The last season had passed by alarmingly quickly and had been mostly uneventful. Kaija had long since left the more central lands of Boreas that she'd grown up in and she'd headed north, closer to the sorts of lands that her ancestors hailed from. Not that she'd ever really had much of a connection with any family besides her father, and it'd been a long time since she'd seen him anyway. Embarking out into the world on her own wasn't exactly what she'd envisioned - most wolves were set in their ways and not exactly the best company all the time. The ones she could tolerate for long periods of time seemed far and few between.

Kaija huffed as she neared the edge of a luscious forest, blanketed in a fresh layer of snow. The white powder had a way of dampening the senses, including her sense of smell, but as she veered around the pack's borders a familiar scent snuck through and tickled her nose. It was an intimately familiar scent, and though dull she knew there was no way she was imagining. What was Ophie doing all the way up here? Had she been here for a while? What had happened? Why hadn't she come this way sooner - or had her arrival been recent? A million questions flooded her mind as she paced the borders, finally lifting her head to the sky to let loose a howl that sounded almost pleading.

It was hard to say how Ophie felt about this place. The cold didn't bother her as much as it did everyone else, but the steep lopes of the Col and the deep snow that coated the ground made getting about hard for her. Like her legs would give up on her if she took too many steps in quick succession. She imagined it was on purpose, sort of, putting her on patrol to make her lose some weight but it didn't seem to be working. She didn't feel or look any better from as far as she could tell. Just the same old porky Ophie.

She put the fat in Fatalis.

Except something was different today. She tipped her ears forward, catching a call she hadn't heard in...forever, it felt like. Was that? Noo, it couldn't be? Why was Kaija here? Hurrying along as fast as her hot dog limbs would allow, she near skidded to a stop at the edge of the woods, panting and exhausted from her brief trot  her eyes widened. Yep it was her!

"Kaija! Hello-I"A lot of huffing and puffing followed suit, like she was trying to blow the loner over. Breathing was hard, and the air tasted cold. "What are you-we moved up north. Live in the mountains. Hello!"

Though she felt more at home in the northernmost reaches of Boreas, still she couldn't shake the feeling that something was missing. There was more to life than just surviving - at least she certainly hoped there was, even if she didn't quite know what that more entailed. Kaija was optimistic she'd figure out eventually, maybe even childishly hopeful in that regard, but not knowing wouldn't slow her down any even if it left her feeling a bit restless. That feeling of unease seemed to wash away entirely when she caught scent of Ophie though. Maybe it was temporary but it gave her a sort of clarity she hadn't felt in a long time. Shifting her weight from one side of her body to the other, she waited as patiently as she could for her friend to answer her call.

Fortunately she wasn't far off, and Kaija's face split into a wide grin as soon as she saw Ophie waddling her way from around a cluster of trees. "Ophie!" Kaija had never shied away from being physically affectionate with those closest to her (which really only included Ophie and her siblings) and she didn't seem capable of holding back now. Without hesitating she rushed forward, nearly tackling Ophie as she wrapped her head around her friend's neck in a pseudo-hug. She'd missed her, even more than she'd realized up until this very moment. She stayed like that for a long moment before pulling back and looking her over. She hadn't changed much from what she could tell - though truthfully Kaija hadn't really either, except maybe she'd gotten a little more muscular overall from venturing off on her own for so long now.

"I didn't realize you guys moved," Kaija explained quickly. The words burst out of her mouth like a dam that had suddenly broke. There was so much to say and she wasn't quite sure where to start. "I haven't been down that way in a long time. If I noticed you had left I would've gone looking for you. I've been all over the place, mostly this far north but I hadn't come this way in awhile. How long have you been living here? Have things been good?" By the time she paused to catch her breath she was nearly panting as hard as Ophie was, but the goofy grin didn't seem to fade from her lips.

Ophie let out a breathy oooof as she yanked into a hug, smushed against muscle and fur. She took a moment to let out a shuddering breath, a little surprised at how...much she felt, you know? How much she'd needed this. She nuzzled against Kaija's neck, inevitably smearing her coat with mud and muck in the process, hopefully she wouldn't mind. It really had been too long, so much had changed and yet at the same time things still felt the same. Not awful but not good either, just living.

When Kaija pulled away Ophie had to bite back a whine that threatened to spill over her lips. It had been ages since anyone had touched her, which was a weird thing to get hung up over but- she was here and that was very good. Ophie could smile, all wide and beaming, too much front teeth.

