Vale; Bria

Her paws were scratched up and torn. Minutes of sprinting across asphault did that, but hours of days, of weeks, of months, had ripped Vale's apart. They had toughened up, without a doubt, but the final two days, when Vale had realized how heartachingly close she was to the valley, had been the defining factor. Vale hadn't stopped walking down the highway for two days, stopping only to hide from oncoming cars, or to drink. Now she was scraggly and emaciated, her already-petite body revealing ribs through her skin. But she had conquered distance. Vale was home.

Manahcob had never been so sweet. The lush, emerald hue of the trees seemingly glowed with the promises of Eden. Vale breathed in the scent of summer, the moisture of the river that encircled the territory never so brilliant. Lifting her muzzle, Vale gazed into the heavens with an inaudible rejoice. Her throat was too parched to howl, yet, she was content nevertheless.

It was Bria who caught the scent of Vale. At first, it was received with hostility. It was foreign, and Bria didn't like that. The three-legged coywolf skulked out of a bush, growling. Yet, when she lay eyes on Vale, Bria halted. "Vale...?" Bria whispered, her voice just above the mutter of the nearby river.

Vale turned her head towards a well-combed Bria. For a fleeting second, Vale considered her haggard appearance. She was covered in dust, mud, thorns and other debris. Yet, Bria saw past this rugged fascade and smiled.

"We thought you were dead..." Bria admitted.

Rowan; Isabel

It had been so long, so long, since Tahti and Windsong died. It had hit Rowan and Isabel hard. Rowan was a more family-oriented coywolf than Isabel, so it hit him harder than it did his sister. But what really got to both of them was their missing sister. Where had she gone? Had she left by her own choice or was she taken away? Whatever took their sister away, will or force, the pack mourned for her loss.

Rowan believed in fate; if something happened it was meant to happen. If something was going to happen, it would happen somehow, sooner or later. Isabel, however, for the most part believed in free will with a hint of predetermination. All the trauma had toughened the female. "Life is what you make for yourself," she always thought, "and if you fuck something up, it's your own damn fault because it was your choice." Of course, her family had special privileges in her eyes; if they messed up, they must have had a reason, so she'd help them. Then again, Isabel felt as if her family rarely made mistakes, even though she herself had made her share of mistakes. It was this conflict of views between Isabel and Rowan that got them wondering what should be done with the pack. It wasn't that they didn't trust Amari. It was that they had more experience than her. She felt so much like Tahti, but at the same time...she was different. She wasn't the same.

Returning from a hunt, Rowan carried a turkey and Isabel dragged a lamb that had strayed too far from its flock. Dropping the catches near a den, Isabel padded off to find Bria. But in a strange and amazing twist of fate, she found not only Bria, but also Vale. It took Isabel a few seconds to realize that this was her sister, but it was a face she could never forget. "Rowan!" Her voice was a bit raspy, stricken by surprise that took her words.
Rowan ran over on his three legs, figuring something might be wrong with hiss sister. He, too, was shocked. Very pleasantly shocked. But at the same time, they were worried about her condition.
"Vale..." Rowan whispered, creeping toward her.
Isabel seemed to forget how to move momentarily. A tingle went down her spine and she wondered if she was dreaming or if her sister actually was back. "Are you alight, Vale? What happened?" Isabel asked, her eyes wide and fixed on her sister.

Vale; Bria

Her gaze swapped from Bria to the two emerging figures. First was Isabel, the regal, somewhat leader of their litter, then she was joined with Rowan, disabled but fearless. She chuckled briefly, receiving concerned looks and shocked reactions. For a moment, she fancied that she hadn't been gone for two years, and that these three were overreacting. Yet, when reality dawned on the coywolf, she mutely understood their concern.

Her condition probably wasn't something that would put the others at ease. Yes, she looked like she'd been to hell and back (and metaphorically speaking, Vale had felt like she had). But Vale was still strong in spirit. Nothing had beaten the exhilaration of treading across the Valley territory, familarity haunting her. Reaching Manahcob had been the ultimate conquest. Victory was her's.

