Now, Nayeli thought as she crouched in the shadows of the den's mouth. It has to be now. The others were out somewhere, perhaps hunting, it mattered little - only that they had left their sister behind alone to watch over the hole in the ground and the she-wolf within it, and it had been many minutes since Nayeli had heard her stirring. Taking a breath to steel herself, the starred woman slowly rose to her feet, listening to the even rhythms of Skadi's breathing. She sounded as if she was deep in sleep - a stroke of fortune unlikely to be repeated. Tonight, beneath the new moon, Nayeli's chances of escape were the best they were going to get... winter was in it's death throes, and she could not afford to wait for a more perfect opportunity. Stretching for a moment, she felt a tinge of despair at how much weaker her muscles had grown during her time here, but she took heart that her paw finally felt fit enough for the journey home, the broken bones so carefully tended by the very ones who held her captive. Hearing nothing but the other woman's soft snores outside, Nayeli dared to dart from the den's opening - the cold night air greeted her like an old friend, wrapping over her form, but before she had gone even ten steps, she sensed something was wrong. Hackles bristling, she searched the darkness she had so eagerly leapt toward - and @Skadi loomed back at her from behind every tree and shrub, every shadow. This isn't right, this can't be, Nayeli thought frantically as the dark forms leaped toward her, their sister giggling and twitching in her sleep by the mouth of the den. This isn't what happened... But Skadi paid no mind to any of that. Her jaws snapped at her quarry from every angle.

And then she was awake, her breath coming in shallow gasps as she remembered where she was. Relief washed over her - this was not the den which she'd been a prisoner. She had left that place behind, and none would ever make her return to it. The forms around her were those she'd fought to find her way back to. Still the echoes of her dream hung in the back of her mind - she was no fool, and knew there was little chance the trouble with those creatures was truly over yet. She took momentary comfort in counting the sleeping forms around her, but a moment later her alarm returned, as she noticed that one in particular was missing. Nayeli rose, quietly stealing toward the opening of a very different den than the one in her nightmare. None here would pounce on her or try to prevent her from going outside, but she still didn't wish to wake anyone if she could avoid it.

Halting just outside the den, she breathed in the night's air. Her son's scent lingered about, and she suspected he was not too far off - her gaze probed the blackness for signs of a particular star, not in the sky, but lying instead near the heart of Nayeli's own universe. "Darrah?", she quietly implored into the night.

The prince had decided that just continuing on with his normal routine would be the best thing for him right now. Lounge around the den during the day, Wander about at night. Act like she never came back, let everything remain the same for as long as he could. He wasn't obligated in any way to pretend everything was fine, because it wasn't. Tonight, on the very night of her return, he found himself gazing at the stars, trying to recall all of the things his pack mate Oliver had taught him. He saw Orion, the stars that stood up like a bear. He saw the big and little dipper, and even remembered that they were sometimes called Ursa Major and Ursa Minor. He smiled at his own intelligence, and let his mind drift away into thoughts of happier times.

"Darrah?" There was no mistaking that voice. That terrible horrible voice, the very one that haunted him in his sleep, the very one that brought tears to his eyes whenever it crossed his mind. He turned to flee, but something was stopping him. 'GO Darrah!' He was trembling, he could feel his body breaking all over again, he never thought he'd have to go through this pain a second time. Why couldn't he move?
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Darrah?  The name faded into silence, and Nayeli stood utterly still for a long moment, listening intently, hoping, for a reply. None came, and at least she sighed, proceeding forward a few more steps before seating herself a short distance from the den. His scent was still strong on the cold air, but she did not intend to pursue him. Though reunion was what she desperately longed for, she reminded herself that the safety of her son had to be her primary consideration right now. She had been more direct in seeking out Zera, but she had been outside the borders, with no knowledge of the dangers that might lurk. As long as he remained here, in the Bend, Darrah was secure from outsiders who might wish him harm. She feared pushing him would only make things worse. Instead she finally lay down, feeling the cold earth press against her, and hoped he might, in time, come forward himself, but still leaving him the chance not to if that was what he so desired.

