While she was excited about the prospect of finally returning home, she was also extremely nervous and unsure of how her encounter with @Hotei would occur. She hoped that he would at least wait until she got business done with Triell before they continued on in their bitching sessions. However, the thoughts of her mate soon fled her mind as Drestig and her grew closer and closer to where their destination would be. She had grown to almost have an appreciation for his presence. There was no need for them to speak to communicate and the Tainn found their silence almost...comforting. He had shown great progress and had proven to her that he would eventually be worthy of obtaining the position of Scout. Of course, when he was finally given the role would be fully up to Triell and Nayeli. Jessie wasn't a huge fan of children, until they matured and got much older, but she was pleased to be able to tell that the children were alright and unharmed. It did, however, make her uneasy that there were so many unknown, new scents since they had left. It meant that numbers had grown and there were many new wolves for the traveling companions to find out about.

As they grew near, she found another disturbing thing. The once familiar scent of Nayeli was no where near the lands and as they finally crossed the border, Jessie's heart seized violently in her chest. She had the best nose in the pack and there was no denying the fact that Nayeli was gone. The pepper and salt colored woman's emerald eyes met those of Drestig. She shook her head soundlessly, not knowing what had become of her lady. Even with her partner's call, @Triell had still not arrived, and Jessie called out with a polite, "Sir." Her call echoed throughout Oak Tree Bend territory, wanting them to be able to get their portion of the trip out of the way so that their alpha could tell them what the hell was going on. It was unlike Nayeli to disappear...so something must have happened.

The black male was patrolling the borders when he heard the call. He stood still, wondering if he should answer it, since he had called for Triell. It seemed that they were finally home, and though that filled him with a semblance of relief, it was like a switch had turned back on within him. It filled him with relief, yes, but as he heard the beckoning call of his mate calling for their leader, he felt that familiar anger boiling within him. He remembered the anger he had felt during that first week she was gone. She had told him nothing. Though, she never did really. He didn't know how they seemed to function together. It was like their relationship was poison, but they craved it all the same.

His paws moved on their own accord, leaving the route he was patrolling to head to the call. His yellow orbs remained frosty as usual, but his inner thoughts were all over the damn place. He reached them seconds after Triell did, and through his anger, relief and happiness broke through. It was good to see Drestig, since the man seemed to be his only true acquaintance, but it was an even better feeling seeing his gray vixen again. She was safe and sound. His younger brother spoke of Nayeli's and Ruiko's dissapearance, and his face grew somber. As he reached the group, Hotei stood beside Triell and nodded to the two scouts, offering his own silent 'welcome home'. His anger was pushed back, as guilt seemed to take its place. He would rip into Jessie later, but for now, he would tell them what he could. Opening his maw, Hotei rumbled, "I've done some searches of my own, but I am limited by my duty to the borders. Still, I have scented nothing." Absolutely zero had he found on his very brief outings outside the borders. The man clenched his jaw, letting his frustration show, but he forced himself to loosen it. Looking at Drestig and Jessie, he could.only hope that they had brought good news.

She shifted uneasily, closer to Drestig, her emerald eyes waiting to be graced with the sight of Triell. For some unknown reason, her heart sped up with the response from their alpha, comfort spreading through her from the familiar voice of her friend. He was quick to arrive to them, allowing him to remark them and tucking her head underneath his chin for longer than necessary, once again feeling like she belonged somewhere. She was finally home. It wasn't after he had come that Hotei also slipped into the area. Immediately the Tainn's eyes fixed on Triell, not allowing herself to look at him and knowing that she was surely get it later for leaving without notice. All that had mattered at the time was Drestig and her getting out of there as soon as possible, so they could return before the winter months. That had, luckily, been successful in not getting stuck on the other side of the mountain. As she continued to disregard her love, she fixed her gaze on Triell as he began to speak. Lowering her head slightly at the mention of those they had lost, she sighed in sadness, knowing she could enlighten their leader on one of the disappearances.

