It had been too long since he had seen or scented her. The journey was hard, and had he been a lesser man, it would have caused him to give up entirely. But he drove on, determined, fueled by what once was to find her yet again. And so when her perfume drifted across the wind’s carry so distantly, he followed it mercilessly. The trail would go cold, and then he would pick it up again. His hope was tested a time or two as was his patience, but he knew he would eventually find her again. The man was far too simple to wonder if she had ever tried to look for him, and his heart too set on seeing her again to dive into such emotional complexity. And so he pressed on, finding solace in the fact that her scent had recently become strong again.

He found himself among willow trees. His one good eye observed the branches as they swayed peacefully in the light breeze, large ivory paws sloshed through the shallow waters as he approached one tree. He breached through the hanging branches, and proceeded to sit by the base of the tree. Water consumed most of his rump, but he was rather at ease in it. He rested, letting his eyes close and his head rest against the tree itself. He simply took in the scenery, absorbed the varying scents, and enjoyed the feel of the water against his body. The large brute seemed to almost be a sleeping giant, but he was wide awake. He would continue his search soon, but first, he wanted to enjoy this area. Already he was so fond of it. It’s a wonder the man was born a wolf rather than a fish.

"I looked for you." Those were the first words to leave the woman's lips as her single eye fell upon the massive form of her once love. His smell had been so rich on the wind as she made her patrols of the border that it felt as though someone had struck her. Claws dug into the earth, stopping the ash and obsidian dame right in her tracks. She didn't believe it. It simply couldn't be. Perhaps she had some illness. A brain sickness that was bringing old scents to the forefront of her memory. That was the only explanation, right? She had almost pushed the scent away to continue on her patrol, but in the end, she simply couldn't. She had followed the scent. With each step, she believed more and more that a ghost would rise up before her. Eventually, it did. A singular sulfur yellow eye rested upon the snow and steel body of White Timber. She knew that he was real as she could see the stream break and work its way around his seated form. Darkened lips pulled down in a frown at first. She didn't know how to feel. Not even remotely close. So many emotions flitted through the normally stoic woman's mind that she couldn't latch onto just one. First was a surge of anger. How dare he be alive? She had laid that portion of her life to rest. Come to terms with it. Her children were dead. He was dead. That chapter was over for her. Yet here he was, as though pulled from the vault of her memory and made flesh. Why had he waited so long to find her? Sorrow struck next, pain searing in the giantesses throat as the scarred, silver face brought back memories of what they once had. Her loss was felt anew. The loss of yet another family. Tears raised up in that lone eye, but she wouldn't let them fall. She couldn't let them fall. A sense of acceptance settled in. So he wasn't dead. He had been alive all of this time. Had he managed to rescue any of their children from the disastrous landslide that had eaten both their den and the entire mountainside that her family called home. Family... White Timber had been family once. Had she grown so much that they were strangers now? It certainly felt that way. She didn't know how to feel. Didn't know how to react. So the heavily scarred woman simply stood where she was and stared. Lastly, a thought send a shock through the maned fae. What would she tell Tamsyn? They were hardly a couple, but the small, dark fae had brought a happiness to the warrior that she hadn't felt in some time. It was a strange thought and a strange feeling. She couldn't deal with it right now. Not when this spectre sat before her. "Speech"

That voice, strong yet alluring. Something he was so very familiar with. It brought back so much love and fond memories, but in her voice was pain, confusion, hurt, perhaps even anger.
“I looked for you.”
Slowly he brought his head toward her, his good eye opening, and his lips twisting into a twitched grin, but as he saw the expression on her face and the pain in her eye, it faded away. Her words repeated in his mind: I looked for you. But he remained silent for now. He stood, water dripping from his rump and tail. White Timber’s face stayed stoic, calmed. His heart shattered all over again. Was their love gone? Was their past forgotten? Here before him stood the one woman he only ever truly loved.

He took a step toward her, and yet again the voice echoed: I looked for you. A jaggedly cropped ear flicked, his colossal frame moving to close whatever gap she hoped to keep between them. He stood mere centimeters from her, nose to nose, her hot breath rustling the strands against his neck. The silence which fell between them was a heavy blanket, and it drowned the rest of the world out around them.
”And I you.”
Thunderous tones rumbled as softly as they could, but White Timber was never good at having a quiet voice.

The golden eye searched her face a moment, before he took a chance, and ventured to embrace her. He moved forward, attempting to press his chest against hers, and snake his chin around her shoulders, wanting to pull her into a tight and well overdue hug. It was up to her if she accepted such an act or not, and he wouldn’t force it should she step away. But he had to try.
”How beautiful you are,”
He pulled away, tears threatening to well up in his eye, and now he let a smile slip. His voice was even softer now, gentler. He didn’t care if she wanted to attack him, kill him, love him, or walk away. He was just so happy to have seen her again, to know she was alive and well. That’s all he really wanted anyway. To see her flourish. She was his soul after all.

