Her footsteps echoed against the trees around her as she made her way to the one place she knew she could find rest and a drink before making the trip up to the Mountain of Dire where Angier was. The white form moved slowly, as quietly as she could to avoid notice by any being including other wolves. Her head was low, tail simply lying limp between her legs, ears falling where they wished. The den she had found upon arriving in Relic Lore was just over the next hill, through the trees and tucked in against the mountains... if no one else had claimed it...that was.

Before too long, the semi-circle of clearing came into view as her form parted from the trees surrounding the clearing to enter into the open area. At first, she stopped and lowered her head to smell the grass around the cave entrance - trying to discern if anyone else was using it. So far, she couldn't smell anything new.. Long legs carefully brought her closer to the cave and finally inside the warmth of it. While there was grass, and it was warmer out than it had been.. the heat was a relief to both her body and her wounds. A sigh escaped her as her tail finally disappeared as she explored the well-known recesses of her old home to ensure there was no other occupant to contend with.

It was hard for her to be inside the shadowed enclosure...as farthest in the back where no wind nor rain took the scents away - a faint smell caught her nose... Raigo's scent. A soft whine echoed throught the cave as she lowered her head to the spot where he had lain once, inhaling the smell of her brother. How long had he been gone? To her.. it almost seemed the cave was flash frozen in time - and he could come bounding in with some trouble or another on his heels...She stayed staring at what she might assume had once been his bed while she'd been away for what felt like hours - her mind painting fanciful pictures of their time together. A noise behind her made her turn, hoping to see Raigo...

Not finding either Raigo nor an occupant of the cave, the she-wolf emerged and walked over to the small pool of mountain-fed water and lowered her head to drink. She wouldn't bathe in the waters, it would only taint them with it having nowhere to go. In the absence of the two wolves who'd made a home of it..the smooth rock the water gathered in had been overtaken by the pool. Thanks to the runoff from the melting snow and the rains of spring.. the water made a small two-tier 'falls' as it filtered off the rock and gathered near the base of the formation in another pool. All told..it was a rather pretty sight to see.

She smiled softly, her tail shifting back and forth as she simply enjoyed the view before once more sating her thirst and then moving back towards the den where she went inside and curled up quietly. It was no coincidence that she chose to curl up in the very back of the cave, or that her nose was resting right over where Raigo's scent was the strongest. Having chosen to avoid 'remarking' her territory, she hoped other wolves would discredit her passing scent as just that - passing through and do the same. The rock flooring of the cave was uncomfortably hard to her thinned form - but after a bit of squirming, she found a suitable spot to rest and closed her eyes. Finally, she could get some sleep.. and forget what had happened to her - for a time.

A call jerked her awake from her troubled sleep, the white female looking and blinking around in confusion. At first, she couldn't place the call and almost went back to sleep before something in the tone rung a bell. Raigo? No ...there was no way - he was gone.. Vlarindara pulled herself to her feet nonetheless and moved slowly towards the mouth of the cave. She moved cautiously, not to mention stiffly as she sought to inspect the source of the sound, but also trying to remain hidden and unnoticed. First her nose stuck out of the darkness of the den, then a blinking amber eye as she inspected the wolf.

There was something vaguely familiar about him.. but she couldn't place it..He looked a lot like Raigo - sounded like him.. but.. how could.. Oh.. screw it. She forced herself to step out of the rocky home they'd used when first arriving in Relic Lore, her head lowered and ears flat against her neck. A soft whine filtered from her muzzle as she watched him, her matted tail tucked between her legs. For all intensive purposes, it looked like the she-wolf had had a rough go of things, what with the mud, mats and other things sticking to her coat - burrs and the occasional black tick that could be seen on her legs when she walked. Not to mention the two wounds that seemed to almost glare out of her white coat.

Had she been able to blush from embarrassment, she would have, but instead, the wolf simply stood as if waiting for a blow to fall, looking almost scared of the yearling sharing the semi-circle space with her. Despite focusing her attention on his form - she said nothing, simply waiting to see if it really was Raigo and if he would recognize her - or if he to would try to chase her away for unknown reasons... She knew her front legs were shaking slightly with both nerves and fatigue - that she was thin.. but most of all, her heart was hammering in her chest - both out of fear and hope. She hoped it was Raigo, but was also afraid it was her adopted brother - if he saw her like this...

His reaction came swiftly, causing the white female to tense and instinctively almost jerk away..but she managed to quell the reaction by the time he'd gotten close enough to lick her cheek. Slowly, the ears that had been pinned back against her neck shifted forwards, pointing at him in silence a few moments. "It's good to see you, Raigo.." There was obvious warmth in her tone - joy that he was alive and well.. but it was more soft spoken than she might have been had circumstances been different. Vlarindara lifted her head tentatively before moving to quietly repeat the greeting, but instead of licking his cheek, her tongue snaked out to touch his jaw. She wasn't stupid - she could smell the scents of Grizzly Hollow on his pelt which naturally meant he had become higher ranking than she.. belonging to a pack.

