The moment the pale she-wolf had notified him of Swift River’s move across the mountain, the tawny beast had wasted no time in collecting his mate and beginning the trek across the dangerous terrain. It was strange to him – the other side of the mountain had opened now, and according to @Arlette, the valleys of Relic Lore stretched on. Mountain of Dire was familiar to him – perhaps not as much as his uncle Honijo, now some of the other locals that frequented it often, but enough that he was able to locate one of the openings and lead he and his mate to the descent within the Vale of Secrets.


Had he been younger, and less pissed off at his brother, the tawny male likely would have ventured a bit further in hopes of finding his orange-eyed littermate. Yet a part of him knew Indru was gone forever – stealing his son away in the middle of the night and leaving behind a broken family.. he had nothing to return to but a swift death. Ruiko could recall the afternoon he had found Corinna, broken beyond possible repair, and as he remembered the desperation and misery in her green eyes, his heart only hardened more at the thought of the other Tainn.


Their travel took days. The Tainn male lost count of how many sunrises they had witnessed since parting from the Grove, but it took them awhile to navigate the scents that was his family. These lands were unknown to him, and every so often the tawny wolf would brush his shoulder against his mate’s in silent comfort – the eerie forest was also not as enticing as the beautiful forests that had surrounded Swift River.


His heart thrummed in his chest as they came upon the borders of what he had learned was ‘Oak Tree Bend.’ Corinna’s scent was overwhelming, as well as Triell’s, and the male felt a tug of relief. Casting his eyes to Aeylen, Ruiko then tilted his muzzle back and sang to the wolves of the pack. The note would crescendo across the afternoon sky – beckoning them forth with a joy he could only hope they would feel when they saw him as well. As his howl faded, he lowered his muzzle, his stance, once so regal and dominant, now falling to a more neutral stance as they waited.

Ruiko's recent return to her with information about what had been Swift River's whereabouts was like an affirmation of faith. They had searched for what seemed like months with no end or hope in sight; to hear that he'd connected with someone who actually knew where Corinna and the others were was the break that they needed.

There was a fleetfooted hustle in her movements as she kept to Ruiko's side for the entirety of their journey. The days came and went, and though their progress was timely and rather efficient for the most part, it was plain to see that they were in uncharted territory once they'd descended the other side of the mountain. The land here seemed nearly untouched, and the air was thick with an earthen redolence that she'd never encountered anywhere else. Beneath the thick canopies, the forests seemed ancient─more so than even Sacred Grove had. Life buzzed around every unfamiliar bend, or, in some stretches, seemed not to exist at all.

Navigating the terrain had been difficult, but eventually Corinna's scent, laced along the forest's periphery with a number of others that now seemed unfamiliar, finally was found. Aeylen breathed it in deeply, finding a comfort in it that even she was not expecting. Dutifully following Ruiko's lead, her honey hued eyes looked to him as his own cast toward her, a gentle smile lighting her golden feature. It was what he'd been waiting for─what he desperately wanted and needed─and for him to finally have come this far warmed her thrumming heart.

As his song echoed through the vast and hidden spaces of this unfamiliar place, the woman stilled in silent reverence, her posture instinctively mirroring her mate's. Anticipation heavy in her chest, her eyes roved the shadows as they waited.

A song – so familiar and yet one not heard for far too long answered him back, and given her calm response, Ruiko knew she had not recognized his voice. Not yet anyway. Anticipation coursed through him as he pressed his shoulder to Aeylen’s once more, his bright eyes casting out over the borders of Corinna’s new land. It did not hold the same allure to him as Sacred Grove and Swift River had, yet he was but an outsider looking in for the moment, and he was certain his silver sister-in-law would not disappoint in her choice of a home, despite his disgruntlement at her leave of Indru’s once claimed lands.


The time passed, and as it did so, each moment stirred his heart to seemingly beat harder in his chest. Stoical upon the outside, within he was a trembling mess, and Aeylen, who knew him best of all, would likely be able to tell this. He lowered himself further, hoping to bring his large frame to a smaller stance of submission. He held no reign over these lands – not like he had Swift River at one point, Copper Rock Creek, or even Sequoia Vale. His days of leadership were possibly over, and for the first time in his life, he felt settled with the thought. With Aeylen by his side, the once regal wolf seeked no more than family.. and he could think of no place like home than with his siblings while his children had dispersed to carve their own path in to the world.


Finally, time had answered his pleas, and Corinna emerged from the foliage of this unknown land. She ran – and he perked instantly upon first sight of her – was she as happy to see him a she was her? And yet a second breath stirred understanding upon him, and as she swept toward them in what he now recognized as rage, the tawny male shifted his weight swiftly, placing himself in front of Aeylen to shield her from the she-wolf that approached them with her teeth bared lethally.


“Cor—“ he began in his dark rumble, an attempt to placate the she-wolf, and yet his words were cut short by a furious snarl. His ears slid back, his own eyes flaring as he rolled his shoulder forward, protecting his nape as her teeth found their mark, slicing through the flesh with a precision that was impressive. Stunned, he hadn’t realized leaving had caused her such rage, and tucking his muzzle lower, he allowed her to deliver her punishment without a grimace.

The time the pair spent it waiting crept by slowly but surely and she would look to Ruiko for reassurance as his shoulder brushed her own. Enveloped in silence, she considered a multitude of possible reasons why Corinna and her brood would have left Sacred Grove behind. Aeylen knew enough of her mate's history to realize that the river wolves had a meaningful and volatile stay in Swift River, and had endured many hardships─a number of which she'd been told had stemmed from Indru's absences. Corinna remained, largely, a mystery to the tawny she wolf, but she had never forgotten the silver queen's visit to Copper Rock Creek before she and Ruiko's timely departure. Just as she and her mate had uprooted their own family a number of times, it was only reasonable that her sister-in-law may have had her own motives in resettling.