His voice made her flinch. The ghost, it seemed, was real. She had yet to hear a spirit speak. This was White Timber, in the flesh. She felt that anger again. Why had he waited so long? She was old now and more scarred than she had been when they were together. She was an ugly thing. Not at all attractive. Ah, but then those things had never mattered to him. Why would they now? The look in his single working eye told her everything. His words a moment later confirmed that look. He still found her beautiful. The silver and steel brute came in close, closer than she allowed anyone to get. His neck wrapped around her and at first she stiffened. Involuntarily, scarred lips began to pull back from serrated teeth. She wanted to bite him; to sink her teeth into his flesh. She wanted to hurt him for being away. But, in the end... she didn't. Through the miasma of emotions that swirled within her core, some stood in the light. Love. Relief. Anger and fury took a back seat. What seemed like a lifetime later, the ash and onyx woman melted into the mans embrace. Her eye closed and she wrapped her neck around his, burying her face into the thick fur of his ruff. She inhaled his scent, filling her lungs with him. "Are they gone?" Resin's voice was soft, breathy, hopeful. If he had survived, maybe their children...? It had been years though. If Oxalis and Cedar lived as well... well, she would feel like a failure, but she would be overjoyed. Pulling out of the embrace, she searched the mans face. A face that she knew so well. "Tell me." "Speech"

For a moment, he felt his life hang in the balance. When they embraced and she stiffened at his touch, he wasn’t sure if hse was going to attack him or not. But then she relaxed into him, and it felt like old times came back to life. And when it was time to depart, she asked about their children. His eye fell from her face, and his snout lowered. His ears pressed against his cerebrum.
”I...I don’t know.”
He took another seat, for this was a conversation they needed to have.
”After that landslide, Resin, I tried. You know I wouldn’t ever just walk away from us, from our family, our home. I dug for them, for you. I screamed for you, for them. I got no response.”
He heaved a big sigh.
”I searched high and low for you. I don’t know what could have happened. But I tried.”
She had to know he would never just walk away from everything.

His good eye shifted back up to her, and his head raised.
”As far as our children, I can only hope they survived.”
He felt horrible. Like the shitty father he truly was. Like the worst sort of mate - or ex mate - in the history of wolf kind. He had failed them all, on so many levels. The guilt he felt weighed heavily on his shoulders. How could he not know? How could he lose his entire family? Such a pathetic excuse for a man. How could she ever love him again? White Timber would simply be satisfied if she shoved him away, only because he knows now that she’s alive. She smelled heavily of a pack, so maybe she ruled her own empire. How could he interfere now, after all this time? He wouldn’t ever dare intrude on the new life she had made, but he also wouldn’t turn her away if she wanted to rekindle things. But now he sat and waited for her judgement, fully prepared for whatever she decided.

It was like a dream. Was he really here? She still couldn't wrap her mind around it. The grounded, serious, stoic Resin couldn't bring herself to believe that White Timber was actually here. He had been 'dead' for so long. She had written off that whole part of her life as ended. Yet here he was and so she would have to open the pages once more. Pulling back, he admitted that he had no knowledge of their children. He had looked for them. Looked for her. She wanted to growl and chastise him. She wanted to tell him that he hadn't looked hard enough. But then... neither had she, apparently. She had searched and called but she hadn't found him or them either. In the end, she could do nothing more than nod, her own ears tucking back against her skull. Silence stretched on between them. They were still close, but she seemed to be miles away. Periodically, her brow would furrow, only to smooth out once more. Eventually she was able to bring her gaze back to his face. "I'm glad to see that you're alive." She finally managed to speak. Now that she accepted his mortality, things seemed off. They knew one another, but they had changed. She had certainly changed. Perhaps she should tell him about their time apart, then he could tell her about his. "I killed the father of my first litter." It had been her mission for a long, long time. She had finally ended the life of the man that had murdered her children. "I found Iolaire. She's a high standing member of a nearby pack. She asked that I join as well and I have." Though it wasn't in her nature, she had joined the pack at Iolaire's request. As her only living child, the woman decided to be as much of a mother as she could while she could. "Iolaire has a husband and might soon have children of her own. She was adopted by the alpha of the pack as a sister. His children call me Grandmother." The corners of her maw twitched upward at the absurdity of the notion. "I'm... content." The woman suddenly felt the need to clarify. To let him know. "There hasn't been another man since you." Ah, but there was almost a woman. What was she going to tell Tamsyn? How would the woman feel about knowing that White Timber was around? Would White want to join the Armada to be near her? Again her brows furrowed. Now that they'd found one another again, she wasn't ready to lose him just yet. "Speech"