The scent markers along the bordering woods had long faded, and at first Vanta had worried that her family's claim upon this land had lapsed as had so much else. Enough remained, however, that skeptical optimism allowed her to trod on, weaving through the gnarled woods until at least she reached the recognizable mountain that had been her birthplace. The Fatalis Family's throne.

Her paw paused only momentarily as it reached the border, hovering over the threshold as she took in the sights, the scents, and the flood of emotion that followed. This was home, and her father had never - would never - turn her away. High above her toucan soared, gladdened to have returned to his roost and giving happy little squawks as he circled. Her viper came out of hiding too, slithering out from within her thick, crystalline fur to coil itself loosely around her neck and shoulders.

Emboldened by her companions' and her own (buried) enthusiasm, Vanta's paw fell upon the cold stone. Her claws dug in without thought, finding familiar traction upon the slope as she made to climb. Her nostrils flared, the chill of the north filling her lungs as she worked to draw in the surrounding scents. Her father, where was Sirius? Why was his scent so faint that it was barely even there? "Dad?" Vanta called out, tentative.

"Speech"

His raven alerted him of a stranger crossing the borders. The titan dropped what he was doing and made his way to the breach with haste. With the strange happenings in the world lately, there was no such thing as too much caution.

He arrived close to where the woods once entered the Col, and just in time for an unexpected word to reach his ears. ‘Dad?’ Her voice sounded familiar, but he couldn't quite place it. He stepped out, and into her view. Prepared to say one thing, but the moment his eyes fell on her it was something else that escaped him. “If you're looking for Sirius, he resides in the Hallow now. Welcome home, Vanta.”


"Basilisk"

Basilisk's arrival was unexpected, to say the least, and Vanta's ears flattened at his words. She'd almost forgotten just how large her nephew was. It was not often the dire wolf had to look upwards to address another. "Oh, Bas." There was a lingering disappointment in her tone, and in her gaze as it lingered up the cliff face toward where her father's den once was.

"Is he okay?" She knew her father had taken the death of her mother hard, but just how hard, to no longer even reside in the pack he had built from the ground up? Around his kids and grandkids, whom could always make the hardened giant melt?

"Speech"

The flattened ears and disappointment wasn't that unexpected. The two were mostly strangers, he'd had little to do with her while she grew. Did she know that only one of her littermates had remained? If she didn't know Sirius wasn't here, then likely not. He wouldn't begrudge her the trespassing, he knew his grandfather had an open door policy for all his kids, and Vanta had expected to find him here.


“He said he was too old. He seemed to think death would catch him any minute, but he's still kicking down in the Hallows.” He could tell her that it was Azure's leaving that had been the final push for the old man, but that was his father and his business. “The last time I saw him was when he was walking my Lady down the aisle, he seemed hale and healthy then.