Though he had not found his mother Alfred was glad for one thing; being home. The boy’s blue eyes were thoughtful as he rested among the hot springs, getting warm from the steam they gave off. A boon in winter, so long as you didn’t accidentally fall in!  Not that it was too cold yet; the season started off quite mildly; thank goodness! Alfred glanced towards the steamy water, wondering if his mother and Korrin had once liked this place. What they would think of it...

But while it might be expected for Alfred to be sad he wasn’t as sad as he was when he first started to look for Svetlana a while back. He had come to accept his mother, for whatever reason, wasn’t coming home. So instead of whining and begging for her return he’d made the decision to bond further with the family he still had; his brother, sisters, and father.

Slowly the boy set his head upon his paws, deep in thought as he thought of the other members of their family. Perhaps he could give them a visit too?

"Speech"

The girl had spent the past few weeks cooped up in her den, suffering from a mild cold. It wasn't until after the hunt she began to recognise the symptoms. She coughed and sneezed her way through the remainder of autumn, occasionally going outside to replenish the fresh air in her lungs. This was the first day she had been outside the den in ages. She was so desperate to get out, to see the mangroves and the springs, to explore the territory, that she forgot all about the faint snow beneath her paws. As she took her first, leaping steps, she forgot about her fear of snow. The cold sensation underfoot just slipped from her mind. A new confidence surged inside of her. Ebony paws carried her to the springs, and upon her arrival, she seated herself by one of the radiating pools and leaned over to glance at her reflection. A russet-faced girl stared right back at her. She tilted her head around, examining herself in disbelief. That was a different Diana staring back at her; not the Diana she remembered to be. No longer did she carry child-like features but more feminine traits. Was that really her? No, it couldn't be her. It had to be someone else. The last time she had checked, she had still been a pup, not a grown-up. Throughout her fascination in her reflection, she took no notice of the boy not too far away. She just continued to stare into the water. "Talk" "You" Think

Alfred was lost in his thoughts for a good long while before he had the sense that there was someone approaching. He lifted his head, ears perking forward as blue eyes fell on Diana. He might of knew the girl as a cousin but she was also a half-sister. The boy watched her for a moment in silence -- it seemed she hadn’t taken much notice of him and was staring into the water of one of the springs. What was she thinking about, Alfred wondered? He had remembered seeing her once before in the pack... Before his mother disappeared. They had been so little then!

After a couple moments of silence Alfie rose, padding over to Diana’s side. He hoped that he wouldn’t startle her, clearing his throat as he came to sit by her side. Alfred wasn’t really sure what to say to her; she seemed to get overwhelmed easily the first time he met her. Would she be better about that now, he wondered?

"Speech"

It took her a few moments to realise the boy sitting beside her. As she stared at her reflection, staring back at the russet-faced girl, an ivory and auburn figure appeared in her reflection. The larger boy padded over and sat beside her; the sight making her blink a few times. Was she imagining things? Her head spun around as soon as the boy cleared his throat, and sure enough, there was someone beside her. Emeralds met his bright, cerulean gaze, exploring his facial features. Had she met him before? Well, not met, for she rarely talked to anyone nowadays, but at least seen? "H-hello," she stammered, ducking her head in embarrassment as her cheeks flushed a deep scarlet. Had he just arrived? Had he been by the springs for long? How had she not noticed him? And what was she to say now? After all, he was a boy, and she never talked to boys, or anyone, for that matter. "Talk" "You" Think

I have my mother's dreams, I have father's eyes, She turned to look at him, though she didn’t seem to be exactly comfortable with his presence. She stammered over her one word greeting, and the large boy shifted, hoping that he wasn’t making her too uncomfortable. He knew he was growing to be taller and taller... But he honestly didn’t want to scare anyone! Becoming worried that he was going to upset her Alfie shifted on his paws, a feeling of uncertainty creeping up within him as well. Great. Just great. “H-hey... I hope I’m not... Making you uncomfortable.” The young man lowered his blue gaze. “It’s just uh... I thought it’d be nice to talk? We’re packmates and err... Family right?” She looked a lot like his Auntie Amalia and if he remembered correctly Diana and Jayne were her daughters. Though most of the information he had gotten was never fully confirmed... It was mainly the fact she looked like Amalia and he’d seen her around Amalia and Athena. “I’m Alfi--Alfred, if you didn’t know.” He almost slipped up and used his nickname but caught himself at the last moment. Boy, this was going to be a bit of an awkward meeting. "Talk," 'Think.' You can't take that from me; Just Go ahead And try!

This was why she tried to avoid people, well, she used to. Whenever she grew uncomfortable and a little awkward around others, those unpleasant notions seemed to spread, making the other person feel uncomfortable and awkward too. She tried to be more social, though only the heavens knew how hard she tried. Sometimes it discouraged her. How could her sister be so outgoing, so friendly, so talkative? She made socialising look too easy, and maybe it was, though for the polar opposite sister, it was indeed the toughest challenge she had yet come across. "No, it s'okay," she told him with a shake of her russet head, wishing she could force more words out of her lips. She wanted to tell him to stop worrying about her, to stop blaming himself for her visible uncomfortableness; she was just fine. But she couldn't. How could she speak so many words in one sentence? "I-I think so," she stammered in response to his question on them being related. She was certain they were cousins, but she wasn't confident enough to confirm that. What if she was wrong? "Diana." If he didn't already know, though everyone knew her as 'that girl that never talks'. "Talk" "You" Think

I have my mother's dreams, I have father's eyes, Hearing that it was okay eased some of the anxiety that Alfred was feeling. The large boy perked his ears again a bit. He found his smile again, glad that she seemed to at least be willing to talk with him, even in shorter sentences. He was sure that they had to be cousins or something, but he wasn’t entirely sure of the relation either and didn’t want to mess up by telling her otherwise. The mostly off-white boy’s blue eyes shown as she gave her name. He was sure he’d heard it in passing, perhaps from one of the other pack members or his father, but not from her before! This made Alfred excited again, and the young male practically wiggled where he sat. “Talking can be hard sometimes, huh?” His words were soft, blue eyes focusing on the girl before him. “You don’t have to talk a lot if you don’t wanna. There’s other ways to communicate, right? We could even practice, just the two of us. If you wanna that is.” His nervousness was bubbling back up again. Was he being too forward? Too annoying? He hoped not! "Talk," 'Think.' You can't take that from me; Just Go ahead And try!