Age would soon classify her as an adult, though Lior felt no experience in her age. She could hunt, a little, though really what more did she know? A few herbs and their uses? The girl felt pathetic in that sense. However Lior would not let that doubt gnaw at her heart forever. She could not lose herself, to further break their family. Father and mother lost... the siblings had each other now. Destruction still seemed to lurk, but only on the edges. She was watching over them it seemed... but without truly interacting. It bugged Lior, truly it did. But the female had faith Destruction would approach them in her own time. In her own way. The woman was a beast of her word.

The remainder of the winter had been in isolation for the most part, though with enough interaction with her siblings to let them know she was alive, still 'well'. Lior had been doing so much thinking during the harsh season. She tried, hard as it was, to see the good in it all. In the deaths of her parents, in the lives that she and her siblings lived. They had to carry on. They were the next generation... and through them Bane and Tahlia would live on. Lior promised herself, come what may, that when spring arrived she was going to find some way to better herself.

...and she had been debating that a pack was the way to go.

The girl would nudge the flowers she brought , settling them between the graves of her parents. Lior had been bringing fresh flowers since they began to bloom. With a soft sigh and small smile she would dip her head. "Not sure if you guys can hear me but... we'll carry on. We'll hold you in our hearts and memories. We miss you... I know I do... but... But it's okay. Someday... we'll see each other again.  I'll tell you all of what I've learned then." The girl lifted her head again, turning and raising her muzzle to the sky. A short howl was made for her sister. She wanted to speak with Anais first... perhaps just spend such much needed time with her sister. The time of grieving needed to end somewhere... and with a new year ahead, now seemed the time to begin to truly live once more.

"Hear Me Talk,"
'Read My Thoughts.'

Table by:: Evelyn

Walk | Talk | Think Anais moved at a trot as she wound through the woods and up toward the peak of the Fjord where her sister had called her from and felt some apprehension. It was not so much the fact she was returning to the location of her parents' graves - she visited them sometimes on her own too, just to be close to their memories - but she felt guilty in regard to her siblings. Taking on the care of Lebrah had given her someone to devote much of her time and energy to, and with Espirit still very young and so impressionable, so in need of that love and stability that her parents had not been able to instill in him the way they had done for their older children Anais wanted to be there for him too. Which, unfortunately, left less time for just being with her brothers and sister. But she was not so riddled by guilt to avoid it altogether. She was grateful Lior had thought to call for her, and even more grateful that it had been timed well enough that she could answer. By the time she reached the peak and the mimosa tree, she had all but forgotten her guilt and only felt a quiet warmth at seeing her sister. Anais smiled, her yellow-gold gaze gentle, and padded with her tail wagging to join the smaller girl beside their parents. Nothing was said as she stepped in close, brushing her shoulder against Lior's as she nuzzled her neck and cheek, placing a soft lick over the top of her head before she turned her gaze toward the graves and the flowers set between them. "Those are lovely," she commented softly, "I'm sure Mom's smiling over them right now."

Anais would come, and Lior would find herself smiling as her older sister arrived. Lior would gently press into her shoulder against her elder sister's shoulder, her gaze gentle. She had missed moments like this. They had been too few and far between since the death of their parents, and the female was sure that the whole family was doing what they could to recover from the loss. Each were moving on in their own time.  The young sister would look to the elder, smiling warmly. "I'd like to hope that she's smothering dad with love instead to be honest. That they've forgotten mortal things for now, and are with each other." Lior said softly.

Gaze would shift back to the graves for a moment and then slowly her eyes would close. "I've actually been thinking a lot... about the future. About the path I want to take... about where our family stands with each other. I don't know... if staying out here, out in the wilds, is the best plan for all of us." The gray girl would let her gaze shift back to Anais. "Out here there are lots of dangers... if one of us got hurt... I don't know enough to treat everything... what if Lebrah loses himself again? It was only by luck that plant I found worked... and it was really by chance that I managed to find that herb that helped him the first time..." Lior frowned deeply. "I think we need to leave the Fjord..."

"Hear Me Talk,"
'Read My Thoughts.'

