She staggered slightly, pausing as her now very large red son caught her against his shoulder. He’d grown so swiftly while they’d been lost, going from a pup who followed his curiosity more than his brain, and had gotten  them into this scrape in the first place, to a serious male, who somehow had inhaled all of his cousins teachings about honor and how to treat a female. Stubborn, polite, and attentive. She was proud of him. Her shoulder felt so sore, though the gash the rocks had opened there was on its way into the last stages of healing. How had Regulus managed to inhale so much of Erani’s knowledge? If not for her son, she’d have been much worse off. Erani… Surreals heart panged with the recent loss. Of all the wolves in her life, her mother had been the closest to her heart. Even eclipsing Falk. It was the special niche filled only by a parent, and none could occupy it anymore. She nosed Regulus’ shoulder softly, indicating she was steady enough to move on. How long had they been gone? She wasn’t sure. Where they were, she couldn’t say, but she caught random whiffs of scent that reminded her of golden eyes and bright blue feathers. Where was Batte-song? The last she’d seen of her friend, the hawk was being swept away on the strong winds of the storm that had helped to take them off course, along with Regulus’ sudden curiosity. They continued on, until at long last, Surreal saw something that triggered a memory. Bright, shimmering sands, with sea on either side. ”Regulus… I think we’ve made it.” Her voice cracked slightly, her throat being parched. The last water they’d found had been yesterday at a dam. ”We’re nearly home.” But would any of them still be there? Had Falk given up on her? What about her daughters? Please, please let them be alright. They broke out of the treeline, and she felt the sand under her paws, felt the hope rise in her chest. But dare she hope? All she could do was force herself to keep walking, though her stride was more assured now that she knew where she was. The heavy limp, she hoped, would fade with a bit more time and rest. With how assured Regulus had become about being a stubborn, fussing male, she’d be getting plenty of rest. He was growing into himself, and becoming so much stronger for it. And he wasn’t even a yearling yet. Finally, she saw the smudge of mainland clarify in the distance, landmarks becoming visible. No doubt about it. They were nearly home.

Regulus

He felt like a real louse. If he’d just been a good pup and stayed home when his mother and grandmother had left that night, none of the recent events might have happened. But no, he’d been so curious as to why both of them were leaving so late at night, when if his mother left the den usually, she left his grandmother to watch over them. Now, his grandmother wouldn’t be watching over them ever again. She was dead. Dead. The word felt so strange on his young minds tongue. The Forever sleep. He’d never understood it before. Now he understood it clearly. It meant goodbye. And he and his mother had nearly said goodbye, because of him. His mother staggered, and he instinctively leaned in, lowering his shoulder to catch her weight. She was nearly a third of her size, and still had such a long way to grow. His paws were still oversized, his head still large. He had all the makings of a massive wolf. He cast a glance over his mothers thin form. He’d done his best to hunt for them both, but he’d only had a few lessons from Sarak before all this had happened. So his catches were meagre. A small fawn, a beaver at the dam. And clams on the beach they had smashed into when they had washed up. But it wasn’t enough for an adult, and a growing wolf together, so they were both thinner than they should have been. His mother nosed him, and he started on again, keeping close to her side in case she needed him again. Play was all but a memory in his mind now. Now he needed to make sure she stayed safe. He’d done his best to fix her injury, but he knew it was nowhere near as good a healing his grandmother could have given. His mother would scar, but he hoped she’d still be strong enough to hold her own in a fight someday in the future. The trees thinned, more light seeping through, and finally, he saw the sands, just as his mother spoke. She sounded so rusty. He glanced at her, large sapphires anxious. But it wasn’t until they hit the sand, and the warm grains crunched under his toes that he began to relax slightly. But it wasn’t over yet. They were heading back to a land where fighting was so commonplace peace seemed a long forgotten luxury. Ever since he was a puppy, his mother and grandmother had regaled himself and his sisters with stories about Valhalla, and the lands they had come from before. They had told him the entire history until it coursed in his veins like his own blood. He could recite the history from memory now. He wanted that, but would his mother be able to fight for what she wanted? The mainland was in sight, and by the rise in tempo of his mothers tread, he knew she was eager to get there. He would allow her to speed up , but only until they reached the other side and the shade; then he was going to use that protocol his grandmother and cousin ‘Sander had hammered into his head since he was small to request a rest period. ”Almost there, mother.” His voice had deepened a little while they were away. It wasn’t much, but it was a whisper of what his voice would sound like as a grown wolf. He dared to hope his family would still be there; what was left of it...