"Eh, you know, just out conquering the world," Vale replied in a cynical tone. Her tail wagged to confirm her good spirits, as though to waver any fear from her siblings. "All that matters is, I'm home. Right?" She glanced about, smiling softly. "Stop wallowing in your silly awe, it doesn't suite you too well, Isabel." Perhaps she was too blunt, but exhaustion did that to Vale. She realized this all too late, offering them a sympathetic look. All she really wanted was for them not to worry. Vale was back. That's all that mattered.

Bria gazed on at Vale, offering a somewhat-fake smile to her sister. Although Vale acted tough, as she always did, the coywolf looked tired and hungry. Swishing her tail, she said, "Why don't you eat? Sit down? You look like a bear tried eating you, but it couldn't keep you down."

Rowan; Isabel

Isabel had never given up on Vale, but she did fear that she was dead. She had hoped she wasn't dead; she had hoped she'd see her sister again. After losing both Tahti and Windsong within a short time span, Vale's disappearance was just so hard to deal with. The shock was overwhelming, but after a moment, the excitement took over.

"That's all that matters," Rowan replied in a soft voice, moving forward and nuzzling his sister's face. "I never thought I'd see you again. I'm so glad you're back." He was the war captain of the pack, fearlessly leading the warriors into battle. But with the way he acted around family, he had a soft heart.

Isabel, in contrast to her war captain brother, was the battle-hardened and world-weary one. She didn't trust easily and was quick to retaliate. But this moment swept much of the stress away. Her mind was emptied of anything unrelated to her family. But after Vale addressed her, she shook out of the shock. "Vale, I would like to hear all about your adventures if you'd feel up to sharing them, but right now you need rest, food and water. Rowan and I brought back some meat - it's by the den." She stepped closer to her sister, but still gave her room. She'd love to run up and nuzzle Vale like Rowan did, but she thought that Vale might like some space, so she waited for Vale to make the next move. Isabel's smile was genuine, and it was the happiest smile she ever had since before her parents' deaths.

Vale; Bria

Vale nuzzled Rowan back, but was holding back. She wasn't much for the intimacy, but she knew her siblings had been worried sick for her. As Bria had said, they thought she was dead. It was like Vale was the walking dead right now. The coywolf smiled softly, looking at her siblings. "Yeah, I'm a bit hungry..." Vale acknowledged, the pang in her stomach only now becoming present. "What did you guys catch today?" Vale began to step forward towards the den. Two years later, and she still remembered where the den was.

Bria ushered Vale along, leading the way to the den. The kill sat blatantly near the den, and Bria pushed it forward to her sister. Vale took no time in plopping down and tearing at the carcass. "Where were you?" Bria suddenly asked, demanding the explanation.

Vale gazed up blankly at Bria, trying to figure out a way to explain it. "You know the deserts? Where the coyotes thrive?" Vale asked, not waiting for an answer. "I was trapped outside the valley and sent somewhere, to one of those deserts. Where it's sandy, and hot. I was used for some...i don't know, social experiment. They wanted to see how well a northern-raised canine thrived amongst the natives in the south."

Rowan; Isabel; Nightshade

Rowan could sense that Vale was getting uncomfortable, so he backed off. She apparently had a hard time out there, and the last thing she needed was a crowd surrounding her. The three-legged coywolf gestured for his sister to follow, then began walking toward the den. "We caught them today - a lamb and a turkey. Who knew we'd be eating our meal with our long-lost sister?" A smile stretched across his face as he helped Bria nudge the catches toward Vale for her to choose from.

Isabel listened intently to everything that was said. She wasn't going to miss a thing. She thought she'd never see Vale again, so she had to make the most out of every new moment she had with her. "But... Mom came from the desert, didn't she?" Her eyes were wide, her mouth gaping. "Do you think that...maybe...that's the desert that Mom came from?" Her eyes teared up a bit; the battle-hardened coywolf was getting emotional. "I wonder if any of her - our - relatives were there."

