He had been gone for too long. But not by his own choice. Well in a way it was, but it was more of a forced choice than anything else. At one point in time his wife had gotten severely ill and Cherokee had been the one there to take care of her through it all. Fate seemed to have a twisted sense of humor, throwing a similar illness on the ebony knight, though he was sure it wasn't nearly the same one as the one that had struck his wife. It was a bad one of he had ever caught an illness and the severity of it had scared him enough to cause him to seek shelter outside of the pack territory. He was terrified that he would pass it on to his wife and children, especially with the new litter that Song had given birth to. He had been gone so long that he was sure the new children were already pretty grown. He had barely met his children when they were born before he had isolate himself for fear of infecting them. Were they aware that he was their father? He was sure Song had told them about him, but he would still feel guilty nonetheless for not being there with them all the time.


With a somber expression dominating his features, the charcoal brute would make his way back to the borders of his pack, nostrils quivering as the familiar scent of Song tickled his senses. His little Angel. How had she been faring since his disappearance? He stop just shy of the border, skull inclining upwards as he called out to his family, hoping to meet his new children and reconcile with his wife. After a moment he would drop his skull, ivory jade and silver eyes scanning the area, ivory and ebony ears swiveling this way and that, waiting to see if he would get a response. Would they come?


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It couldn't be him, she wouldn't accept it. He was gone, she could not find him no matter the time she put into searching. She had been shirking her duties since his disappearance, wanting nothing more than his strong shoulder holding her up. So much had happened since he disappeared, if only she had started searching earlier. She had to attend to the litter though, and by the time she could think about leaving the den his scent had gone stale and disappeared. Now though, surely it could not be his voice reaching out to her.?

Her feet would carry her from the border patrol to the sound of the voice, she wouldn't be convinced it was him until she looked in his eyes. Even then it was a possibility she would not truth her optics. He had been gone for so long. Why would he have left her? Delicate alabaster paws would lead her slender form to the edges of her territory, mismatched eyes taking in the horizon as she searched for that all too familiar form. The one she missed so dearly, but felt so nervous to look upon again. ?

There he was, standing firm like he had never left. Those bicolored eyes that she loved so much to look into would gaze into the mangroves as her pace would come to a stop three or four yards from his form. Her head would begin to swayback and forth, denial would grip her as she felt her cool mask crumble her features. Tears would begin to stream from her eyes as her body stood still. Why had he left her? Why would he intentionally cause her so much pain and return just as she started to accept he was gone. She felt so hurt and betrayed, her heart had broken for him. "Why?!" her voice was a surprise to herself, how filled with emotion it was. The hurt and the anger that danced within her vocals. Why had he done this?

Cherokee's double was patrolling the borders, lanky legs carrying him across the uneven land. He was still growing in physical features, but his mentality had matured faster than anticipated for a normal child. Responsibility was on his shoulders, weighing him down both emotionally and physically. The strain was not something he liked, but he carried his duties with pride and a stern attitude. His father had left and Song had pulled him up in the ranks because of his absence. As the yearling, now almost fifteen months, scouted the outer borders of the mangroves, a howl broke the still and silent air. It was all too familiar, but its rarity made Dhiren's heart flutter in its chest cavity. Disbelief and doubt ran amok in the boy's head, but they didn't stop him from dropping his post to seek out the potential being. Crazily, he ran through bushes and tree branches, hitting places that he normally missed. By the time he had reached a small clearing, he was filled with debris from his tromping through the forest. Silently, he shook himself free of leaves and branches, then proceeded at a leisurely trot. He approached the two wolves, both of whom gave him life. His mother, whose cry suddenly filled the air, made his heart break and his trot turned into a canter. In a matter of seconds, he was by her side, avoiding Cherokee's gaze altogether. His wet nose met her ivory white neck and he felt her weight almost crumble against his sturdy form. Dhiren moved himself so he was right beside her, black fur clashing against her white coat. Muscles that had developed since his training showed themselves beneath his fur, of which was thickening for the oncoming colder seasons. His attention was solely on Song before his gold and silver eyes met his father. Words did not come to the boy's mind. He was speechless at Cherokee's appearance and all he could do was stare. His ivory ear flicked in his mother's direction, indicating he would listen for any changes in her movements. However, he was curious as to why his father had left without so much as a word or a hint of his destination. Song's one word wail had been the question that he wanted to ask. Dhiren's tail flicked behind him as he lowered his bottom half to the ground with Song's slender frame. Silence remained over him like a cool blanket. His mind continued to work as he thought about his other littermates possibly appearing after him. Speech,

