Modesty toed the western border where the swampland met the shrine. As tempting as it was to just waltz on in, after all, she was family, and family was everything. But like branches on a tree, they had grown in different directions. Regardless of their shared roots, there were expectations now she was grown. This was not a social call, and she didn’t have time to get caught up in petty pissing contest ‘this is my dirt’ drama.

Besides, she hadn’t seen her brother since the long night, and there had been many changes, he might not even recognise her. She still carried her quills, but now her ears were tufted and more feline in appearance, her fur had grown long and flowing and horns had sprouted atop her head, and she didn’t smell of sacred oils anymore. Now, she smelled of the sea.

Modesty tipped back her head and called for Pontifex, sure anyone might answer but he was probably the best placed to help her in her hour of need. Her invitation was open if anyone else wished to check her out, she wasn’t here for trouble, she had just lost something terribly dear, and hoped they might have a lead to help her find it.

“Speech.”

They said that I got to keep it sweet

It was so rare that anyone called for him, the wraith almost dismissed it as a trick of the wind playing through the ivory boughs of the shrine. Old spirits calling his name, trying to trick him into the aether. However, Hallux had heard it to. She knew the voice well enough, and she instinctively moved to the dainty male's shoulders in preparation to leave the outbuilding where he was tending to his stores of wine and checking the stocks. Pollux, for his credit, quickly scampered along to join the pair. With a muted hum, he abandoned his task and meandered towards the borders. It was his sister, then. Not a trick of the wind or the lingering effects of the drugs he used to commune with the world beyond.

By the time he caught sight of Modesty, he was wearing a lazy half smile and gliding forward with a comfortable ease that was quite rare beyond the familiar grounds of his home. "Modesty," he crooned softly, an ear flicking back as Hallux took flight to leave the siblings to their business. The emperor tamarin, however, chose to linger. He hadn't met the rest of the family, of course. Mismatched eyes drifted over the changes to his sister's form. She'd been blessed in more ways than one, continuing to prove her favour. Grown into a strong woman with a proud bearing, and the smell of many others clinging to her pelage. The horns that sprouted from her skull were framed by soft tufts of dark fur atop her oversized ears. His smile grew warm, and he tipped his head to one side. "I see God has been kind to you since the plague, I am happy for you." he murmured, taking a few steps closer to her in hopes she would allow him to butt his cheek gently against hers. They hadn't seen each other in so long, but she didn't seem to summon him in anger. Perhaps they remained on good terms despite the span of time and distance that had lay between them.

He lowered himself onto his haunches, tucking his tail neatly around his hip and casting a curious look her way. "What brings you to the old borders? Come for a tour of the Shrine for old time's sake?" he asked with a light chuckle, his eyes crinkling around the corners. Though his own changes hadn't been quite as dramatic as her own, the two of them were very different from the young wolves they had been when they'd been cast out with their mother before the Long Night's terrors had beset the lands. A small part of him prayed that they could regain that same closeness, with this moment as a bridge of that gap.

"Pontifex" || "Hallux" || "Pollux"

Modesty didn’t have to wait long for her call to be answered and she visibly relaxed when her brother reached in to touch his cheek to hers. She leaned into the touch and released a breath she didn’t realise she had been holding, her tail giving a wave at her heels to betray how glad she was to see him again. “And you,” she leaned back with a raised brow and a half-smile fought its way through the worry that lined her face. “I would have come to visit sooner but I was naked for a whole season!” Her ears flicked in annoyance and she pouted for a moment before being drawn back to the task at hand.

When he asked if she was here to see the shrine, she shook her head, “There is so much I need to fill you in on, but I’m here because my daughter is missing. I had kids Pont, five of them… four made it. I’m trying to find mum so she can marry me too, but I have to find the kids first. I think the boys have gone to look for her, hopefully Gil can catch up with them. They’ve all got his damn fire, run me ragged.” She took a moment to breathe and unbristle her quills, never considering for a moment that the fire just might come from her. Besides, she should allow him a moment to process, it was was a lot to dump on the poor guy with no notice. “She’s mottled like her dad, whites, greys and pale pinks. She’s growing horns like mine, she has cat claws and glows blue like Faith. I’m sure she’ll be bigger than I am by the time she’s done. Have you seen her come this way?” She wouldn’t cry, she was stronger than that (or so she thought, as a familiar prickle burned at the backs of her eyes).

“Speech.”

They said that I got to keep it sweet

ooc. a month late? v on brand for me. Sorry for the wait!!

They shared a brief, tender moment that he didn't realize he had craved until it was at hand. She cracked a joke about her delayed visit, and he waved it away with a gentle flick of the wrist that was only interrupted when she admitted she'd been.. naked? For an entire season? There was definitely a story there.. He cast the thought aside when he noticed the way her quills were all bristling along her hackles, and the frenzy beginning to flicker in her eyes. He hadn't expected her to admit she'd had children, it came as a great shock. He fought the surprise that immediately rose to his features down into something more akin to intrigue, just a slight rise in his brows and a forward tilt to his ears. All at once it was all tumbling from Modesty's lips. She was looking for their mother, so she and her mate could be properly married. He opened his mouth to speak, but closed it again when he realized his sister was far from finished. The children were all missing, somehow. Searching for a missing sister? Someone named Gil was hunting for the boys, who were probably out hunting for the sister. Right. Well, that was.. certainly a lot to handle.

He watched her centre herself, sucking in a deep breath and deliberately flattening her hackles. Modesty offered a brief description of the missing child, who sounded just as blessed by God as he would expect from one of his sisters. Faith's gentle glow, Modesty's unique horns, and feline paws. All blessings bestowed upon a child who wore the mottled pelage of an Abraxas. Shouldn't be easy to miss, if he were to go looking for her. There was an unmistakable desperation in his sister's voice when she asked if he'd seen such a child in the area. He wished he could reach out and pluck up the child from thin air to simply hand over, to put an end to her search right then and there. But he couldn't. With a forlorn sigh, the decorated wraith shook his head lightly. "I'm sorry Modesty, I haven't." he admitted, reaching out with a dainty paw to hook his digits lightly around her thick forelimb. "Come, have a rest. You must be exhausted." he beckoned with a tip of his head to the woods behind them. Two toned eyes met as he searched her gaze, silently pleading with her to take a moment from her search. "We haven't seen one another in so long, let me get you a drink. Maybe I can send Hallux with you for the remainder of your trip, to help you look for the little one." he added, offering a slight tug of his sister's wrist.

"Pontifex" || "Hallux" || "Pollux"