Grizzly Hollow breathe with me underwater

It was no small secret that Ophelia was a brat. She prided herself on it, in fact. But she was different since @Oula had gone missing. She was the first to bring up the fact to Daddy and Papa, the first to suggest looking for her. To no avail. Any search turned up nothing and Ophelia always felt like a step behind.

But hearing her mother's howl at the borders had her jolting from a restless sleep in the den and scrambling to her paws to leap over @Felix, accidentally land on @Pip's tail, and stumble over @Rook in her mad dash. Despite the resulting sleepy grumbles, Ophelia didn't slow down as she ran full tilt. In fact, she hardly slowed down at all by the time she reached Mama, crashing in to her with excited yips and nips and whines. Ophelia licked at her mother's face and tugged her ears, brushed her shoulders against hers, every greeting she could think of at once to show her immense relief. It wasn't at all like the last time Mama had returned home. This time, Ophelia made sure it would be different.

Tears danced on her lashes while her tail couldn't keep from wagging. "You're okay, you're okay!"

Startled from sleep by the pup crushing her tail underpaw, Pip sat up and looked around blearily. She felt so tired lately, she didn't understand. Her visits with @Kjell didn't carry her so far that she should be in such a state, but she was hardly in a position to question it. Belatedly, she realized who the howl she'd barely heard in sleep belonged to and understood the reasoning for @Ophelia's hasty departure. @Oula! She was back!

With some effort, Pip stood and shook her coat out before stepping tenderly around Rook, though she did gently nudge his rump with her muzzle in warm greeting. She worried for him. He still seemed to keep to himself and she had to wonder how he even felt about Oula's return in the first place. Was it odd for him to see her and @Veho together? Is that why he left in the first place? She had no way of knowing or asking, so she simply worried and tried to always make him feel welcome and beloved.

The little sea wolf followed Ophelia's trail at a far more sedate pace. By the time she reached the woman, @Amaryllis was already there and the little princess was falling over herself to get closer to her mother. It warmed her heart to see the difference in the pup now. Though she still didn't trust the girl with concerns to herself, it was nice to see the changes she was making for others.

Pip dared not approach Oula while her daughter was so near, but did wag her tail happily and smile kindly. It was a relief to see the warrior woman safe and unharmed at least on the surface. Dipping her head to Oula, the little female then toddled over to Lily and licked at her muzzle in warm greeting as well.

The howl had stirred Veho from his restless slumber, but it was the clumsy flailing that really dragged the man from any dreams he might have been enjoying. (Or loathing, perhaps. It was hard to tell as he blinked stupidly into the darkness, watching his daughter’s fleeting form with a muted sense of alarm. Whatever dread he felt before was failing quickly.) It was without thought that the male alpha followed after Ophelia – though he was much more careful, even as other wolves around him seemed to stir and wake – and despite this, three of his packmates seemed to beat him to the punch. To Oula’s side.

Oula.

His heart thundering in his chest, the monochromatic wolf loped to the woman’s side, careful to step around Ophelia as she greeted her mother. Pale eyes looked the woman over, searching for signs of trauma and injury – but he would wait to ask. It was wrong to ask her to divulge in front of half the pack. “I am so glad you’ve made it back,” he rumbled – safely, he did not, for he could not make the assumption. The stranger that came to his borders still danced across the shadows of his mind, and he did wonder how she’d gotten away. If this man would come after her again.

But, later.

He turned to Amaryllis, rumbling his pleasure that she’d returned. “Could you alert the others?”

As @Veho arrived as well, Pip's ears fell back in discomfort. His greeting was loving and warm, but it felt secret as well. The little mute saw the way his eyes raked over the warrior woman for injuries and had to look away. With her lack of speech, the girl was adept at reading unspoken language between others that most would completely miss. It felt too much like eavesdropping to continue observing, so the girl politely focused her attention at her paws shyly instead. As curious as she was to know of Oula's misadventures and her unfortunate meeting with that Azar wolf, it was not her place to know until she was told of it. Divesting answers from shared looks seemed an unfair advantage.

So when Veho turned to Lily and requested she fetch the others, the mute leaped at the opportunity the woman provided upon asked her to join. She wagged her tail in gratitude to the woman for, if not sensing her discomfort, then at least reaching out and throwing her a lifeline with which to rescue herself.

Eager to allow them their privacy, Pip actually began trotting ahead of Lily and looked back with a flick of her tail in encouragement to invite the other female into a rare race. It had been a long time since the pair had hunted together and she missed the easy camaraderie they shared back then. It would be nice to have it once more.

Mama's kisses were warm and welcome and all too rare which only made them all the more precious to Ophelia. The girl basked in the female's presence which was an abrupt roundabout to her reaction to Oula's previous return after an extended stent away. This time, Ophie knew her mother had been kept away against her will. Seeing her know was a balm to the girl's hurting heart and she was grateful she came back intact.

As her Daddy stepped around her, she couldn't help but add a playful rump bump to his rear in encouragement for him to share in her elation instead of just staring at Mama with those worried eyes. She was here in front of them, after all! He didn't have to act all misty-eyed and anxious! Her pale green gaze glittered brightly, happier than she'd been in ages.

But that brilliance had to be fleeting. With all the grace of a marmot falling from the crook of a tree, Ophelia's demeanor shifted from elated to snarling annoyance. "Of course she's still gone. She said she was leaving. She's not coming back." Though she tried very hard to not let it be known, Ophie took her sister's departure as a personal affront. Her larger sister, bossy pants that she was, hadn't even bothered to tell her her plans before just up and leaving. Sure, they argued a lot, but they were sisters! She would have told her if she planned to leave. Would have boasted it, in fact.

As Pip and Lily made haste towards the rest of the pack, Ophie stared at her mother with pity and more gently added, "She'll find her own way." Though she was still cross with Joannie for what she did - and crosser now to see how it affected her parents so - she wanted to provide her Mama at least some comfort on the subject.