He wasn't sure what kind of welcome he was expecting. Perhaps he thought that Song would come barreling into him, unable to believe that he had returned. She would fawn over him with kisses, exclaiming how much she had missed him. Their children would come and surround them, barking and yelping as they fought over the attention of their parents. That's what he would've liked to have as a welcome, but it was far from what he actually got. His dual-colored gaze registered his wife's figure at a distance, his heart constricting in his chest as his throat tightened. She was still the beautiful angel that he remembered. The time away from her if anything had strengthened the love that he felt for his little woman, but even his love for her was not enough to snuff out the guilt that was eating at him as he watched her approach. Instead of coming to greet him like he thought she would, she stopped at a distance, several yards away. Why?! It was a single syllable. One word. And yet the emotion behind it was too much for Cherokee.


His resolve would crumble as he watched Song collapse, tears streaming down her face. Seemingly from nowhere his double Dhiren would appear, running to his mother's side as he comforted her, looking towards the ebony night with questions in his eyes. His legs gave out, his dark body collapsing beneath him as he crumpled to the ground. Unbridled tears would run rivulets down his dark cheeks as he stared helplessly at Song. How could he explain to her that he had left to protect her and their family without it sounding like he'd abandoned her? She had to know that he would never abandon her. They would have to drag his cold dead body from her side for him to ever leave her without good reason. He had never left her or their family, didn't she know that? White traced plume would tuck pathetically between his hocks, ivory and ebony ears folding completely flat against his skull. How could he...Song... It was the only syllable that he could muster, his voice strained and weak, thick with the tears that continued to fall from his silver and ivory jaded eyes. How could he fix this? He had hurt his little woman. How had he not with the way that she had reacted to his return? He would never forgive himself for this...


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Before her weight would crumple onto the ground's unyielding surface the boy who was Cherokee's exact replica would be at her side. She would lean into his form as her bicolored gaze stilled itself on her husband's form. Why had he left? What tragedy would cause him to leave his family with out a single word? Still her features would shake as she watched, Cherokee would also loose himself. Falling in on his support as Song would have done had their son not appeared. Tears would occupy their cheeks as their mismatched gazes would peer into each other, his gentle voice would reach her. It was only her name but in that moment she would come to fully realize what she already knew. There was a reason for his departure, there had to be. Her black knight would not leave her so. She would feel her paws carry her to his side, his warmth flooding through her as she pushed her features under his chin. "Why..why did you leave me my love?"

The call that rang out across the land was vaguely familiar to the babe. It sounded strangely hollow, despite being full of emotion; like a voice from a dream that she'd had so many times before. Her interest was piqued, and slowly she rose to all fours, drifting silently across the land like a ghost. The man that had called to her family was unfamiliar to her. Empty green gaze watched him as she crept forward, maintaining a great distance. Her head was held tilted to the side, her stare inquisitive but lacking emotion all the same. Saga's curiosity was naive and childlike, and she watched in silence as her mother moved forward to him. Why was she crying? Gingerly she sniffed at the air, tasting his scent. Still familiar, but her memory was confused and hazy. Hesitantly she moved forward to Dhiren, who she knew but had not yet interacted with directly. A sibling, like so many others that she had. "Why is she crying?" the child asked softly, her voice level yet betraying her true curiosity.

Dutiron had never been tempted to stray too close to the borders, the were plenty of things that captured his attention within the main areas of the pack to bother with the borders just yet. He had no business with them either, a pup and a student if he was to come across a loner on the edges of Ludicael lands, there was absolutely nothing he could or should do. All the same there was something about the eerie call that rang out across the lands that would grip him. His sad howl hadn't been for a leader, but for Song and family directly. He was counted as family, he might as well take a look. His mother was already present, though the sadness that gripped her certainly unnerved Dutiron. He had seen her stressed and upset as she battled to run the pack alone, feats that the boy couldn't really understand but he had recognised the emotions and even so they were far from the blatancy of pain that Song displayed now. "Why is she crying?" He would realise for the first time now that Saga was present too, stood beside Dhiren and questioning the reason for their mother's anguish, something that he too longed to know. Bright eyes moved from the three familiar forms for a moment, now turning to look towards the stranger that had presumably voiced the call. Dutiron certainly couldn't recall the man before him, though felt that he too was terribly pained by something. The most curious thing to note however was his appearance, astonishingly close to Dhiren's. Quietly he would move to his brother's side, torn between his thoughts; wishing to make his mother feel better somehow though also incredibly eager to know who this man was. "Dhiren, who is he? He looks like you. Is he why mum is crying? What's happened?" He would speak quietly and in typical fashion for the curious boy, the questions would spill from his lips as he sought knowledge.

