There were basically 2 places Emile could be seen at this point, his room, which he usually kept closed unless he was leaving to help air the room out... Or the grove. It was easy enough to not be forced to socialize here, he could just slip away behind a tree or a shrub if someone got too close and the grove had a lot of plants, his windowsill garden had grown since they'd claimed the grove. But today he had something else on his mind, not transplanting anything for his personal garden but rather the maintenance of the grove.

Some of the shrubs had bloomed explosively, and with the new pups running around he had concerns that some of the more prickly plants could do some serious damage, not to mention some of the branches were covering other precious herbs or even blooms on their own shrub and it would be important to let it flower as best as it could, a non-flowering branch was less important than something that might produce fruits or berries. So that's what Emile was doing, he was pruning. Right now his focus was on a particularly thorny bush, its new shoots exploding out in all directions and Emile had to carefully observe each branch to figure out where he could gently remove them without hurting himself. It was slow work that took a lot more of his attention than he might otherwise give, it was no doubt he'd be easy to sneak up on right now.


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Art by Nyssa

Jane wasnt too far on the gardens, herself working to water it and make sure it was well kept and safe of curious little mouths. Jane was the opposite to Emile, she was barely found on her room. Only on bed time or cleaning. Being closed in a place wasnt her thing, she had a need to move, to go around. But of course she never judged her siblings nor anyone for their own likes. She loved them despite their own preferences. They were family, and family was supposed to support each other. And she would do that without question. After she returned from her trip, she was eager to see her siblings. Wondering if they did well all these months, they were the closest family she had. And she always sought chances to expend time with both. As she worked, she had her mind away from reality. Too focused on her duty to be able to be aware of her surroundings. Even less that Emile wasn't far away. That until she got one of her toes staved by a thorn, product of her not paying attention. "Ouch!" She said in response to the sudden explosion of pain on her paw. ""

Admittedly Emile hadn't really noticed his sister was back yet. He was usually so secluded it was hard to notice the faces that came and went, and so he wasn't expecting the familiar voice that sounded nearby. The first instinct that went through him was a thrill of panic and his ears pulled back, head ducking to tip his scarred eye towards the ground, the usual posture he took on to hide his scars. Then his brain caught up and he felt a tiny bud of something he wasn't used to... Hope.

The sandy man rounded the nearest tree and his forest gaze fell on a familiar ashen form. Jane. Despite himself, despite all the pain he harbored with himself at all times there was a little happiness. His tail just barely starting to waver behind him the man moved over to his sister's side. "Sssssorry I hadn't got-got-gotten to that one yet yet yet." He said as he approached, noticing the way his sister was nursing her paw and the nearby thorny bush. "I'm trying to pr-pr-prune the more sssssspiky bushes." He said by way of explanation. Her paw would probably be fine, luckily a little prick was likely not going to need much more attention than a quick check-over, if that.


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Art by Nyssa

She shook her paw to try shush the pain away. She knew it was just a mere pinch, nothing to worry about. Once it was over, she kept going. This time being more aware of where she placed her paws, making sure to also remove some other thorns. If she had a bad scare, she couldn't imagine if any pups did. Even worse she had to imagine. Ears were up, as a soft smiled remained on her lips. But a new noise, a familiar scent found their way to her senses. Her smile only grew when she turned to find her beloved brother. The sibling she grew up closer to than the others. Wagging her tail she attempted to hug him. She was endlessly happy to see him after so long. "Emi!!! I missed you so much." She had no way to hide the excitement in both her posture and voice. She looked him over as he apologized. "Don't be sorry! It was silly of me for not paying attention to where I had my paws. I shouldn't let my mind blow my senses away." It was all but her own fault, not his. "Let me help you then!" She loved to do things with him. "How have you been?" Now to the more trivial things. That while she returned to work on her own bush. One next to him. ""

It was almost surprising how quickly Emile slipped into a familiar pattern with his sister, he similarly felt that he'd always been closest to her and so he easily accepted her affection, allowing her forelimbs to drape over him and pressing his skull into her form. "I misssssssed you too." Her absence had hurt more than the others, but at this point Emile had convinced himself he was used to it, after all eventually everyone would leave, at least that's what he assumed. Still the ease with which it seemed both were reunited was refreshing, a far cry from the last time he'd seen Bowen.

Jane said not to apologize and asked to help and despite himself Emile chuckled, it was a soft sound, more breath than voice but it was the first time he'd laughed in... well years. He nodded, stepping back to his own bush and moving slowly, watching Jane as he worked seeing if she'd need his help at all. "Sssssssame as always." Was his response to her question, it was the easiest answer. He didn't really change, he mostly stayed the same, his garden was bigger maybe? But he didn't want to bore his sister with the details of his small, insular, anxiety and grief filled days."How have you-you-you been?"


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Art by Nyssa

There was nothing better for her than to be around those loved the most. Even when she left to sort herself off she couldnt stop thinking about them. Specially Emile. She felt horrible for leaving like that, but what else could she have done to stop feeling awful with herself? She needed to leave to avoid giving her family trouble. They didnt need more issues that those they could have already. She often struggled with herself. She could be too self-conscious for her own good. It forced her to do things she shouldnt. She smiled at him. "How did things go in my absence? Did I miss a lot?" She kind of knew the answer, but she needed conversation topics. She wasn't that skilled with that despite enjoying other's company. "As for myself. I had been well. Adjusting back to the swing of things around here. I just needed time to feel better, travelling to find myself and feel less stressed." She admitted. Stressed with everything. ""