She couldn't see the anxiety that she could feel radiating from Ruiko, and she mirrored his shifts in posture attentively. Where his own emotions were easily hidden by his stoical facade, Aeylen's golden eyes widened in anticipation as a silver streaked figure emerged in the distance. Submissive at Ruiko's side, the woman's tail swayed in a final─and brief─moment of relief. The wolf who was fast approaching was not the Corinna that she remembered, and as the leader closed in on them it became clear that she was not pleased by their return. A low whine hitched in her throat at first, replaced by a deep growl that she quickly bit back as her mate moved quickly to shield her. It was one thing to be turned away, and another to be attacked so quickly and without any provocation; confusion overcame her and as Corinna closed in on Ruiko with what was, frankly, a terrifying display.

The altercation was quick and more violent than she was truly prepared for. Nearly as quickly as it had happened, however, the attack ended, leaving Ruiko bloodied and Corinna appearing as though she'd seen a ghost. Her brows furrowed, Aeylen took in the wound on Ruiko's shoulder with horror, a ridge of fur erected along her spine. Wild-eyed, she held her tongue.

Her teeth scored their mark -- the burning sensation as her fangs ripped his flesh upon his shoulder did not bring an outward wince, though it caused his muscles to clench and his jaw to tighten. His eyes were wide as he looked to her -- uncertain what to do before she pulled back just as quickly as she had launched herself at him. Only a second passed before he shifted himself, still standing protectively before Aeylen and yet lowering his muzzle now -- not in the submission that he had displayed earlier, but in the need to protect his throat in case she charged him again.


Corinna stammered then. The beautiful silver she-wolf seemed out of sorts -- shocked, distraught. Her words were a mixture of nonsense, and as she spoke his brother's name, the male felt his ears slide back to his skull, a grunt escaping him. He did not understand her confusion -- not taking in to consideration how closely he resembled his littermate, and while Corinna did not move, his eyes trailed worriedly to Aeylen, his muzzle lifting to touch her cheek gently in reassurance, feeling the tension emanating from her. "Indru what, Corinna?" His tone was stoical, and yet his words were also clipped as his eyes drifted down to his shoulder, now bleeding quite freely. At that very moment, Ruiko doubted his need to return back to the wolves of Swift River. perhaps he and Aeylen did not have a home with them after all. "Is he here?" Had his brother, after his misdeeds, dared to come back again?

Though Ruiko still stood between she and Corinna, Aeylen could feel the tension of the encounter in her bones. Her dismay was tempered by the hard, stoical tone of her mate's voice as he questioned the mention of his brother's name, undercut by the soft stammering of the alpha who seemed to crumble into someone unrecognizable. She knew that tone of his well, though it wasn't one she heard very often; they had traveled all this way and as of a moment ago it seemed like it had been for nothing, but she knew better. Corinna was the reason they were here, and as off-guard as Ruiko had been caught by her melee, she didn't see him walking away so easily.

Taking a half-step forward so as to be able to see Corinna as she spoke, Aeylen willfully resisted the urge to press into her mate's side as the pain inherent in the woman's words stung her own heart. It made sense now why they'd found here here, so far from Sacred Grove. How horrible it must be to fear the possible return of someone who was once so trusted and loved; for the father of her children to be the enemy she would so willingly attack; to be afraid that the home you chose could be tainted by the exact thing you had sought to leave behind. To have lost a son and to fear for the lives of those who were not lost...

Aeylen trained her eyes upon Corinna as sympathy and a fresh wave of sorrow washed over the uncertainty that had resonated just moments before. She didn't feel sorry for the woman, only sorry that it seemed plain that she'd been through hell.

Dust to dust

Triell had reasons to dislike Ruiko, but he never fed those demons. Ruiko had never out right abandoned them nor the new family he had created. When Triell heard his voice, the ring of happiness he wasn't sure he instantly reflected the sentiment. What was Rue doing here? By his song his family must be well, right? It had been, well Triell couldn't even remember last he saw the wolf. Shouldn't he be running, ecstatic to see him? Maybe,because he was leading man now, or disturbed what brought his eldest brother at their doorstep he was rather neutral when he began to trot to the song's owner.


Dark paws began to work the ground it dawned on him the last time they had been graced with his presence...Kinis. It was another cloudy memory ready to chew him up, and spit him back out. Knowing easily it could be to slip into that, lock itself into place, he began to run. It wasn't right of him to hang back, avoid this interaction. He was curious how the eldest Tainn had fared, how he had found them here, and what he was going to do now. The Tainn forced himself onward to find the answers to the questions.

Corinna would far beat him. He had not seen the attack. By the time he could see the trio breaking through the trees Corinna looked like she had taken a terrible bite of food. Puzzled, his nose titled to the air, finding Ruiko's blood. The dark wolf put the brakes on, moving behind her in a more cautious manner. It made no sense for it. If she hated Ruiko she should hate Triell too. Feminine voice broke the stillness, and it became clear how she had greeted the other Tainn. The air suddenly seemed tinged with pain and guilt. On purpose his paws crunched dead leaves, and he brought his figure beside her. Triell made an effort to brush her shoulder, but only after the fact she knew he was there. Other than that he stood with his head tall, quiet and reserved if only trying to help steady her by standing by her side where others had not.