Home. The word rang through his mind with layers of shock, confusion, numbness. At first, there was elation, but the closer he drew to Abaven's borders, the more he worried. The more he was concerned. The more he hesitated. The conscious part of his brain couldn't understand why, and it was warring with itself - why was he concerned? Why was he so worried? It was like he couldn't sort through the emotions enough to actually get a clear picture as to the why of them. Perhaps it was still surprise. It had been seasons since he was taken by the slavers and sold to the pack. Seasons where he, out of many, had gotten lucky; his healing skills had saved him beatings. His minor healing skills put him under the tutelage of another slave, who taught him many things: from healing to... less savory things that he hoped he'd never have to use.

That, on the eve of the attack, he had been considering using after they broke yet another young lady and used and abused her body. Again. Over and over. Later, of course, she had come to his den; at the very least, he was able to scrounge herbs to prevent conception, and herbs to ease the pain of her battered body. It was his job, after all: he kept the slave fighters in tip top shape, he made sure some of the girls didn't conceive. Though, some they didn't send to him he snuck herbs to anyway. He and his mentor cared for the slavers themselves, too, when wounded, but they preferred to have the slaves do the dirty work. Mostly, it was making sure that those who were forced to fight didn't die. His other job? To try to give them some measure of hope and happiness in the form of his goofiness. That goofiness, that friendliness helped even with the slavers themselves; they didn't feel threatened by Aiden. He never complained, never fought, always offered help even to the ones he despised the most, and thus... they left him alone. And when they left him alone, he could help the others more.

But the attack... He'd never expected that. He had huddled in the den, not really afraid, but not wanting to get involved either. He wanted to avoid whatever mess the slavers had caused this time... that is, until a familiar scent had reached his nostrils and he poked his head outside his den to a scene of death. The death? It all belonged to the slavers. In moments, he had found the source of the Abaven smell: a male he'd never seen before, but Aiden didn't care then, and he still didn't; all he knew was that wolves from home were here, and that the guard in front of his den was gone, and that all the slavers were preoccupied. And so, with Ody's help, he got to destroy the majority of the herbal supplies of the slavers. They didn't deserve to be healed; they deserved death, should they survive this attack. The only herbs he spared were ones for the escaping slaves, and those he delivered hastily to the ones he knew were wounded.

And now, hours later after the slavers were dead or dying, he was nearly back to Abaven. Unlike many, he was not wounded, and could make the journey with just some rests - after all, he was skinny and weak with a lack of exercise. It seemed unreal, and fake - even the wolf beside him. The whole thing just seemed...crazy, for lack of a better word. "It doesn't seem real," he spoke softly, the word tinged with a hint of what he was feeling: that shock, that heistancy, that confusion. He didn't know what else to say.

That feeling stayed, and he stayed conflicted, hollow, almost numb: a blur of emotions he couldn't put a name to ad he almost felt like drifting outside his body. Everything was surreal; he couldn't believe it at all, even when Ody led him past the borders. Ody might have spoke, but Aiden didn't know; he was preoccupied taking in his surroundings, eyes wide with disbelief. Scents he recognized, scents he didn't; one scent in particular though he could never forget, no matter how much had changed. Even when they stopped walking, and he was aware he had been plopped near Shaye's den, he didn't care; he tipped his head back and called: "COOOORVUUUUUUUUUUS! RHEEEEEEAAAAAAA!"

"Speech" "You"

art by wise-crack

Corvus couldn't even recall how long it'd been since he'd seen Aiden. They'd been best friends as kids, but once his brother's scarcity turned into his disappearance entirely, along with that of his parents.. well, his attention had shifted. He wasn't sure what he assumed - maybe that Aiden went to look after them, or that he'd been bored of Abaven entirely, but Corvus had focused on the present rather than trying to find him. Maybe it'd been the wrong choice, but he'd decided to keep living life. Abaven had changed since Aiden had left it, though he still thought about his brother every day.. and his parents, of course, and nearly everyone else he'd met who'd left them behind. Despite the memories, he hadn't expected to hear Aiden's call. It was always a distant hope, that he might come home someday, but it wasn't something he honestly anticipated. The sound struck a raw nerve and he felt panic and joy alike flood his system, and instantly he moved to react to the call. Corvus wasn't sure he could even move this fast, and by the time he saw Aiden's scrawny form near Shaye's den he was panting hard like he'd just run a marathon. The blood that had rushed to his head was pounding a steady, loud rhythm between his ears and his eyes widened as he drew closer, slowing his pace. What the fuck had happened to Aiden? He looked awful, genuinely awful, and Corvus's brows tightened as concern wove itself across his features. "Aiden! Where... what..." As he came up on him he found himself at a loss for words, and tears - ones he definitely hadn't expected - pricked at his eyes.