Another member of the pack was returning from a patrol; likely unfamiliar to Vale, but well-known by Isabel and Rowan. This was Nightshade, leader of The Night Watch, a subdivision of Paslen-Proval. She had heard so much about Tahti, Windsong and their offspring, but never had the chance to meet them. Today, she would meet just one. "Hey." The black coywolf said gruffly, stopping in front of Vale. "I'm Nightshade, daughter of Kahvi and Honey. You must be Vale. Rowan has told me all about you." Nightshade took a bow. "It's nice to meet you."

Vale

Vale plopped down by the turkey, eyeing it before tearing the feathers away. She ate ravenous, but paused after several bites to begin her story. "It was beautiful out there, I must admit...under other circumstances, I would've loved it," Vale explained, smiling softly. "The coyotes there were curtious. They didn't act too hostile towards me, of course they were wary to have a foreign canine there, much less a coywolf. Most of them hadn't ever seen a wolf before."

Vale herself appeared more coyote than wolf. She had gotten heavy genetics from Tahti, standing at an abnormally tall height for a coyote, but a dwarf size for a wolf. This had helped her fit in to the society in the southern desert.

"They aren't as organized in packs down there. Sometimes they have packs, but more of them prefer to hunt in pairs," Vale explained. "When I told them about the huge packs up here, they thought it was crazy."

Bria had laid down across from Vale, listening intently. The outside world fascinated her, and the story Vale told was captivating. The she-wolf absorbed nearly every word Vale spoke, her flesh crawling with apprenhension.

"I met a male coyote about my - our - age. His name was Phoenix. He is the one who...kept me company down there. It was him to taught me how to survive in the hellish climate. Without him, I probably would've suffered," Vale began to launch into the details of her story. The coywolf gazed off into the distance, sighing softly. "After about a year, the humans came and removed the collar they had on me. I was free for about nine months, before Phoenix was hit by a car...after that, I decided it was time to find my way home."

There was a waver of weakness in Vale's body. She wasn't going to let it show for very long, but it was noticeable. Quickly, Vale recovered and took a bite of her food. Glancing up at her siblings, she offered them a smile. She was home. She was happy, she promised.

Summitt had approached in the midst of Vale's story. He kept to the sides, a bit shy in nature even towards his long lost sister. When she finished, he stepped next to Rowan and Isabel. He woofed softly to Vale, "We're glad your home, Vale."

Vale sighed softly at the sight of her siblings, and then turned her attention to Nightshade, who had just entered. Getting to her paws, Vale bowed her head towards Nightshade. "Hello, Nightshade. It's good to meet you," Vale greeted. "And it's good to be home."

Leila, Amaya, and Artemis.

Leila ran up to her father when she saw him with her aunt Bria and Isabel. She remembered Nightshade from being a pack member. She didn’t know the third wolfess there, and the youngster stood by her dad as she stared up at the stranger. The daughter of Rowan looked just like him, other than her orbs being brown, and she was a curious pup.

Who are you?

Amaya arrived then, followed by Artemis who was making sure Famas was following as well. Mommy said she’s our aunt too! The excited fact was given by her. The Arctic wolf build she-pup sat down between her mother and father as she too looked to Vale with awe.

Artemis followed after her pups when they finally caught sight of what was going on. The black wolfess had noticed the arrival of Vale earlier, and had tried to hold them off, at least to give the siblings time to reunite. However, when she saw Nightshade come along, and the pups were begging, she finally gave in. She sat down beside Rowan, and watched her children and the other wolves. Looking to Vale she gave a smile. Her tone was nothing but friendly, and she remembered having conversations now and again with the returning fea.

It’s good to see you again, Vale.

Vale

The pack was beginning to reel themselves in. Vale didn't mind anymore, she had gotten the story out and her stomach was full. Rising to her paws, she nodded at Artemis softly. There were so many pups. Spirited, curious pups. Manahcob was continuing on in it's legacy. So many descendants of Windsong and Tahti lived here. Vale smiled softly to herself.

"I am Vale," she responded to Leia, lowering her head to greet the pup. "I used to live here before you were born."