Her tail swayed just slightly between her legs as she turned away from him and moved to the pool of water, her heart soaring at knowing he was alive and well. While her heart may have been light enough to take flight, she knew that any undue stress on her body like running about or trying to jump on him would possibly cause her yet more injury...Not so much in the sense of getting further injured - though too much might reopen the wounds. It was more that she was worried that exuberance would take the energy her body needed to fight off the last dregs of infection from the swamp water getting into the bite on her neck.

Lifting her head from the waters, she turned back to him, a smile touching her muzzle -tail wagging a little harder than it had before. "You're doing well...I'm glad to know you found your way back.." She hadn't known he was lost - but to her.. he'd always been lost. even had his absence been a choice he'd made. The white female shifted and tucked her haunches beneath her before she lowered herself to the ground so she could get settled and give her aching paws a rest. "Does Borden know you've returned..?" Of all the wolves - she hoped Borden would understand Raigo's plight and take him back into the pack. While she might have been run off... there was no reason for Raigo to be. Granted, the reasoning of her mind were still faintly clouded by fever - making her less.. clearheaded. Emotions and Instinct ran rampant instead of reasoning.

Vlarindara chuckled at his smile and the oh-so-Raigo reasonings for being lost. "Well, I think you've grown quite well..Afterall..while out on your own, you wouldn't have been able to look quite so good if you hadn't been able to hunt." She smiled, amber eyes passing over his form - noting the shape and shine of his coat. "You've done well for yourself, Raigo...I'm proud of you." The approach of the yearling made her stop moving, her tail stop wagging from where it had begun when she had noticed how well he'd done on his own.

The white female closed her eyes and let her ears fall back over her neck as he got closer to her face, ashamed of the injuries she'd received - but not moving to stop him. As he cleaned the wound, the ex second stayed still and did her best not to whine as his tongue scraped the rough edges of the bite mark. When he finished and pulled away to ask his question, amber eyes shifted slightly and looked up at him as she lowered her head quietly. "I don't see how Borden or Jaysyek could be worried for me...I all but gave up my position as their Second when I got sick.."

She sighed, shifting her ears so they rested flat outwards on either side of her face. "It's.. a long story, Raigo.. are you sure you want to hear it? I'd much rather hear of your exploits and adventures. Knowing you, you got into all kinds of trouble.." The white female chuckled, half hoping that he'd accept her offer and retell his tale - so she could avoid telling him of her own embarrassments.. but she'd tell him if he asked.. She couldn't lie to Raigo.. or deny him.

Well, she'd tried.. Vlarindara sighed and lowered herself to the ground before resting her head on her paws, rather ashamed of what had happened. "Beat him up? No... you don't have to beat him up.. it was entirely..within his.. rights to do what he did." The white female shifted, her tongue passing over her lips in thought. "There...was a scuffle with Kiche - he had caused trouble with one of the wolves seeking entrance into Grizzly Hollow. Jaysyek found him - and ended up chasing him back to pack lands.. Where he chose to cower inside the den...Well seeing as she was pregnant - Elettra and I went in to drag him out.. and I chose to attempt to subdue his jaws - to keep Elettra from getting injured.."

A sigh escaped the white wolfs muzzle as she lifted her head then tilted her chin skyward as if howling - the half healed jagged bite wound over the base of her neck exposed to Raigos' view.. before she lowered it again. "Well, he got in something of a lucky shot before racing from the den.. where Jaysyek and Elettra chose to take care of him. I left after the altercation to go see if I could find the female that Kiche had run off to apologize to her.. I also didn't want anyone to see what he'd done - or that I was injured.. so I stayed on the outskirts of Grizzly Hollow.. continuing to do my duties, but waiting for my wound to heal enough not to be noticeable. I...explored in the swamp one evening - and became mired in what I was taught was flash-sand."

The flash-sand was definitely a more Raigo thing to do than something she would do - but she didn't mind explaining it.. after all..he'd understand it, right? "Obviously..I made it out with my life - but the waters of the marsh... with the sand got into my neck and made me sick... I wasn't able to return to Grizzly Hollow for a few weeks while I healed.. But.. when I did.. I called for them - to see if I was permitted back in the pack lands after abandoning my post for so long. Kiche Came out and did what I would expect of any pack member - he chased away the invading wolf who was a threat to the puppies." There was...oddly enough pride in her tone for the rather.. odd male.

"Regardless.. I tried to show that I meant no harm - but he attacked me further.. causing the wound to my nose. It was then.. that I thought that... by not answering my call - Borden and Jaysyek didn't wish to see me.. and had labeled me an outcast of the pack - due to my abandonment of my post as Second. What else was I to do? So.. I did what I've done for years - I ran. As I said.. I don't see how Borden or Jaysyek could have missed me...I could understand why they did what they did..But I'm glad they accepted you back, Raigo." Her tail thumped against the dirt animatedly, her expression softening as she watched the yearling. "I know you'll do well by them and their pups.."