Her gaze moved to Drestig then, giving her the power to start on what information they had acquired through the land. Figuring she could put the man's mind at ease, as much as one could with death, with what information she had...she would start there. "Well..sir, Ruiko...is no longer with us. It seems that Lady Nina Hervok of Secret Woodlands was there for his death. Drestig found out this information when he traveled to the thickets, and it seems that they were attacked by a mountain lion and Ruiko didn't survive it. She sends her condolences..." She remained silent then, allowing Triell to have as much time as he needed to himself before they continued. For the first time since they had returned, Jessie dragged her eyes towards Hotei, knowing that Ruiko's death must have been hard on him as well.

Drestig greeted him with surprise, but it didn't hide the warmth in his tone. It was good to see the dark man again, and Hotei even allowed a small smile to grace his muzzle before once again it was smoothed into his usual stoic features. He looked to Jessie, not expecting a loving welcome for she wasn't a woman of public displays of affection, but a recognition of his existence would've been nice after being apart for so long. Mentally, he frowned deeply, annoyed with her actions of avoiding his gaze. He even felt a little hurt by her cold shoulder, but there was no way he would let either of those emotions shine through. But just to make her uncomfortable, he kept his yellow gaze steady on her form. When she spoke though, he had been expecting some sort of good news. He recieved anything but. It almost felt like he had been barreled down by a large boulder, that was the amount of his shock. Anger forgotten, as soon as he realized the meaning of her words, an ocean of grief seemed to consume the man.

His brother seemed no stranger to the emotion, for his form seemed to sway and Triell steadied his equally large form with Hotei's. He watched, almost detached, as his brother so easily shared his grief. Unlike Triell, Hotei's face was cold. He didn't like to show weakness in front of others that weren't his mate. But the grief wasn't lessening any time soon. Hotei tried to keep a solid mask, but his brother was counting on him to hold him up. But it was so hard, since Hotei didn't even know how he was still standing himself. But for the first time in a long time, Triell seemed to depend on him for some source of comfort and damn if Hotei failed him once again. He had already failed one brother, he couldn't fail the only one left.

The first cracks of his facade appeared as his jaw clenched, and his paws seemed to clench as well, making his whole form tensed. Ruiko was dead. He shut his yellow orbs tight, knowing he would soon break and there was nothing he could do about it. This one time was acceptable. Only this one time. The man slowly hung his head in defeat, the grief showing clearly on his face. His shoulders slumped as the news finally hit home, straight onto his heart.

He had lost a brother. He had lost Ruiko, forever.

As Head Scout and she longest remaining member of the pack, Jessie took it upon herself to deliver the horrible news, knowing that if Triell had to hear it from anyone, it best be her. Her heart continued to crumble as she watched her dark friends both fall. Brilliant emerald eyes became hooded as she watched the scene in front of her. She was not lost in the art of comforting another when it came to loss, surely, their pack had seen it much more than any other. It seemed that when things began to go well, something just wanted to tear them apart. Briefly her eyes met Drestig's as she gave a brief shake of her head, signifying from him to remain silent for a bit longer. Gray head bowed and ears pinned against her head, the small Tainn approached her alpha and in a brief show of compassion and need for companionship, pressed her head into the alpha's bulk, giving him her silent support and letting him know that she was there and would continue to be there until someone killed her or took her away.

Desperate to bring light into the dreary situation, she spoke into Triell's ear, wanting him to find comfort in the fact that the Tainn line wasn't dying. "Kisla is well...she has pups, all of which are beautiful and healthy." Of course, Jessie was probably adding extra bits in there to cheer him up, for she hadn't exactly seen the children, but she could only imagine that with the Tainn lineage, the offspring would have been nothing short of perfect. She remained close to her leader, wanting him to acknowledge that he did have those who would always stand beside him, no matter what occurred. Other than giving him silent assurances, Jessie had no other hint as to what she was suppose to do.