He had left them, left their mother to shoulder both the weight of the pack and her new siblings. Canta had done what she could to help to relieve the pressure of the pack but she was only now starting to come to terms with the presence of her little brothers and sisters, and she certainly wasn?t going to father them. There were responsibilities she had now, and she filled them to the best of her abilities, both for her mother and for the pack that had withered some since that meeting. Her father?s call filled her with mixed emotion, her first instinct was to run towards it, to answer it and to finally know that he had not truly abandoned them? but then he had hadn?t he? Canta couldn?t even be sure this male was her father? why would he return now? The girl would adjust her current path to find the one who had summoned them. Moving like a shadow through the mangroves she stopped before the clearing, pressing herself into the shadow?s. There standing before her was her father, and in front of him were her mother and brother? She hovered in the shadow of the trees, wanting both to run forward and embrace the her father and to demand where he had been. She wanted to cry, to let out all the heartache spill over and finally be laid to rest, but she remained where she was, stone faced and watching. She was too far to hear what was being said but she watched her father collapse and it took all her strength to remain where she was and not rush toward him. It was only as tiny forms made their way towards the scene did she finally emerge, her long strides carrying her towards those of her family that had gathered. Gently she maneuvered herself to stand both at Dhiren?s side and in between the pups and her father. She was angled so that she was just a slight bit in front of her brother, shoulders even with his chest and rump angled back towards the pack lands. She cast a quick glance at Dutiron as he echoed Saga?s question, before looking back at her dad, laying upon the ground, her mother pressed into him now; she narrowed her forest gaze, both feeling the anger rising up inside her and to stop the tears that threatened to fall despite her wishes. ?Father.? She spoke, voice hard, both a greeting and an answer for her younger siblings. Speech, Goodness Gracious Great Balls of Fire, Thank you Nine!

An irrational fear that Song would never again touch him crossed his mind briefly but the notion was quickly cast aside as his little angel moved towards him, tucking herself beneath his chin. Cherokee shuddered hard, the reaction spreading through his entire body. Relief overwhelmed him as he allowed himself to savor Song's touch, a touch he had been deprived of for weeks, one he'd thought he might never had again. Why..why did you leave me my love? And just like that the relief was gone, crushed by the heavy guilt of what he'd done to her and their family. Dark lids would fall over bi-colored eyes, tears continuously streaming down ebony cheeks as he spoke quietly into her ear. It was not my intention to leave you my angel...I was deathly ill and I...I was afraid I would infect you and the children. I could think of nothing except to quarantine myself, so I left the packlands to wait out the illness. It nearly took me quite a few times, but I pushed through it until I was well... He would pause, a sob rocking his dark frame as he buried his face in Song's neck, breathing in her scent as he tried to calm himself. Forgive me Song for leaving as I did, I should've told you...but I was so scared to pass the illness on to you and our children... Little voices could be heard from where Dhiren stood, ebony and ivory ears swiveling at the sound of them. Cherokee would open his tear soaked eyes, blinking a few times until his vision cleared, seeing two tiny creamy figures standing beside those of his son Dhiren and daughter Canta. Dhiren...Canta...my little ones... He would croon softly, wishing to embrace them all and introduce himself to his newest children, knowing that they would not recognize him. He had only seen them during their birth. They had grown so big since then. Talk like this

Dhiren watched how his mother moved forward and meshed her form into his father's. A part of him wanted to hold her back, to keep her from the man that had broken her heart. However, he knew nothing of the bonds and ties of true love, so he did nothing but stand there. A break of her leaving his side made the air swirl around him, something he didn't like too much. He snorted as he watched them, but his gold and silver eyes left them when he became distracted. Two of his younger siblings, Saga and Dutrion, appeared. One after the other inquired as to whom the guy was and why their mother was crying. He opened his mouth to speak, but Canta's frame appeared to stand between him and the scenario. She quickly answered for him, which he didn't mind in the least. Cherokee continued to speak, explaining why he had left without so much as a word. It was all too much for Dhiren to comprehend at that moment. Instead of voicing his thoughts when Cherokee looked upon them, he rose and wrapped his thick tail around the two youngsters. Tender gold and silver eyes looked down at them as he flicked his white ear in Cherokee's direction while he spoke to his siblings. "This is the man that helped Mother give you life. He was the one who helped rule Ludicael, before he became hit with his sickness..." A sad sigh escaped his lips, showing a hint of how tired he was from the new responsibilities. "He is also the one that knows family comes before anything, so when he left, it was truly a hard choice to make." As he looked up to Cherokee, his gaze slightly hardened. There was still a battle of emotions running through the young man's soul and he did not like it. Instead of voicing his welcome to his dad, Dhiren tightened his grip around his brother and sister slightly before releasing them. Nothing more could be said at that moment. Speech, Awesome pic by Seren <3

