It was not long before others began to arrive. The first form to appear in response to Triell's call was not who Nayeli had been waiting so eagerly for, but she did recognize the dark earthen-hued woman. Spieden's posture and odd, half-approach were enough to pull Nayeli's attention fully onto the other, and for a long moment, competing instincts seemed to war beneath the surface, perhaps for both females. The Coho woman's stance clearly conveyed dominance, though she seemed somewhat unsure of things as well, and one hardly needed to be appraised of the full situation to pick up on the subtext. Had this she-wolf stepped up in her absence? Triell had said nothing specific on the matter, and Nayeli had only assumed it would be the loyal and trusted Jessie who he would have turned to, if anyone... but perhaps the scouts' mission had complicated matters further. She stared back into the other woman's fiery gaze, wanting to raise her banner and assert that she feared nothing - but if it was truly a fight Spieden wanted, Nayeli knew she wasn't prepared for it. Her paw still thrummed with the memory of her old injury, and more recently, Skadi's vengeful jaws. Her energy and strength had not fully returned, and whatever might happen, she new that right now the pack would need someone stronger and more capable than she currently was. Her silver gaze was calm, though critical for a moment, wondering if this she-wolf was really up to such a task - how well had she managed so far? At least Zera and Darrah had been kept safe, and the pack together; if nothing else, Nayeli supposed she owed Spieden thanks for that, for helping Triell when he'd surely needed it. After what seemed like eons, but had probably been only seconds, she gave a curt dip of her head and a flick of her tail in greeting, lowering her gaze just long enough to bleed off some of the tension building in the air. She kept her neutral posture - she would defer to this woman, for now, if she must, but she did not have to like it. At any rate, it was something to be settled later, not now, and she could only hope Spieden would be astute enough to come to a similar conclusion.
Perhaps she might have said something of the sort to the dark woman, had the three of them been alone for very long, but in no time at all another was with them - and this time, it was who Nayeli had been watching for. Her eyes fell on her son as he seated himself at a careful distance, greeting his father but sparing her neither a word nor a glance. If Nayeli's reaction to Speiden had been serene and detached, it was now anything but. Nayeli shuffled her feet, ears flicking back - quite clearly uncomfortable, she could not bring herself to break her gaze away again until Zera arrived. If Darrah wouldn't acknowledge his mother, at least greeting his father and sitting with his sister were the next best thing. She couldn't help but smile, seeing the pair of them together at last, though she wouldn't bet on them receiving it equally well.
Others were arriving now - next came the woman who had been at borders yesterday. Nayeli nodded in greeting to her, but there was little opportunity to answer her question just yet. Soon enough, you'll all know. The dark cloud that had followed Nayeli home might very well affect them all, a thought which sent a familiar, bitter knot to her stomach. Curse them. Isn't everything they've done already enough? she thought. But knowing Garmr, it wasn't. Before, she had felt guilty for returning here with such a darkness following her, but how could she not come back, given the chance? This was her home, and she would not allow the mere specter of her captors to continue to prevent her from returning to it. She could not have outrun them on her own for long, this was the only right choice, she kept telling herself.
The next arrivals were more well-known to her, and a smile leaped back onto the dark woman's jaws, glad to see that Drestig had returned from his mission alongside Jessie. Serach was the next to arrive, followed by the silver Swiftpaw woman herself. Nayeli gave each new arrival another nod in turn, noting that Serach was alone and quiet. Jessie seemed equally so, though not with quite the same air. "I'm glad to see you've returned... and sorry I could not be here to welcome you back," Nayeli said, shifting her gaze between Drestig and Jessie. It seemed like an eternity ago when she and the emerald-eyed lead scout had first discussed the trip over the mountains. Triell's brother, Hotei, was the next to arrive, a wolf Nayeli had never really gotten to know, despite their mutual connections. He had always struck her as an exceedingly quiet man, and today was no different. It was the last arrival who provided a surprise - it took Nayeli a moment to place the the lightly silvered woman, but then she remembered... last winter. The Glen. Nayeli's attention had not been focused on her that day, but now she studied her for a moment, her gaze more intrigued than hostile. Something must have made her leave their neighbors and brought her here, for clearly she was no longer an enemy. For the moment, it was simply another ponderance to add to a long and growing list.
Some familiar faces had yet to arrive, but it didn't seem they would be waiting any longer - Nayeli could only hope that they were running late or had some other task to detain them, but the absences of Triell's brother, and Serach's, did not go unnoticed . Triell launched into the matter of her reappearance with little preamble, leaving Nayeli thankful that he seemed to be sticking to the shorter version. Sharing her tale with him had been difficult, she was not certain she could have got through it all again before the pack like this. For a moment, their two gazes met, and she gave him a grateful nod. When he had finished, she stepped forward, so that the others might gather and acquaint themselves with her scent, and the others that still mingled vaguely in her fur. "I was injured in the Sierra Hills when the band of loners found me, and promised their aid. Instead they did their best to keep me from returning home, to what end, I do not know.... There were four of them, all related, with dark-and-silver coats - three adults and one juvenile. Now I've defied them by escaping, and I'm sure they will not leave the matter alone easily," she stated, little emotion seeping its way into her words. She had been over it all before, she wanted to put that pain in the past. Now there was only a ring of bright anger in the otherwise neutral cadence of her voice, anger at what might yet come from those wolves. She looked out at the trees as she spoke, but once she was done, she looked around to the rest of the Bend wolves in invitation to step closer. There might be differences and tensions between them, but in the face of an outside threat, they must needs stand together.