She had been guarded and had Paddy pasted to her side. With the venomous snake around her neck she obeyed every word, not fearing her life as much as her son's life. When Torin had came into view it had been difficult not to just run to him, so much that her legs had quaked during the whole process. She was afraid the women would go back on her word, feared that she and Paddy would be taken away again. It had killed her nerves and it felt like things took forever to go through. To see the anger in her mate's eyes even scared her a little, but she knew it was anger in seeing how her and paddy were being treated. When the snake left her and she was ordered to go she ran to Torin, hobbling slightly from her evident limp. She pushed herself into him, but it was only brief before he brushed the both of them away. For the sake of keeping up she held up her weakened limb to keep up with her mate and for the longest time during their travel she said nothing. Silvery blue eyes kept looking back to make sure they weren't being fallowed and to be sure Paddy was still in sight. She fallowed Torin for a long time in silence, her mind occupied and her weariness of the women who captured them taking up most of her thoughts. Though when they finally got far enough, far enough to her at least she would break ahead of her mate and stop in front of him, turn to face him, then bury her face into his chest. They were close enough to home, but she couldn't hold back her happiness any longer. It had been so long since she had seen him that she feared the worse and had even feared his life during the whole exchange.

She wasn't in to bad of health, a little skinny and had a limp that would remain with her for the rest of her years, but her wounds from the hunting accident had healed and she didn't have any other wounds. She deeply breathed in his scent letting it drown out the other scents around him while she nuzzled her face and nose through his chest in affection. She had missed him so much that it had hurt, that she had climbed into a pit of depression and now they were together again. For a moment she forgot that Paddy was even here and that it was probably a bit awkward for their son, but she just couldn't help herself. She had felt like she would never get back to him, to be by his side, to smell him, to feel him so close, and now here Torin was, rescuing her from her captivity. She was ever grateful and ever happy to be with him again.

After a while she pulled back slightly to look to his face, her eyes bright with relief and happiness.

His mother had warned him how dangerous this exchange could be and at first he hadn't fully believed her. Despite being captured by her the pale women hadn't done any harm to either of them. Sure she hadn't given quite the care a healer should have to his mother's wound, but she hadn't done any physical harm. Paddy was also still naive and he felt like there was good in Recluse. This all had changed when the order for the venomous snake to take its perch around his mother's neck, fangs inches from his mothers fur and flesh. It had turned him into an utter mess and it made it extremely difficult to obey his mother and to remain calm and under control. He was constantly staring at the snake worried that any moment it would inject it's venom into her. It was also difficult not to run to his father when he saw him. He was anxious and worried and it showed up until the snake left his mother and they were ushered off by his father.

There was no time for a happy reunion as they made quick travel from the point of the exchange towards their new home. The silence they traveled in made him even more anxious. Was his father mad? Was he relieved and happy? It wasn't until his mother stopped the movement of their quiet parade. His pale blue eyes watched as she embrace his father and yes it was a bit awkward, but he understood her need for it. He gave the two of them room, having a seat and taking a break from their travel. He wondered how his siblings were fairing.

It had taken all his power not to break down as he led his mate and son away from that horrible, horrible place. Away from the place that had been his home for as long as he could remember. He hadn't told his children to wait for them here but something had forced him to keep moving, to put distance between himself and the horrid pale woman... maybe a fear that she'd come after them, take his mate and son from him again. It was only when Derecho stepped in front of him and pushed herself into his chest that he stopped. Instinct kicked in and as he fought through the numbness of his mind his right foreleg flashed out to hook his mate into his embrace, and for a moment he leaned down, breathing in her achingly familiar scent. She pulled back and looked into his eyes and Torin felt his careful control break, all his worries, his grief flowing out of him. In the time since her disappearance, Torin had changed, learned how to allow himself to feel more openly. His children had taught him that, his grief had taught him that. "I missed you." He said softly, just barely getting it out before his tears spilled over. He smiled as he dug his face into the top of her head again, showering the top of her skull with kisses, all the kisses he'd wanted to give her, all the ones he'd owed her from before. Then he tipped his head back, calling for their children to find them, to come and finally be a family again. "Speech"

Reclaiming my time. Lili had been on edge all day, waiting away from the pack lands for something, anything to indicate she wasn't about to lose both her parents to this nightmare woman. But she'd taken it upon herself to keep an eye on Sio, knowing that her sister could be even worse off, offering her comforting licks whenever she felt it might help. Otherwise she'd been pacing, trying to focus on her moving paws and nothing else. That was until her father called for them, her eyes widdening, for a moment she glanced back at her siblings. "Let's go!" She said before dashing off, running as fast as her legs would carry her. She didn't even stop when her parents and missing brother came into view, she didn't even really have time to process how his brother looked before she was launching herself at him, she wasn't trying to hurt Paddy but she also couldn't hold back the emotion that was rushing out of her. "A mile a minute" & No filter

Art by Akage-Kitsu