Truth be told, Nayeli put a lot of the blame on herself for letting herself be ensnared in the first place. In equal measure, she blamed @Vali and @Skadi and @Garmr, but she had feared that her return might not be welcomed, or even allowed. It seemed that while some might forgive easily, Darrah held more conflicted feelings within his young heart. Perhaps he is like his mother in more than looks, she thought to herself, remembering her bitter anger at her father for failing to hold their family together and lead them to safety. He was her father, was supposed to be unbreakable, ineffable, and yet he had failed. Nayeli understood all to well the need for the world to make sense, to have some balance between right and wrong to it, for figures bestowed with trust to uphold it. She still railed against the fact that the world was senseless. And so she lay there, her tired gaze wandering the shadows, and  fearing that she knew all to well what made her son hold back. She wished that he would at last step out of the blackness, even if he were to begin by cursing her name, so long as they could speak to one another. Then, perhaps, they might understand one another.

At last he reached the decision that he, indeed, wasn't going anywhere. His body just wouldn't budge. It wasn't that he wanted to see to his mother, in fact that was the farthest thing from what he wanted. So why? "I-I... I shouldn't have to go anywhere. Let her do what she wants alone out here, who cares!" he scowled, declaring that excuse most valid. Though he did care, and he wanted her to leave more than anything. "Why is she even trying? She can't be stupid enough to think I'd actually reply to her." But in a way he wanted to. In a way he wished he could turn right around and curse the living hell out of her. How dare she leave this pack, her family. How dare she leave him all alone. Alas, he would never be that strong. "What am I supposed to do..." frustrated, he fought back his tears the best he could.

Moments passed before he finally heard her lay down. He was hoping she would of given up and went back to bed in the den, though it looked as if she didn't plan on going anywhere at all. "Seriously this is... so troublesome!" he dug his paws into the crisp earthy floor below him. "I can't just sit here all night knowing that she's probably watching me or something. She has no right! I need to take action." But if he couldn't get up and leave, the only thing he could do was speak. What was he supposed to say? "I-If you're not going to talk, you should leave. I don't know what your intentions are but.. Laying there all night wont accomplish anything."

Her breath had become an even rhythm, moments passing as the silence stretched. As last, when it begun to seem the silence would go unbroken and her words unanswered, Darrah's drifted back across the darkness.

At last. She was sure his words were meant to sting, and of course they did... but no more than his silence had. It was so good to actually hear him speak to her again that the rest of it hardly mattered for a moment. Nayeli resisted the urge to sigh in relief, or to jump to her feet once her ears pricked forward toward the point she was now quite sure he was lurking in the darkness. She could not stop her tail from twitching, though she was not sure it was out of happiness or impatience toward him, her beloved son grown far older and more distant than when they'd last spoken properly. And yet, his words still managed to claw at her like thorns. She tried to breathe evenly as she answered into the night.

"Darrah, I would very much like to have a conversation with you. I can't very well do it alone, though." she wanted some sort of resolution between them, but as far as she figured, it was not going to happen as long as he felt like hovering out there in the shadows, tossing snide remarks back at her. Did it really matter what she said to him, if he was in no mind to actually listen?

Running would make him a coward, or at least that's what he kept telling himself. Running meant she won. "She will never win." he hissed in thought. Though his body still wouldn't move anyhow. Hearing her talk to him. Just him. That hurt the most. He had hoped she would of just left, as his words suggested. What was this mess turning into?

"She wants to talk huh? Well I don't really see anything to talk about." He choked back tears, trying his best to remain strong. He shouldn't of remained so close to pack territory, he should of wondered as far as he could without getting lost. He should of staid away until morning, then none of this would of been happening. "I hate this.. I hate her. I hate myself. Why am I here anyways? Like I didn't know what would happen being here. Of COURSE she wants to talk to me. Why wouldn't she." The prince felt sick to his stomach, he could of thrown up right there if only his pride would allow it.

"You would much like that huh? A conversation about what? How you left- no, abandoned us here? How your own stupidity left your family behind to worry and weep? Would you like to talk about all of those things you missed of Zera and I growing up? Or hey, here's an idea. Let's talk about the nightmares I had every night Nayeli. Let's talk about how I haven't had a decent conversation with anyone in months because your damn actions caused me to become a scared, depressed recluse!" he spat. "Sure, We can talk. But we aren't going to talk about how much you missed me or how scared you were, We're not going to talk about those petty insignificant things at all. We're going to talk about how you've ruined me." He turned to look at her then, anguish held in his heart. "Why'd you do that to me mom?" and just like that he couldn't hold them back anymore, he was crying.