Her thin, gray and black marked form moved across the beach with light, quick steps. Ever since her run in with that green woman she had realized that there was a whole new world of plants and herbs that she hadn't even begun to explore! Now that she knew it was possible to plant and grow her own herbs she had begun to explore the far reaches of Alacritia to find herbs she had never seen before for her to study. Her wide, observant, mismatched gaze searched the shore and the tree line, her head sweeping from side to side in her search. Not only had she set herself out on this mission, she also wanted to get away from her father for a bit. Ever since her mother had disappeared, along with Regulus and Faite soon after, he had done little more than lay in a depressed heap in the den. She was almost positive that if she didn't bring him pieces of food he would have let himself starve to death. He was blind, making it almost impossible for him to help with the hunting anyway, even if he had wanted to. She sighed as she thought about it, the thought making her very, very sad. Suddenly though a scent was brought to her on the breeze and she froze in her tracks. The scent was intimantly familiar and it was one that she had honestly begun to think she would never smell again. The young girl's heart leapt up into her throat and her eyes searched frantically for its source. Luckily her brother was so huge and so brightly colored that he was easy to spot. They were crossing the land bridge, moving right toward her. Her mouth dropped open and for a moment all she could do was stare in disbelief. "Momma...? Regulus....?" Her steps were slow at first as she began to move toward them and they quickly picked up into a full out sprint. ""Momma! Reg!" she called out, tears pooling in the corners of her eyes and streaming back into her fur while she ran. She skidded to a halt in front of them when she noticed how frail her mother was and how she was leaning into her brother. She wanted to throw her legs around their necks, but she wouldn't risk hurting her. Her rump wiggled with excitement and joyful tears stained her cheeks. "It's you! You're really here! You're okay!" "Talk" "You" Think

They were almost there. Her heart hammered with readiness and fatigue. If her big son was going to issue protocol on her, she wasn’t likely to argue. Mother Night, she was tired. And her shoulder ached. But all that was forgotten at the sight of a silvery form bounding toward them. And that voice. She’d know it anywhere. “Zuriel!” She wanted to lunge forward and grab her daughter in a wolf hug, but her twinging shoulder, and Regulus’ gruff held her back to a limping fast walk. Nonetheless, she was at her daughter in no time, bathing her face with frantic licks and kisses. Falks scent was all over her daughter, so that meant he was alive and still around. Her tail was wagging hard, a feeling she wasn’t sure before now that she’d ever have again. “Oh little one, you’ve grown so much!” Her eyes blurred as she looked over Zuriels form. She was thin, but she was well. Then her eyes lifted, searching behind her daughter, hoping Falk and Faite would be next to arrive. They didn’t come. She nuzzled Zuriel’s shoulder, then heeded Regulus’ silent insistence that they make their way to the shade of the treeline. As she limped forward, she looked at Zuriel. ”Can you fill me in? What all has happened?” Regulus, it seemed, was for the moment more focused on getting them all out of the open, though she had little doubt that he’d be giving his own greetings to Zuriel once he was sure she’d settled to rest. So she continued on until the coolness of the shade stretched over her back, then she settled with a sigh in the sparse grass. Her eyes drank in the sight of her daughter as she waited to hear what all she had missed.

