Sanguine Cove i want you by my side

He had heard the call, but was further out than he had first expected or would have liked. So by the time he reached the call, Aleister was beaten per usual by the Eastfall family. They were ever vigilant on the borders and he couldn't be more appreciative of them. But as the conversation drifted to him, making him pause in the shadows of the forest behind them. It seemed to be a family reunion and he was crashing it.

Aleister gave them time to each other before stepping out from the shadows, but he stayed silent as he approached the flank of the Eastfall family. There he stayed to watch and listen further.

 

(This post was last modified: Jun 11, 2021, 01:01 AM by Aleister.)

Well, she had certainly not expected three of the wolves she was looking for to just show up at her call. Nori's eyes widened in surprise at the black-furred man's eager steps forward and even more eager outburst. But she didn't step backward or cower away from the boisterous male, and instead focused on the words he was saying rather than his proximity.

Her eyes burned a bit. Of everything she'd anticipated to hear, a Welcome Home! hadn't even made the list. So perhaps they did want her to stay. It sounded like anything but a rejection.

Tension eased from her shoulders as she realized that, after two full months of searching and a couple weeks of procrastinating with Jethro, she'd found them. She'd found them and they seemed even happier than she was to see her there. Her gaze traveled back to the other two - the very tall and beautiful woman and the man with the mismatched eyes - and realized with a start that they were already crying.

"Thank you," she breathed, lowering her head in a grateful bow before lifting her gaze back up to the dark man. Nash, Staryn's littermate. "Mother is fine - she and my father's family are down south, near the coast. She wanted me to tell you that she loves you all." Her attention was brought back to Jet when Nash asked him a question directly, and she shook her head with a light laugh. "No, no, this is Jethro! He's my-" She did not hesitate very long in her deliberation of what to call him. Traveling companion, tour guide, and demon really didn't sound like they'd make a good first impression. "-friend. Though he does look a lot more like you than I do," she admitted with a laugh, looking over her shoulder at the boy to make sure he wasn't too uncomfortable, then gestured for him to come forward and introduce himself. Turning back around, she made eye contact with the large black female, and her own expression softened.

She smiled a bit. "It's very nice to finally meet you all. Mother said you were all kind and would welcome me. She knew you would be happy," she told them, her own eyes misty with tears that she was valiantly holding back, but her body held carefully still - the Koizumi family was not big on large displays of emotion, and though these wolves seemed different, she didn't want to be rude. Her attention was caught, again, by a newcomer - another tall man with multicolored eyes. Assuming this was another relative, Nori tilted her head to the side. Mismatched eyes apparently ran in the family. Taking a deep breath, Nori spoke again, "I... had not thought this far ahead. I didn't know if I'd ever find you all. And you said... this used to be Fallen Tree Cove? What happened to it?"

Almost as soon as Nori finished her explanation of their intentions here, the dark-furred and green-eyed man called out joyfully. And, as it turned out, he was one of the wolves Nori had been looking for. In fact, all three of the pack wolves that had appeared were Nori’s relatives, allowing Jet to put names to faces. Nash, Chan, and Moonshadow. What were the odds of that?

Nash did most of the talking and welcoming, while the other two looked a little misty-eyed, the lighter male staying back a bit, while the elder female - Nori’s grandmother, stepped up a bit. It looked like she was crying, but from.. happiness? That was new. Jet felt a pang of envy, but that was overshadowed by an even greater feeling of discomfort. It felt like he was intruding on something that should’ve been private and intimate. Like he did not belong here. Amidst all of it, another man had come wandering up, though he too remained silent. Was this another relative, the grandfather, perhaps?

Awkwardly, Nash asked if Jet was somehow related, though Nori thankfully saved him from having to do more than shake his head back and forth a bit. She gestured for him to approach, which he did - albeit reluctantly, for it very much felt like he should’ve been doing the opposite. ”Hello,” he uttered as he did so, taking a few steps forth, but remaining behind Nori and out of the way. This moment was about everyone else, and he did not want to intrude on that any more than he had to.

Jethro noted the term she’d used to identify him - friend, and he wondered what this meant for their partnership, now. He suspected it would be coming to an end. As kind as these wolves were, most of their affections and warm sentiments were directed towards Nori. Therefore, no matter how nice they seemed now, he was all but certain they’d be asking him to leave before too long, given he was not part of their family. As such, he intended to depart before that became necessary.

