Claire Aobhinne

The dainty black female had had her family reunited. Her brothers had found their home in Valhalla, with their father, just as she had. It was her happy ending. It was missing only one thing, one that Claire had all but given up on by now. And what was the point in obsessing over her lack of a mate when she had a large, happy family. One of her brothers would surely provide Cormalin with the grandchildren that he surely desired, for they were all wondrous wolves, and a female would have to be crazy to pass them up. Once, she had assumed the same of herself, but she was getting older. Claire wasn't old yet, not by a long shot, but it was coming. One day, she would be eight and her life would be in its twilight years, and that wasn't so far away now. Still, Claire wasn't as bothered by it as she might have been, once. She was getting older, and therefore less silly. And that meant that her brothers ought to respect the fact that Claire could handle herself. She could take care of herself. She was no wilting flower, moving listlessly with the breeze. Claire had supreme confidence in herself. Still, she was glad to have her brothers back, despite their overbearing protectiveness. They made her feel whole once more. Cormalin had gone a long way towards fixing that, of course; he was her father, after all. But her brothers meant a lot to her too. They had always been a part of her life. Her father had not been. Maybe it was strange, but to Claire it made perfect sense. Her brothers completed her. Especially darling Cael, her druid brother. Claire thought longingly of the white male, and then realized, with a bolt of inspiration, that he was near. Somewhere on Valhalla's territory stood her closest brother, somewhere within range of her howl. And so Claire tilted her head back and let loose a cry, calling Cael to her side. They had a great deal to catch up on, she was sure. And he would come. He would not deny her his presence. He was not rude by nature, and he adored her as much as she adored him. He would come. All Claire had to do was wait. So she settled back on her haunches, wrapping her tail around her paws, mismatched eyes scanning the horizon as she waited patiently for his arrival. Speech,

Cael Amestades

"Yes! That's correct. Now, what about this one?" the ivory brute asked as he nudged the pair of bright green, pointed, fragrant leaves toward his new little friend. The tiny fox had taken to his lessons about herbs like a fish took to water. She had started to gain back some of her lost weight, filling out her pale gray and white form. "Um... Mint, right?" Cael nodded and smiled. He opened his muzzle to praise her again when the familiar voice of his dear sister rang out across the air to him. A wide smile crossed his muzzle and his tail wagged behind him, lifting his gaze in the direction of the call. After being separated from Claire for so long, just hearing her howl was beautiful to his ears. Turning his two-toned gaze back to Elva, telling the arctic fox, "Lets go introduce you to my sister, hmm?" Elva nodded, but he could see the nervousness in her brown gaze. He smiled, giving her forehead a reassuring lick. "She is very kind. No need to worry." He set out at an easy pace, Elva trotting along beside him, one of the mint leaves from their lessons still trapped in her maw. They crossed the Valhallan territory toward the black fea, a joyous grin spreading across his muzzle when he finally laid eyes on her. "Dear sister!" he exclaimed, padding over to her and nuzzling his face affectionately into the fur on her neck. He loved all of his siblings, but Claire would always hold a special place in the druid's heart. He took a step back to look her over, making sure all was well with her before his gold and sapphire eyes met her silver and emerald ones. "It's so good to see you again, Claire. I've missed you so much!" Thought Speech Others Companion