"I-yeah. It was pretty...a lot. Sorry I didn't tell you or-"She still felt awful about their last encounter, how wishy-washy she'd been. Afraid to take a step, let alone leap. "You um..how do you move about with all this snow? It's so tiring." Her legs felt a little wobbly, unstable, but maybe that was just the nerves. "It's really nice to see you, hope you're doing...well?"

Ophie seemed happy to see her - and even more happy to embrace her - which was really all that Kaija could ask for. She didn't mind that some of the muck that coated Ophie's neck had transferred onto her own; cleanliness wasn't something she concerned herself with all that much to begin with, let alone when it came to reuniting with her closest friend. Their embrace could've gone on for longer if she didn't have a million and one things to ask her and interrogate her about, but she definitely noticed that Ophie didn't look like she wanted her to pull away. Part of Kaija really didn't want to either.

"It's okay, you didn't know where I was anyway," Kaija brushed off her worries as quickly as she could manage to, truly hoping Ophie didn't feel bad for not finding her or trying to reach out. Their last meeting hadn't been the greatest, and admittedly Kaija had been hurt, but she wasn't the type to get hung up on things - not really, at least not when it came to Ophie. Maybe asking her to leave was just as bad as if Ophie had asked her to stay. Part of her wondered if she'd might, but she knew her wanderlust was too strong, too deeply embedded in her being to ignore.

But then there was Ophie, grinning all goofy at her in a way that made her heart race like she'd run all the way here, and she wondered for a split second if she'd made the wrong choice after all.

It didn't matter now though. She was here, Ophie was here, and she was happy. "It takes some getting used to," she babbled on, talking too fast and grinning too much too. "I'm pretty sure my legs are a lot stronger than they were when I lived down south, just from walking through all this snow." She did more walking in general lately. She'd never be a small woman by any means but she'd slimmed down just a bit, fat replaced with muscle. "Are you liking it here? Besides the walking through the snow stuff? Why'd you guys move, anyway?"

It was easier to remain upright when she could lean up against Kaija, all big, strong and muscular after a winter of roaming. Doing very important loner things. Ophie looked respectfully of course, just made some observations anyone would pick up on. Right? Right. Anyway, she was being awfully rude, not listening to what her friend was saying, not drinking it in like she was parched, dying of thirst. With her tail still tapping against the snow, leaving dents in its wake, she noted that yes indeed her legs were strong! Wow! Impressive, not like Ophie's pork chops.

"Um, not really." Her grin grew, sheepish as her ears flattened, guilty for disliking something Kaija clearly enjoyed. Being here was good for the loner, she was practically glowing. Right in her element, where she wanted to be...but now Ophie was here too. Somehow made it better. "My brother makes me run up the mountain, to patrol." She winched, feeling a little breathless at the mere thought of it. "I once threw up then fell over...then rolled downhill a bit and-"Wait she really shouldn't be admitting to that, it was embarrassing!

"Well dad wanted a change, we have a marketplace now. Sell and trade stuff. It's kinda neat." She liked the idea of sharing stuff far more than just slapping people around to take what was theirs. "You can come in and have a look around, we allow visitors as long as you don't like...maul me or something." She raised a paw to playfully give her limb a poke, she knew Kaija wouldn't do that. She was one of the good ones.

Kaija didn't really acknowledge that she noticed Ophie was staring but she liked the attention anyway, especially when it came from her. She'd always liked being seen, and by the wolf she considered her closest friend? She wasn't going to complain about any amount of gawking, that was for sure. She nodded along to Ophie admitting she didn't really like it here; she wished she did. She knew Ophie would stick by her family no matter what though, and though part of her was glad this was where she'd ended up, another more surprising part of her just wanted Ophie to be happy - whatever that looked like. "That sucks. I'm sure you'll get used to it?" Kaija suggested, not sounding as sure about that as she wished she was.

Usually things you didn't like got easier over time. Hopefully living up north was one of those things for Ophie. "A marketplace! That sounds cool." Not that she had anything to trade or sell, but it was an interesting concept nonetheless. Maybe if she was less of a wanderer she might have belongings to call her own but that wasn't her style. The concept of ownership wasn't really something she'd been taught; that wasn't the Jarvela way.

She gave a toothy grin as Ophie poked her. "Like I could beat you in a fight," she teased, not caring whether it was true or not. The one and only time they'd sparred Ophie had won, and sure they'd been kids back then but she didn't doubt her skills now. Even if physical things weren't really Ophie's strong suit. "Give me a little tour. I promise I won't touch anything... not too much, at least."