Saga could not help but feel confused, and slightly shaken at her mother's crying. She was always strong, and it was strange to see her so emotional. She was grateful that Dutiron seemed just as oblivious as she did, and she moved forward to rest beside him and Dhiren. Pale green eyes watched as Canta spoke a single word -- father. Slowly she reclined to her hindquarters, perched precariously, swaying slightly. This was him. He had never been anything but a vague memory to her, little more than a soft voice in her dreams -- his scent was familiar and she now realized why. She couldn't help but feel painfully ambivalent, torn between delight and something like anger. Why had he been away for so long? Wasn't a father supposed to help take care of his children, like her mother always had? The child's eyes would narrow as he watched him, listening to him speak. He explained he was sick, so he had gone away. All she did was sit and listen. To Dhiren, who explained to them more what had happened, and to Cherokee, who seemed to express great regret for not being around. Truthfully, the child did not like so much emotion; she wished her mother would stop crying, wished Canta would not sound so angry, wished she had never come to Cherokee's call.

Dutiron's gaze would flick from Dhiren to Canta as his sister spoke. No matter how harshly the single word was spoken how how bitter she may have felt, the young Destruction would cast his attention quickly back to the man now speaking softly to his mother. He'd never questioned how different Dhiren and Canta looked to their mother though it was certainly clear now as he looked towards the man that was apparently his father. He wouldn't doubt it, his family had never lied to him before and to lie about something as big as this would be horrible. He would lean against his brother's touch as Dhiren began to explain in more detail about Cherokee and found, as their father called them forwards Dutiron found he wasn't entirely sure whether to move or not. There were certainly many mixed emotions flying around the air and he wasn't entirely certain what to do either. Saga it seemed was frozen too, not even moving forwards to join their mother. "Dhiren..." He'd whisper quietly to his brother. "What should we do?"

Dhiren watched each member of his family -- Song, Cherokee, and Canta. Each one had different emotions going on, and for a pup, it could definitely be overwhelming. He didn't want his younger siblings to be overwhelmed, either, so he did what he thought was best for that moment. The Cherokee mini-me broke his gaze with his father and looked down to his little brother and sister. Gold and silver eyes had changed from hardened to warm and gentle, something they needed to see. He blinked once and then said, "We should let Mom and Dad spend time together so they can work things out. There will be more emotions that both need to work through and we shouldn't be here to interrupt their grown up conversation." It was then that Dhiren stood up and gently nudged both pups to walk with him. He looked over his shoulder to both Song and Cherokee, but gently spoke to his father. "If you or Mom need anything, don't hesitate to call me." After padding a few steps, he looked at Canta's form, still writhing in anger. "Canta, are you coming?" It wasn't a demand, just a simple question. He knew that his sister was still upset, but he didn't want it to make the cauldron of already boiling emotions to spill around them. Speech,

She had heard all, his excuses, his apology, heard it all and she had grown angry. Canta wanted to yell, wanted to scream that he had done them more harm than good hiding away as he had but couldn?t bring herself too, not in front of her siblings or her mother? No the girl stayed quite, narrowed gaze darting between her father and brother as each of them spoke. It sounded as though Dhiren was struggling as well, and she didn?t blame him. Then the man that had given her life spoke her name, she darted narrowed gaze towards him, body shaking some. If looks could have killed? Canta had nearly forgotten the pups were there, until Dutiron spoke. Ears perked and swivled some to catch the pup?s words but she never once took her gaze off her father. Dutiron was saying something about leaving but Canta had more or less stopped listening to him. Dhiren moved away from her, taking the pups with him. The girl remained where she was, rooted to the spot till she heard her name. Finally she seemed to have broken the spell, and turned to look at her brother. ?Yeah?? He voice still carried the anger in it, but she was moving. Casting one last look over her shoulder she bound after them, eager to put the scene behind and to try and gather her thoughts. -exit Canta- Speech, Goodness Gracious Great Balls of Fire, Thank you Nine!