Claire Aobhinne

It took her brother long enough to show, Claire noted with a hint of irritation in her thoughts. Still, he came, and when he did, he had another at his side. Whatever it was, it was small, and looked vaguely canid, if a little . . . off. Ah well, she was sure that he would explain. "Cael!" Her joy was evident in her voice, as Claire pressed herself against her brother's touch, tail wagging so quickly in the air behind her that she almost took off. "I missed you too! And I missed our other brothers too. They're difficult, but they're family, you know? Our Father wasn't much of a replacement for the three of you," Especially not you. The words were unspoken, but Claire was sure that he would understand that she was saying how much she had missed him. Her tail slowed in its frantic pace just slightly as Claire turned a curious mismatched gaze towards the little . . . thing that padded at Cael's side. "I do believe you've been holding out on me," Though the words had a tinge of accusation to them, her tone was playful, and Claire grinned at her brother, "Who is this?" The little thing was kind of adorable, actually. But Claire had never seen it before, and was rather curious about the origin of this strange little creature. Like her brother, it was white. Maybe it was a really deformed pup? But Claire knew that was ridiculous. Her brother would not have had children without telling her. They were too close for that. So, with a wave of her tail, Claire turned her attention back towards Cael. "Tell me, did you see anything interesting while searching? What kinds of stories do you have? I want to know everything!" Even as she spoke, she was forming an alternative tale to tell Cael, one that contained enough of the truth that he wouldn't doubt it, but one that hid her darkest moments from view. For if she admitted how upset she had been without her brothers, they might never let her escape their well intentioned protection. It was like a jail, living with them, but living without them had been so much worse. She needed them, but she needed them to not be breathing down her neck every step that she took. Cael understood that, of course. And she loved him that much more for that. Speech,

The ivory brute completely understood what his sister ment when she spoke of missing their brothers as well. He loved all of their family, of course, but his sister had always held a special place in his heart. Cael followed his sister's gaze to his new companion, smirking at her teasing words. "This is my new helper, Elva. She's an arctic fox. I found her out by the river by the border. She's been helping me gather herbs and has even been learning about them a bit. She's going to be a big help." Elva's little chest puffed out proudly and he chuckled, lifting his mismatched gaze back to his sister's. He and Elva were probably an unlikely pair, but the white fox had been in need and Cael couldn't possibly say no. It was in his nature to help others after all. His ears turned forward toward her as she spoke again, asking all that he had seen in his search. His tail flicked and he thought it over, trying to think of what to tell her. "Oh, nothing too exciting. Just a miles of long walks with our oh so loveable brothers," he replied with a shrug, a touch of sarcasm to his voice at the last part of his sensense. "I met several very interesting wolves. Alacritis never ceases to amaze me with the wide range of wolves it holds." In honesty, the whole time they were searching for Claire he was a knot of nerves and worry, but he knew that his sister would already know that without him having to say it. She was on his mind the whole time so he couldn't enjoy the scenery of the land during their searches. He tried his best to give her space and let her be the independent, strong fea he knew she could be, but it was really hard sometimes. Their brothers worried enough over her as it was, she didn't need him breathing down her neck. He turned the question back to her, asking, "What about you? What did you see after we were separated?" Speech Thought Others Companion

Elva. It was a pretty name, Claire had to admit, and it fit the petite fox. Now that she had a name for the strange canine, she thought that it might be able to grow on her. "Pleasure to meet you, Elva." Claire would never let it be said that she was impolite. With that thought in mind, she inclined her head gracefully in the direction of the arctic fox, before turning her attention towards Cael. She meant no offense towards the fox, but in all honesty, if given the choice between her favored brother and a little fox, she would pick her brother pretty much every time. A startled giggle escaped Claire's maw when Cael spoke next, and she grinned playfully at her brother. "Why, that sound absolutely amazing. I would simply love to take a long walk with our loveable brothers one of these days," Her voice held a teasing note to it, and if that wasn't clear enough, the female wagged her tail easily as she grinned at her brother, ears pricked attentively in his direction. She was truly happy in that moment, happier than she'd been since she lost her brothers in the first place. Jealousy danced in Claire's mind when Cael continued, but she forced herself to clamp down on it and shove it aside. Interesting wasn't necessarily good. And he would never replace her. No, her brothers loved her far too much for that, and even if they moved on with their lives and got mates and settled down, well, nothing would negate the years where they only had each other. "To tell the truth, not much. I wandered blindly a lot, and then I ended up in a place called the Battlefield, where our father found me and he took me straight to Valhalla. I didn't meet any wolves. I think I avoided them, at least subconsciously. It felt like I was missing a piece of my heart when I didn't have you three around. No matter how annoying Caerul and Alsander can be, I love them, you know?" Shrugging slightly, Claire settled back on her haunches and gazed at Cael thoughtfully. Something seemed different. Maybe it was just her that was different. She had never been separated from her brothers for so long, and almost drowning had left her terrified of the same thing occurring again. Maybe it had changed her more than she realized. Speech Thought Others