez vous." He mumbled, not unkindly. "Not all at once." Not that he didn't sympathize with his sister, if it had been just the two of them Torin wasn't sure he wouldn't simply begin babbling all that had happened to his mother. He turned his gaze to his mother, searching her face for some sign of pain or injury but she seemed fine, maybe a bit ruffled but unharmed. A small smile, broke across his face and his voice wavered slightly as he spoke. "I missed you." Oh? Was that his voice breaking slightly? An indication of the tears he felt prickling at the corners of his eyes even as he fought to keep them hidden. He gently pushed up beside Jewell, aiming to butt his head against his mother's shoulder before stepping back again. "Silent treatment" & Deep thoughts

Image by Lynx!

He had completed another round of patrols, checking the borders for danger or suspicious activity, laying down more markers as needed to keep someone from no noticing the land had been claimed. He was attempting to help out as much as the male could. He knew Rory didn't have much training before Faite left so Frost felt it his duty to continue to step up his game and help where he could. Though he had suggestions he was waiting on the right time to bring them up to see if they were liked in any way. The howl from already explored borders drew his attention immediately. The call was something he instantly recognized from being the past leader of Lirim. Faite had finally returned home and he assumed that her nephew was in tow. Wagging his tail the male picked up his place and bolted off towards the source of the howl, eager to see Faite and be sure that she herself was okay. He knew Rory & Torin would be so happy to see her and wondered if she would be happy with the changes Rory had made while he was gone. When she arrived Jewel and Torin were already there and he slowed as he grew closer to the group. A smile appeared on his face as he got close enough. "Welcome back Faite!" he greeted with a smile still on his face. "Talk" & 'Think"

Art by Kanvos

There was no mistaking that howl. Faite had returned! He turned to Kairi, uttering a soft bark to her but of course, he didn't even need to do that. Kairia had recognized it too, and together they abandoned the rabbit hunting lesson and headed straight for the borders. Kairi bounded between his legs, nearly tripping him up a few times, but he knew she was just as eager to see Faite just as much as he was. It wasn't surprising to see that a few others had gotten there first, what was surprising was all the babbling that the rainbow girl was doing. His ears laid back, brows furrowed as she spoke. This damn girl really didn't know when it was appropriate to speak, did she? Shaking his head, he ignored what she said and went right up to Faite. "It's good to see you home," He murmured as he nuzzled her neck. How long had it been? "I missed you, you know that?" He whispered, a small crease of a smile sneaking up on his lips. Taking a deep breath, he sighed as his gaze briefly swept over the others. "We need to talk. Much has happened since you've been gone, but of course someone already told you some of what happened." Before he could say more though, he decided to take a step back before Kairi had decided to take a flying leap towards them. "Talk"

Faite waited anxiously and her dual toned gaze scanned the pack lands to see who would arrive first. Any one of her children could arrive; although, Zell would certainly be happy to see her as well. Now that she thought about it, there were many wolves that she wanted to see. If she was lucky, they would all come, but it wasn't as though she planned on going anywhere. Even if they didn't all come, there would be ample time to catch up later. Surprisingly enough, Jewell was the first to greet her. Her lips pulled back in the happiest grin that she'd ever had before as the young rainbow wolf barreled into her. She let Jewell rest against her chest and her head rested softly on top of the shorter girl's head as she embraced her tightly. "I missed you as well." She managed to murmur before Jewell blurted out a tirade of words that was quite hard for her to follow. At first it was heartening to hear that one of her other sons had taken Jewell under his wing. At least they had been getting along and Jewell's comprehension of English had improved significantly since the last time she'd seen her. Her mood soured instantly though as the younger wolf went out and pelted her with a brief rundown of everything that had happened in her absence. Confusion was the first feeling that pummeled her, but anger soon followed suit. Jewell had been raped?! Rory had killed this ... Ariet Lore, she couldn't even focus on the fact that Jewell said she loved Rory. Instead Faite was trying desperately to make sense of what had exactly happened. By that point Torin had arrived and she looked towards him with a confused expression on her face. Her eyes clearly had a "I expect this to be explained in detail later" kind of sternness to them before they softened once more. She offered him a smile before he came over and tried to find space beside his sister. She nuzzled him softly as he headbutted her shoulder before stepping back. She was still confused, and quite angry (but that was definitely the motherly kind of angry), but she kept it in check for the time being. For now she was more than happy to see her family. "I missed you too son, we should talk later." Frostbite followed suit and she offered him a pleased grin. His scent was thick with Rory's along the border and she was more than proud. It was obvious he'd been a sturdy support system and had remained busy within the pack while she was gone. The pack was still standing at the very least and so far it didn't seem as though nothing drastic had happened save for what Jewell had blurted out, but she would find out the details to that in due time. "Thank you Frost, it's good to be home." Her attention didn't remain on Frostbite for long though before movement had her swiveling her head again. Well she was definitely getting the family reunion she'd wanted! Zell had finally arrived and her tail waved softly. She pulled away from Jewell slightly and was more than content to bury her face in Zell's neck fur. She inhaled deeply, enjoying the scents of home and her family as he spoke to her. "I missed you all. Miach was a pain to track down, but I found him. Now that I'm home i don't think I ever want to leave again." She joked lightly with a chuckle. Naturally she'd still leave the territory, but she had no intentions of being gone for that long ever again. She'd missed her family and pack far too much. "You can tell me all about it later with Torin." She fully intended on talking with all of them to get a good idea of what she'd missed out on. She barely got those words out of her mouth before a wine red and black blur came flying towards her. There was her other very energetic daughter. She barely managed to keep from being bowled over and it took a few seconds of adjusting her paws to stay on her feet. She pulled away from Zell to nuzzle her daughter gently. "It's good to see you sweetie, I hope you've been behaving for your dad." She said with a chuckle before glancing up at Zell. "Alright, what else have I missed?" She asked. Not that she expected many answers, and really she just wanted explanations about what Jewell had told her, but for now she was doing her best to be patient. Walk, "Talk" Think