Shaye Destruction She heard the call, and pinpointed the source as coming from near her den, she had been doing border patrol after border patrol, knowing some of her wolves where out there fighting. She should have been at home resting, but she couldn’t quite bring herself to do it. She would head that way now however, as a voice called out for members of her pack. She made her way there quickly, and would see that Corvus had beaten him to it. She looked to Corvus, then the stranger, before looking to her den to ensure the entrance had not been disturbed. Inside, lay Epitaph curled about her young. “Hello” she said cautiously, eyes wracking across the terrible condition of the man. It was easy to realise he was a former slave that had been liberated, and by Corvus familiar greeting, one that had likely been a member of Abaven. Those slavers had a lot to apologise for.. Through no doubt Valentine was making them regret their choices in life at this very moment. She cut through her confusion, turned her head and howled for Vail. He was going to need a healer to look him over. He was going to need some fattening up, and time to heal, as well. “Welcome to Abaven young man, your safe now, it’s going to be okay.” she soothed to him gently. "Speech"

He stared off distantly, tears pricking his eyes after the howl died down, his paws drumming anxiously on the grass. Fear, excitement, shame, joy, and other emotions he had no hope of identifying swirled inside of him to the point that he looked at the world with dizziness and haziness; everything was a blur, and he couldn't focus. He couldn't calm down, he couldn't relax - the anticipation was searing through him so much that he didn't even notice the watcher with the pups in the den, that he didn't notice Odysseus anymore. He wanted one thing, and that was it: his family. And... he was too scared to ask for his parents.

He wasn't sure the time that passed between his call and that familiar scent drawing closer. Seconds? Minutes? All he knew is that one moment Corvus wasn't there - and then he was coming, running hard. In a flash, Aiden was on his paws, anxiously prancing - unsure if he ought to meet his brother, or wait. The decision was taken out of his paws though, because the second Corvus was close enough, Aiden couldn't resist anymore. Silently, tears tracked down his cheeks, as he met the green eyes of his brother wordlessly, and in a flash, Aiden threw himself at Corvus.

It was there - for the first time in months - that sobs wracked him. Sobs that caused his body to shudder even as his brother questioned what on earth happened. "Corvus," he whispered quietly, his voice cracking on the name. "I - I." He couldn't get the words out; he couldn't speak, instead, another sob broke free, Aiden's body shuddering at the force of all of it. He - he really hadn't expected to see them again. He'd hoped. And prayed. But that hope - that hope Odysseus had restored - had drifted away a couple months back. This was... a dream. A dream he never expected to see, a dream he never expected to become true. A dream that caused tears to pour from his eyes, but at least the body-shaking sobs had stopped. He still didn't know what to say, what to even think; this had played in his mind so many times in his dreams, and yet, now he was speechless.

It took a few moments to even realize Shaye's presence, and he backed off from Corvus a bit and turned to regard her quietly. He hadn't seen her before. Odysseus had explained some of it on the way here, but he hadn't been listening; it all drifted away like wisps of smoke. He could see the tell-tale Destruction marks, however, ones that he lacked, and knew she was family - but how? "I-I am Aiden," he stumbled over the words, trying to wrestle his emotions under control. It didn't work to well, as was evidence by Aiden's consistent side-eyeing and ear flickering back towards his brother; a part of him still thought that this was unreal; he couldn't help but to double check constantly that it was true, that Corvus really was there right next to him. "I am Corvus' brother." His voice steadied out, but unlike the jubilant tones that Corvus would remember, this was much quieter, much more solemn and severe. He paused there, unknowing what to say, what to do, what to think. Finally, he settled on something else.

He wasn't sure who Vail was, but the tone bespoke urgency, and he could only gather a healer, especially if she didn't know who he was. "I am unharmed. Only malnourished, and fatigued." The clinical language slipped so easily into him; something that had become a habit and one of the only ways of coping with the tragedies he'd been faced with - and it was something that now he cringed a bit to hear, but didn't take his statement back. And of course, right afterwards, he glanced back at Corvus again, tears pricking his eyes all over again and glimmering even as he looked back at Shaye.

"Speech" "You"

art by wise-crack

Where precisely Aiden had been, and what he'd gone through, suddenly cared much less than he thought it would upon their reunion. All he cared about was that he was here, and that he was safe - and the way that Aiden seemed to suddenly wilt at their reunion made it difficult to contain his own emotions. He felt a faint whine fall from his lips as Aiden rushed toward him, and his instinct to cradle him to his chest caught him by surprise. Corvus had never been overly affectionate, even with his siblings, but suddenly he felt as though Aiden might drift away if he didn't hold him close - and that was enough for him to step outside his comfort zone. His head draped over Aiden's neck in a tight embrace, only tightening as Aiden broke and began to sob. His words were disjointed and he tried to speak, but the sobs seemed to interrupted his thoughts. "It's okay," he mumbled absently, feeling tears begin to flow down his own cheeks more freely now. He, too, was distracted by Shaye's arrival, and slowly the two brothers broke their embrace. He normally would've felt foolish for being caught crying, but in the moment he didn't care about anything but Aiden and making sure he had somewhere safe to recover. He could figure out exactly what had happened later, and who - if anyone - he ought to be angry at for his brother's condition. He shook his head, as if willing the tears to stop, briefly lifting a paw to swipe at his face. Corvus let Aiden speak, noting the wariness in his voice. "She is family," he assured him softly, as if encouraging him, as if somehow that might soothe his nerves. Corvus wasn't sure what would. Aiden was different - it didn't take much for him to see that - but he was simply grateful he was home. Emotional and overwhelmed, but mostly just grateful. His breathing steadied as he tried to compose himself in the face of Shaye, though his attention was mostly drifting to Aiden, who needed sleep and food. He was glad Shaye had all but welcomed him to the pack; if she hadn't he would've insisted he have a place here, but once again Shaye made the right choice and he had nothing else to say.