Table by:: Evelyn

Walk | Talk | Think Anais's smile grew with a chuckle as Lior offered her own version of the life she hoped her parents were living on the other side, a picture that the older sister could easily see being true as well. Their parents had always been close during their lives, and Bane's passing had taken everything from their mother. Anais was sure if they could have been reunited there, then that was where they were, together just as they had been in life. "I think I like that better," she agreed with a little nod of her head as she continued to peer at the flowers. Mom and Dad deserved their moments of happiness, especially after everything they had been through. Her little sister surprised her by becoming suddenly serious, thoughtful even, and proceeded to admit to having been considering what the future held for them. It was the first Anais had heard about it, though it should have been too surprising. She might have been caught up in the here and now, jumping between Espirit and Lebrah and caring for herself too, but Lior did not have those same ties keeping her busy. And of them all, she had been the one to lose the most when she had abandoned her training to stay with her family. A little sigh slipped from her lips as her sister stated her case, each point true and difficult to argue against. They were kind of sitting ducks in that sense, though she knew their brothers were doing their darnedest to keep the Fjord safe for them. Still, it was hard to avoid all of the dangers and only a matter of time before something happened, even a little something. And, more than anything, just as she was helping her adopted son Anais wanted to help her sister. There was a part of her that felt guilty for her own chosen path being so much easier to handle on her own. Hunting was a part of life, something that was picked up by practice, by trial and error. Plants were far too risky to test, and, she assumed, easier to be taught about in a proper lesson by a skilled teacher. "I'm not sure how the boys will take that," she admitted thoughtfully, reclining back upon her haunches to sit beside her younger sister, "but I would like to see you getting back into your training. I know how much you liked it. And you have a knack for it." It was true; whether by good guessing or instinct, she had been able to help Lebrah in his time of need, had even provided help to their mother when she was in labor. She paused for a moment, considering, then asked gently, "Were you wanting to go back to Ebony?"

Lior couldn’t the question and problem that Anais hinted at in her words. The boys probably wouldn’t want to head to a pack, valuing their freedom so. Still, for the sake of Lebrah, for Espirit, for all of them they couldn’t just stay here. They would be in a lot of trouble if something happened. Things had already been rough enough... And they had been lucky. So lucky that nothing worse had happened. The female would feel her heart beat proudly in her chest though at her sister’s next words, at the praise that she gave her.

“Yeah... I was thinking about going back. Max was a wonderful teacher and they treated us all well while we lived there. It was truly a home. I feel like if we should try to go anywhere we should try to go there first.” The female would pause. “You will come... Right?”

"Hear Me Talk,"
'Read My Thoughts.'

Table by:: Evelyn

Walk | Talk | Think Anais listened quietly, patiently, as her little sister went on to divulge the little thoughts that had been running through her mind about their old pack, her want to return. It seemed like a sound idea. Ebony had housed them once before, and if the grey and gold girl was being honest with herself she recalled having enjoyed it there very much. She had had a purpose in trying to better her hunting, in trying to become as skilled as her mother. It renewed her longing to have that sort of structure in her life again, curious whether she could after everything that she had been through...even if it sent her further from her brothers. Further from Glacier. When asked whether she would accompany her, the elder sister smiled brightly. "Of course I'm coming with you," she assured gently, leaning in again to nuzzle the top of the younger girl's head, "I'm not going to send you off alone." And if she had to answer it, she doubted her brothers would stay very far away either. They had taken it on themselves to keep their family safe, to watch out for all of them, and if that meant following them across the continent she had a feeling they might. She rested her chin atop Lior's head, sighing gently as she considered how this return to Ebony and pack life might change her life, and asked softly after a moment, "When did you want to go?"

Lior would breathe a sigh of relief as Anais said that she would come with her. The thought of leaving the Fjord alone, even to go back to a familiar territory, was terrifying in and of itself. She would return the nuzzle, reaching out to her sister’s shoulder. There was certainly reassurance in knowing that Anais would be with her, and Lebrah too. No doubt the male “pup” would follow her sister around. Lior would remain still, gently pressed into her sister as she thought. when? That was the magic word, right? The female would consider their options before saying in a soft tone; “Soon.” "Hear Me Talk," 'Read My Thoughts.'

Table by:: Tealah