Was it possible he was here? It'd been ages since she'd seen one of the only wolves outside of her family that she considered a friend, but just recently she'd caught a whiff of his scent in the packlands and at first she thought she might be dreaming. But it'd been much stronger lately - there was no way this was just wishful thinking. Strange, she thought to herself as she wandered the plains. Somehow this place looked even eerier at night, the fog clinging low to the ground, penetrated only occasionally by beams of moonlight that streamed down from overhead. She'd been having trouble sleeping, restlessness from these last few years seemingly catching up to her all at once and weighing heavily down on her heart. She belonged here, Caelia knew that with all her heart, but doing what? There had to be more to life than just this, just existing day by day. The female breathed a heavy sigh, though it caught in her throat when she came across an even fresher scent marker. Determined to follow it and prove that she wasn't losing her mind, she picked up her pace as she trudged onward, searching for him.

He felt more at peace under the light of the moon. His father had dubbed him The Wing in the Darkness when he was a pup. And although he had dropped all connection with his blood, that name couldn't have been more true. Hell, he had even bonded with an owl. He was pretty good at hiding in the shadows...though that probably came naturally to him. After all, it would explain why he felt invisible most of his life. Especially to his own damn family. Ah, but that was probably his cynical side of thought. Still, he couldn't help but think things like that. He was grateful at least, that Valhalla's leader gave him the chance to find stability here. And he hoped beyond hope that this would finally be it. His companions scouted out beyond Valhalla's lands, ensuring there weren't any threats coming to the pack under the cover of night, but so far...Valhalla's days were quiet and seldom bothered. It was...nice. No drama. No having to constantly watch his back. But even then, he wasn't one to let his guard down. Magenta gaze searched the darkness beyond the wall, though he did pause to take a drink and take a quick rest before resuming his patrol. That's when he smelled her. He had been catching traces of her within pack lands, but he didn't want to feel like he was intruding on her, or feel like a creep for...well...he wasn't sure. Would she think it weird that he decided to join Valhalla? She was part of the reason he joined, but...it was also more than that. He heard the approach of footsteps in the darkness, and when he turned around, he spotted her pale form. He couldn't help the small smile that showed as she appeared. "Hey, long time no see." Smooth. "Speak"

The monotony of life was definitely getting to her, but she wouldn't let it get the best of her. As long as she found something to distract herself with she'd be just fine, and tonight it seemed like a distraction came easily. Rarely did she spend time reflecting on the memories of her youth but she found herself doing it now, at least for a moment, remembering how humiliated she'd been to be bested by a pup at that tournament. Of course, she hadn't been more than a yearling herself, but still - it was the first time she'd really been knocked down a peg and now that she was older she looked back on the memory fondly. Reuniting with Tyto again brought a grin to her lips. Really getting a good look at him took her a minute through the darkness, but once she spotted his silhouette and took a few steps closer she confirmed that it was definitely the wolf she remembered from her childhood. Funny how life worked. "Hey, you could say that," she replied, her smile spreading as her tail flicked behind her, betraying her pleasure at his presence. "Ardyn really let you in here, huh?" There was a glimmer of laughter in her gaze as she strode closer, clearing jesting with him.

He didn't feel at all like a stranger in her presence. Not like how he felt when he first approached Valhalla's borders and spoke to Ardyn about joining. The uneasiness and uncertainty he felt then, were not present now. Although the pair hadn't seen each other in a while, and only had the occasional run-in, he swore he felt like he knew her better than his own damn family. Or at least, her presence was comforting, if anything. Perhaps because of that familiarity from when he was a pup. Ever since their first interaction all those years ago at the tournament was one he had never forgotten. Not because she was pretty (he wouldn't have really had those kinds of thoughts and feelings as a kid), but because she had been his first win, and since then, each time they came upon each other, it was like an unspoken rivalry of sorts...but perhaps it was also more than that. She smiled at him, and he felt like they hadn't really skipped a beat despite the length of time they often went without seeing each other. He chalked it up to sheer, dumb luck that they kept crossing paths. Only...this time, it was sort of intentional. Granted, he wasn't stalking her or anything, but part of his reasoning for coming to Valhalla was because he knew she was here (and had hoped she still was when he did finally come around to join), and so far, she was the only one he felt like he could potentially trust...he hoped, anyway. So when she smiled at him as she drew closer, he couldn't help the grin of his own that spread a little wider, and the wag of his tail as the familiarity of what he remembered came closer. "Ardyn really let you in here, huh?" He considered her words for a moment, and ultimately decided to go with something that would likely be expected of him. "I suppose he's alright with delinquent vagabonds among the pack," He offered a playful wink to her. "It really has been a while...what have you been up to after all this time?" "Speak"

Though most of the wolves in Valhalla were familiar to her at this point, in one way or another, it was good to be reunited with someone she felt she could consider a friend. Being mostly reclusive these days was likely not a good thing for her, and she was reminded of that by just how relieved she felt upon seeing him - like a weight had been lifted from her shoulders. Life seemed a little bit brighter all of a sudden. Not that she'd so readily admit that to anyone, especially not to him. She was glad he was here though, and his words made her laugh, the sound soft but clearly genuine. "Doubtful. You must've tricked him somehow," Caelia quipped, grinning toothily at him. Though he'd been a constant in a weird way, their paths crossing time and time again over the years… it struck her then that she didn't know a lot about Tyto, nor did he know much about her. Caelia had a feeling that was about to change now that he was here, though. "Honestly, not a lot lately. Life in Valhalla is…" Her words trailed off and she shrugged. She didn't want to say things were boring, because that seemed to imply that her environment wasn't engaging because of forces outside of her control. In reality, she'd been in a slump for a long while now, and she wasn't quite sure how to pull herself out of it. "This is all I've ever really known, you know? I've just been going through the motions here. Nothing noteworthy." She paused and cleared her throat, tilting her head towards him. "What about you, though? Surely you have more interesting stories than I do."