Regulus

It took him a moment to notice the form charging toward them. But the voice that called out caught his attention. At first, he tensed, ready to defend his mother. Then he recognized the female. It was his sister. ”Zuriel!” His voice mingled with his mothers, then turned into a sharp growl as his mother tried to lunge forward. Once she slowed to what he deemed a reasonable pace, he let his eyes wander over his sister. She looked thin, too. But he could smell their father all over her. Why was she thin, if their father was there. He was a good hunter. Regardless of how happy it made him to see her, he needed them both to get out of the open. So he was glad when their mother moved on to the treeline and settled down; he didn’t even have to request the rest period. When she was settled, he turned his attention to Zuriel, lunging to drape a leg over her back in an attempt to draw her in for a hug. It was so good to see her again. “It’s so great to see you again.” He stepped away, settling his haunches on the ground as he too waited for Zuriel to tell them what she could. It troubled him that he couldn’t smell Faite anywhere on her fur.

Her mother's excitement was enough to make Zuriel beam happily. She should have known better than to think her mother and brother had gone and left her and forgotten about her. She glanced to Regulus at his growl, seeing how protective he was over their mother. It was rightfully so. Surreal was a mess. Zuriel returned several of her mother's kisses happily before going to walk along beside her mother on the other side of her from Regulus. At her mother's insistence and questioning, Zuriel's ears flicked back. She wished she had happier news to give her long lost family members. She waited till they were in the shade of the trees to speak, her brother interrupting breifly to pull her into a hug. She smiled happily and nuzzled into his large form, her tail thumping against the ground. "You too, brother," she replied and watched as he went to lay beside Surreal. She laid down as well, turning her gaze to her mother's she sighed softly. If only this could simply just stay a happy reunion. "I haven't seen Fiate in ages... I don't know where she's run off to. Father..." she sighed, her gaze falling down to look at her paws. "Father is blind. He was wounded pretty badly when he was attacked on his way out of Arcanum... His sight went in and out for a while and I tried all of the herbs and remedies I could think of, but it finally just left completely. He's... He hardly leaves the den. He tried learning to get around and things after his wounds healed and was actually doing okay, but when we lost you and Regulus..." She swallowed hard around a lump in her throat. "It's like... Like he's given up. He won't get up, won't eat... I hunt for us when I can and I force him to eat sometimes, but..." Her ears flattened against her skull and she whined quietly, trying her best to keep her tears in check. She had done so well being strong through all of this, but now as she spilled everything to her mother she felt herself breaking under the stress. "Talk" "You" Think

As Zuriel filled them in, Surreal listened, her heart sinking. She hadn’t known Falk was going blind when he’d come home. It had been dark, and she’d been unable to see his face; hadn’t wanted to see his face up close at the time. She’d been too furious, too close to lashing out physically. Now he was blind. He would never see how much Regulus had grown. How much his daughter had grown. A soft frown pulled at her brows as Zuriel said how Falk had seemingly given up. How dare he, when he still had a daughter to care for to the best of his ability? Instead it was the other way around; Zuriel was hunting for him, forcing him to eat. No. This wouldn’t do. ”I think it’s time we returned home and I had a talk with him about Valhallan mettle. I understand his heartbreak, but he still had you to look after. He should have been focusing on that. Both of you are far too young to be the ones having to care for the adults. I am so very sorry for this.” Where Erani was, and why she wouldn’t be coming back, she would not divulge yet. Not until it was asked of her. She sat up, calmly ignoring her sons muffled rumble. ”It’s time we were home. Regulus, when we’re back, see what you can bring down with Zuriel. I’m sorry to ask this of you. I know you’re tired. I am, too.” A heavy sigh left her jaws as she balanced herself on her three good legs, readying herself to head out. Why did life have to be so very harsh sometimes?

Regulus

Regulus listened to his sisters synopsis of what had gone down while they were away with a frown. Their dad had just given up? Surely not. He was stronger than that. His ears folded back at Zuriels distress, and he automatically pressed his large frame to her side. ”It’ll all get better. You’ll see.” Faite would come back, or they would find her. Either way, he wasn’t going to give up on their sister. Their mother rose, stating it was time to return. It brought a muffled grumble to his jaws, the sight of the controlled quiver her muscles gave. She needed to rest. But this time, she wasn’t going to listen to him. His mother was on a mission, and he knew fighting her wouldn’t work. So he sighed and lifted himself to his paws, falling into step beside her, waiting for Zuriel to lead. They all knew the way. -Exit Reg and Surreal-