Aleister arrived in the midst of their conversation, and Chan gave him a teary smile in greeting. It faded a little, as he realized how shitty this could possibly be for the other man; he'd only ever lost family, while the Eastfalls seemed to gain and gain. He hoped it was tempered by the love the alpha clearly had for his children. He would've moved to speak with Aleister, include him, but Nori started giving answers and Chan couldn't help but focus back in.

That Staryn was alive and well was the final push needed to put him over the edge, now truly crying. He was just so happy for his little sister, it was impossible to contain the emotion. When the volley of questioning was returned, Chan left the answering to Nash and Moon, and took the opportunity to approach Al.

"Staryn's daughter," he clarified, not sure what all the alpha had heard.

"They can stay right?"

Moonshadow's quiet admonition interrupted him, and Nash dipped his head in embarrassment. He was an adult; he shouldn't lose control of himself like that, even if he was excited. But Staryn's daughter!

His attention was directed to Jethro, who, it turned out, was not his nephew, but a friend of Nori's. He grinned at him. "Welcome, Jethro. Any friend of my family's is a friend of mine." His tail was still waving behind him; it seemed to have a mind of his own. Fortunately, he was distracted from further overwhelming his newfound family by the arrival of their leader. Nash followed his brother's gaze and dipped his head to Aleister before glancing back at the pair on their borders. "This is Aleister, our alpha," he introduced.

Nash's gaze then turned to his mother. Perhaps she should explain what happened, though Nash would do so if nobody else beat him to it. He'd already had to tell Chan about their father's demise; he wasn't sure he could bear to share that news with yet another family member, even if she'd never had the chance to meet him.

His stomach dropped. Staryn didn't know; she couldn't know. She would still have to hear it from someone.

I think I need help, cuz I'm drowning in myself

Seconds ticked by slowly as the notion of being a grandmother settled in. It was a bit overwhelming for the aging woman. She had returned to the mountainous valley to spend her final days in what had always been her true home. But instead she found reasons to hold on - rather they found her - and here was yet another one. Her pale gaze moved from her son to her granddaughter before the approach of another drew her attention. Moon turned to see Aleister's agouti form walking towards them. She gave him a smile and wave of her tail before turning back to Nori.

She explained where Staryn was, south near the coast...A pang of guilt arose. Moon hadn't searched the south very well, obviously. Maybe if she had...

The onyx woman was pulled from her guilt as Nori continued, answering Nash's inquiry about her dark companion. Moonshadow gave the boy a warm smile. Nash echoed her own feelings, he turned out to not be family but didnt matter in the slightest. "Hello Jethro, nice to meet ya." He would be welcomed with open paws too. Her silver dusted banner picked up in speed at the mention of her only daughter mentioning them to her own daughter. The mother was so grateful her youngest was not only save and sound but also obviously flourishing. The youngest of the Eastfall line then asked about how the cove had used to be Fallen Tree Cove and what had happened. That pang of guilt returned as she realized that only three of the four wolves Nori asked for where here. She glanced towards her sons seeing that Chan had moved to Aleister and that Nash was looking to her. She knew her dark lookalike had to break the news to his brother, something that she wished the boy hadn't had to shoulder. Taking a deep breath Moonshadow looked back to her granddaughter meeting her honey gaze. "There was an accident..." she paused, wishing that her love could be there. She knew he would have just been over the moon - much like Nash was. "Yer grandfather was killed." Silver dusted years fell flat against her head as her tail stilled. She hated having to break the news, especially when this was such a happy occasion. "There were other reasons as well, but I can explain those once y'all are settled in." Moon continued her ears standing back up and her tail waving once more.

Nash introduced Aleister and Moon moved so that she was standing more sideways as to be able to look between them all. She was sure the agouti Vuesain would not be opposed to them joining them. After all they had four pups to look after - surely two extra set of paws would help significantly. And besides that reason he was very much like his parents. Kind and accepting to name just two similar qualities. No matter what there wasnt anything that could happen that could take away the joy she felt on this day. This has easily become one of the happiest days of her life.

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