It's Complicated

@Angier

She had returned multiple times to the place of her birth, stealing away in the middle of the night and returning before dawn. Some part of her had wanted to sleep in the den she shared with her family. Part of her missed the months of her youth, where all she'd had to fret over was who ate her bone, or had stolen her stick. But now, she worried over much more important things. Where was Taima? How were the rest of her siblings getting along? Had mother and father been upset at her departure? She hoped Borden hadn't come to try to find her, and that she hadn't broken her parents hearts. Calla knew that the loss of their eldest son had hit both parents hard, and subsequent loss of puppies following had only deepened the wound. She could only hope that they would somehow know she was safe in the Lore.

Calla swallowed as she returned from one of her outings to Cedarwood, a souvenir in her jaws. The months had not been kind to the pack lands of Grizzly Hollow, but she had found a relic of the past in the old den.. A stick whose scents had long since washed away, but chiseled in the old bark was the telltale marks of teeth. Puppy Teeth. Calla remembered fighting with her siblings over this stick in particular, for it was the mother of all sticks! At least, it had been to wolves as small as they had been. Seeing the stick brought back memories, and with those memories, the feeling of loneliness almost too encompassing to push away. She felt the sudden realization that she truly was alone here.

Sure, she had the pack, she had Elettra, who she was slowly learning had some prior connection to Grizzly Hollow. She knew her uncle lived in the same territory she did, but Calla hardly saw Angier Lyall. She swallowed nervously around her stick pausing where his scent was strongest. She sniffed, but only vaguely recognized it if only because he smelled of pack. Of Willow Ridge. Calla lowered her once precious stick to the ground and looked around, golden eyes caressing the lands of her current home with a small amount of affection. It was growing on her, slowly. But it would never be home.

The cream female lifted her head and wuffed, hoping to draw the elusive uncle from wherever he was hiding. She collapsed her hind end beneath her and sat to wait, quietly pushing the chewed stick around between her front paws.

Words: 425

Shoot, love. Sorrysorrysorry for the delay. also, ow, my heart. That puppy teeth part got me, haha. <3

angier lyall

Things don't always go as planned, Mr. Angier.

The tawny Lyall had just torn himself away from one of Skoll and Asriel's wayward trails when the soft sound of a bark tugged at his beige-furred ears. He raised a brow, whipping his head about in the direction from whence it came. He pursed his lips after casting a stern eye towards where the two Archer boys had run off two. They were old enough, Angier knew, but whether or not they could keep out of trouble, he could only hope they'd both come home just as they had left.

The cool autumn breeze brought him a taste of who had beckoned him and, though he had moved forward with a couple eager steps, as soon he recognized just whose voice it was, stopped in his tracks. His ears flattened in thought, his face scrunching up in thought. How long had it been to travel from here to there? How long had it been since he had seen Borden or Jaysyek or their children, his nephews and nieces? He couldn't recall. It took some effort to smooth out the washed out mask on his face, but once he felt presentable - he had quite the image and presence to uphold these days with winter on the way and the cubs getting older - he advanced towards the place where Calla Lyall laid in wait.

His pale gold eyes immediately went to the stick between her paws before hastily looking her over. While he had known for some time that she had somehow found her way back into Relic Lore, he had actually forgotten at one point that she, too, had found Elettra's favor. It wasn't surprising, however, her mother, after all, had been close with the dark lady. A small smile curled around his muzzle on side and he exhaled, the sound hinting at how relieved he was to find that she was (or at least seemed) all right.

"Well, 'ello," he cooed. "Aren't you s'posed to be at home young lady?" He playfully teased, his smile still failing to reach his eyes. He did his best to keep his worrisome thoughts at bay, trying to convince himself that Calla had come back on her own accord because she did not like Renegades Reach or the Greying Glades as a whole... not because something terrible had happened to her parents or her siblings.

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