Surreal padded quietly at the edge of Valhalla? on one of her multiple patrols. The pain in her body had eased slightly, and her muzzle hurt a little less, but she missed her uncle severely. He was a prisoner of Glaciem. Were they treating him with the respect a veteran was owed? She snorted. Of course not. She paused, head raising as she took in the scents on the breeze. Clear, for now. Her head lowered again, and she continued on the patrol path, which was a discernable trail, both by the strong scent markers and the visible signs, the path well trodden by her uncle, as well as herself, Chrysanthe, and other warriors. Alsander was healing as well, though Erani had forbidden him to put weight on his leg once the albino Tortugan healer and the other two Tortugan females had gone home. He?d seemed a little dreamy-eyed whenever Surreal had arrived, but that could have been the pain relievers kicking in. Her tail flicked slightly, eyes sweeping the open plains she?d come to on her path. Winter was practically on top of the land now, and she spotted a few whisper, early snowflakes drifting down over the land, too small to stick yet. It brought to mind her first winter, when all of her siblings had still been present, as well as her father. Where were they all, now? Where was Castiel, her favorite big brother? And Gabriel, her favorite little brother? She started out across the open area, following the river that was a natural border for pups, though it hadn?t been much use frozen over last year. She hadn?t even realized that she?d crossed it back then. Surreal paused again, ears swiveling, nose testing the air once more. Her ears perked, eyes squinting as a stray snowflake danced a hair?s breadth from them. A scent was riding the crisp breeze. It was familiar, and her tail swayed slightly as she placed it to a face. Falk. His scent carried Tortuga with it. So he must have found Taurig. Surreal uttered a low bark of greeting, and started forward to meet her friend. "Falk."

The silver fea with the attention-grabbing gold and sapphire eyes was constantly in the back of his mind ever since Falk came across Surreal. He had thought about her often, wondering and worrying about her and her pack's fate in the war with his father. Finally the large brute gave in to his craving to see her again and took off to the west side of Alacritis to find her. He was sure Taurig wouldn't mind him being gone a couple of days, especially if it was to check on his adopted sister. He had been traveling at an easy lope, not in any hurry to get there, but still moving at a swift enough pace that it felt like it took no time at all to reach the Valhalla territory. He slowed to a halt at the borders, peering out over the empty plains to see if any wolves were around, or even better, if Surreal was there. He blinked and gazed up at the sky as a snowflake landed on his muzzle. Huh, it was shifting into winter now, wasn't it? A thin flurry of snow danced around him. None of it seemed to stick, but it showed that winter was well on its way. "Falk." That familiar, unique voice cut through the cold air and he pulled his gaze down from the sky till it landed on Surreal and his ears flicked back in response. Her whole body looked like it was covered in a whole collection of scratches and gashes, obvious signs of being in a fight or even multiple fights. He frowned as she got closer, his sky-blue gaze showing his worry. "Surreal, are you okay?" He asked immediately, his eyes searching her over for every wound. Luckily it looked like they had been taken care of, but that didn't stop his worry. "Who did this to you?" Speech Thought Others

Falk?s ears fell back as he lowered his eyes from the sky and saw her approaching. What? Ah, right. Her wounds, the visible ones at least. As she drew closer, his face fell into a frown, and she saw the worry in the blue eyes that roved her form, finding all the injuries she?d gathered in the battle. His questions made her smile faintly. ?I?ll live. My mother is taking good care of me and the other wounded. I?m not the worst. A rogue who joined in the fighting has a broken leg? My sister, our alpha? They blinded her in one eye. Another was half blinded too. He came from Tortuga, though. Obsidian has gashes all over her rump from the big cat they had with them. And they killed a wolf who wasn?t even in the pack. He was the first to die. Isardis and his mate killed him, from the scents on his fur.? Her eyes fell, head turning away to watch the flakes fall to the ground. ?I don?t know who the wolf was called that I fought. He was a big grey thing with black and lighter grey markings and red eyes. We got two prisoners though. And they have my uncle?? There was a tremor that told of forcing steel into one?s spine and trying not to break and cry. She made an effort to draw herself together and looked back at her friend. ?So how have you been? You smell of Tortuga, so you found Taurig. I caught a glimpse of him at the fighting, but that was it. Is he alright??

Surreal instantly turned the attention back on him after telling him about the terrors of the war, and only a few of those he was sure. He caught the small tremor that went through her at the mentioning of them capturing her uncle and his heart sank. She didn't deserve to go through all this turmoil and pain. No one did, especially someone as genuinely kind as Surreal. He nodded in response to her own questions, saying, "I did find Taurig and he took me in. He's okay, all things considered, you know. He shrugged, trying to not let it bother him as much as it did. He had never really even met the brute that he called his father, but just knowing that his own blood was tied to this awful war was disgraceful enough. Falk wished he could comfort Surreal in some way, but he had no idea how. "If there's anything I can do to help, please just let me know. Anything at all. I'm afraid I got to Alacrtis too late to really help with the fighting and I don't know how to do much else... but maybe I can help with something else." He honestly didn't know if he could possibly be good at anything other than fighting, but if Surreal wished for it then he would try his best to accomplish it. Speech Thought Others

Surreal pressed her ears forward as Falk responded to her query, smiling faintly. ?From what Mother said about him, I wouldn?t expect anything less. I?ve heard he?s a very good Alpha.? She still needed to go and meet her new brother, but she hadn?t been able to make time for it, and she was afraid to leave Valhalla with one less fighter. And she wouldn?t mind crossing her opponent at some point and giving him a fresh set of scars. She may have lost that fight, but she still felt victorious; She was a part of Valhalla. Nothing could beat that down. Valhalla had fought hard and true. Falk spoke up, and her attention focused on him. ?You could help me patrol, maybe. You aren?t wounded, so you?d have better chance in a struggle than I would. Most of our fighters are injured, or in Seracia?? Would they have fared better had there been more? That was a question that would haunt her for a long time. Mismatched eyes dropped to the ground. Chrysanthe was doing her best, but Surreal could tell the loss of the battle had hit her sister hard. Surreal still believed in her big sister. But she could see that Chrysanthe didn?t believe in herself. Not all battles can be won, little niece. Remember that. Savor every win, but cherish every loss. So long as you live to fight again, you have still won a victory. Her Uncle?s words during a patrol. She blinked and lifted her gaze from the ground. ?So how are things over in Tortuga? Is it comfortable??

Surreal gave her request, offering for him to help with her patrol. He smiled and nodded in agreement. He would be more than happy to help her of course! This was a task that he could easily handle and it gave him all the more time to spend with his lovely friend. Falk watched her curiously as she seemed to get lost in her thoughts for a moment and wondered what it was she was thinking about, but she spoke again before he could ask. He pondered her question while he turned in the direction she had been walking around Valhalla's border and nodded in that direction so they could walk and talk. "I like it there. Taurig is a great brother and both of my sisters have shown up as well so it's been a nice family reunion. I just... I dunno. I don't feel close to them, you know? I love them all of course and I like Tortuga a lot, it just feels kind of lonely sometimes." He left the part about Surreal being the only friend he had made in Alacritis so far and how much he thought of her out of the conversation. He didn't want to seem weird just on their second meeting. He just felt like he clicked with her for some reason. He had never felt this comfortable talking with anyone else. His blue gaze scanned the area around him, but it was silent. He was proud of Surreal and her need to keep her pack safe though so he was more than happy to lend a paw. "How about Valhalla? How are things recovering?" Speech Thought Others