As the laughs of his brother reached him Indru could only reply in kind, his laughter only interrupted by his whines or the affectionate nips and licks he coated his brother in. Indru's heart soared even further—more than he thought possible—now that he knew Triell was safe along with Corinna and their cubs, it had been chaotic in his absence but he was beyond thankful that it was not any worse. As angry as he was with news of Rhysis and Naira if that was all that had left a lasting mark he was pleased, he'd pick their betrayal over physical damage to his family any day. Besides, he didn't plan on letting Rhysis walk free without any wounds from him. No, at some point Indru's rage at the betrayal would cause him to stumble across the dark wolf.
I bet I missed you more,
he grinned, laughing again as he leaned down to nuzzle against Triell's scruff, drawing his brothers scent into his nose. As he did so his fiery eyes caught Triell doing the same, the gentle flaring of his dark nostrils a give away, and his next question told Indru why. Nothing too bad,
he answered, shrugging it off, who cared anyway now he was back home, I have wounds to my paws from travelling so far and so fast with little rest... Bruises and cuts from the rockfall, and I'm a little hungry,
here he laughed, trying to remove any concern Triell may have for him, it was Indru's job to worry about Triell not the other way around. But nothing that won't heal,
he waved a bloody forepaw, not as painful now it had been treated by Corinna, in his brothers face, a cubish grin still on his face. I'm glad you're safe—I was worried, about you, about Cori and the cubs, but you're unharmed.
The relief in his voice was clear, and he dropped his muzzle across Triell's shoulders and neck as if drawing comfort from the younger wolf.
I was up on the Pass,
he began to explain, keeping his fiery orange eyes on Triell's sofer, golden ones as he did so, and a storm hit. You know how treacherous it is there at the best of times... It caused a rockfall and I lost my balance, I fell off the peak and slid down the other side, you know where we can never get too, until I caught my balance again and could stop.
Indru's brow furrowed as he thought through it, remembering his anger and frustration at being marooned and then the desperation when he could find no way back. I howled for ages, but with the storm and the distance you had no chance of hearing me. There was no way back over I could find, it's just a sheer drop the other side you see, not a slope like here. I was wounded though and I had to travel down and seek shelter.
All things considering, Indru guess it could have been worse, he could have been injured, crippled even, or potentially it could have been a fatal fall but to him being fit and well yet still not able to reach home had been the worst kind of torture. It took near two weeks to find a way up, and even then it was only due to another rockfall, and then I came home as fast as I could. Hence why I left a blood trail all the way down the rocks,
he laughed quickly, but without humour this time. Lifting his head he stretched forward, licking Triell between his ears and nudging his cheek with his nose. I'm sorry buddy, I didn't want to be away again. Forgive me?