Sanguine Cove shilly-shally by the side door

Backdated to May 17th. Stella returns after a season away - AW!

Stella had intended to go straight home, but Lost lake drew the lost girl to quench her thirst with a life-or-death immediacy. It had been days on end since she'd had more than dew or a dehydrated rabbit. Stella walked almost on auto-pilot until she was chest-deep, then drank until she felt sick. At last she raised her head, her greater purpose here snapping back into her mind like a whip's crack. The lake's shoreline stretched out before her eyes, the familiar guardian rock formations reflected mirror-like on the still waters. Warm tears spilled unbidden from golden eyes. Home.

Then she was splashing back to shore, and racing along it.

Her paws gained more momentum the closer she drew to the Cove. The prodigal golden rose returned to them with nothing to show for her absence. Unable to find what she searched for, she was rather worse for the wear, her ribs and hips beginning to etch out in relief against her sandy pelt. She'd gotten good enough at hunting small prey these last couple of months, but it was clearly not enough for the girl to thrive on her own.

She paused at the border only to affirm to herself the scent markers were there, and to make brief note of who she did and did not smell there. But oddly, she could not bring herself to call out, the nerves rising in her chest. She wasn't sure she was ready to face her family again, but she was desperately homesick. Here she was, teetering on the very doorstep like a little child afraid to peek at whatever might be on the other side. What if something terrible had happened while she was away? The howl stuck in her throat as she stood there, paws shuffling in the pebbles.

So excited for reunion!! (@Oksana @Aquene @Aleister for mentions <3)

The oldest Vuesain-brother was feeling, odd. Adrift in this new role, no longer a child, but still far from grown up, and yet with a heavy new weight of responsibility on his shoulders. Leo had spent his first year, desperately trying to watch over his siblings and failing rather resoundingly most of the time. Now he was an older brother in earnest, and feeling far from up to the task, yet he would take it on with the same resolve as he had with his littermates – maybe this time around, he would manage better.   As such, the boy had taken to helping out from the very start, assisting his father in bringing fresh food to the birthing den every day, and more importantly, water. With every stream and pond within the Cove’s territory completely dried up, the Lake had become absolutely essential, yet it was much to far a trip for Oksana to make multiple times a day, leaving the little ones behind. So, armed with one of Aquene’s absorbent moss balls, Leo would make the trek back and forth, ferrying water to the den as often as the new mother needed.   His was on his way back from just such a trip, the precious cargo clutched tight in his teeth, when an unexpected familiar scent suddenly hit him. He almost dropped the wet moss in surprise, pausing briefly to adjust his hold before he hurried to follow the trail back towards the borders. And there he saw her, unmistakable in her pale sandy coat and dark face mask, seemingly stalled on the edge of their home. “Stella!” he tried to call out, though the sound was muffled into nonsense by his wed burden. Instead he barked loudly to draw her attention, tail waving as a frantic banner over his back as he rushed towards her, uncharacteristically animated in his excitement to be reunited with his sister. Thoughts ”Speech”

Lakela @DA

Her thoughts churned, brewing a storm up in her mind as her claws dug into the stony sand. Roughly-shaded ears pressed back as she thought about what to say of her long overdue return. She had never been good at goodbyes, it would seem she was not very good at hellos, either. As if to provide the girl with some relief, some impetus to act, a movement drew her eye. A familiar shape was accompanied by a bark that was somewhat muffled but still music to her ears. "Leo!" she shouted back, breaking into a run once more.

If she felt childish before, now it really all came rushing back. There was no hesitation anymore as Stella rushed to her brother's side, rearing up to match his height and knocking her shoulder into his. Her tail wagged at a fever pitch as she whined joyful, wordless greeting and innumerable questions, her dark nose searching his scent and those mingled with his for answers. Who's this? What's that? Have I been gone too long?

Now that her mother had a new litter ot left Kateri with a lot to think about. The time she spent at the border patrolling amd exercising her leg was also spent deep in thought. She'd been considering a trip away. Sure she'd gone to the backwater and then the time she was lost but the young Slarr hadn't ever really got to explore much outside the border. Now that she was getting stronger and more confident maybe it was time for her to have her chance.

She thought about where she might go if she did leave the cove for a little while. The backwater had come across her mind. She could visit Archer amd spend some time learning more from Clover. Thenaybe she could go to other places. There was a drought of course but Kateri didn't really know what she could do to help in that situation.

The scent of another wolf had brought her out of her thoughts. She hoped more than anything they hadn't done something stupid and cross the border. Leo's barks also caught her attention at that time. Fearing he might be in trouble he raced toward him.

Thankfully as she approached she caught sight of the other and her brother. At first she didn't recognize the wolfbwith him but as she drew closer a hint of recognition crossed her features.

"Stella," she whispered to herself.

Kateri couldn't remember the last time she'd seen her sister. As she approached she saw Stella rush toward Leo to greet him. She couldn't believe her sister was back.

"Is it really you?" She said when she was closer.

Her reaction was instant as goldenrod eyes landed on him, alight with recognition. She ran towards him even faster than he was to her, the sound of her voice and touch of her shoulder making his tail wag even faster. As she inspected him with eyes and nose, Leo did the same to her, running his attention all over her, noticing what had changed and what stayed the same in all the time they’d been apart.   Another voice joined the joyous whines. Looking over Stella’s shoulders, Leo spotted his other sister, stepping closer more tentatively. Trying to reassure her, he nodded in answer to the question, attempting to smile but being once again hampered by his burden. With a soft grunt, he pulled free of Stella’s embrace long enough to place the moss ball carefully on a nearby rock. Then he turned to his two sisters, the feint curve of a warm smile around his lips. “I was starting to get worried,” he hummed softly, stretching to nudge a creamy shoulder with his nose, as if to reassure himself she was whole and real; “I missed you.” Thoughts ”Speech”

Lakela @DA

Stella's head was spinning, but the ground felt solid beneath her feet at last. For a moment, all she wanted was to be enveloped by familiar scents once again, to go back to how things were. Only two months, her time away felt like another lifetime. She blinked at Kateri, noting how her shadowed sister had grown. Leo, too - he looked so much like their father!

Catching her breath, she still struggled to find the words. "I didn't mean to be gone so long, I just... didn't wanna fail you guys." She told herself she wanted to find their mother for the sake of their family, and yet lately she felt more and more foolish for going. She wasn't sure if it was because she had failed, or because it had really been a selfish quest after all, deep down she just missed Kip, and hadn't wanted to face what lay ahead, and as a result she'd just made those she cared about worry for her sake. But now that she was home again, she could hopefully begin setting things right. "How are you both? I missed you so much!" She exclaimed, stepping closer to sniff at Kateri's coat, and give her shoulder a nuzzle.

Seeing Stella there with Leo made her feel like it had been a lifetime since she'd last seen her sister. Her brother confirmed for her that it was in fact their wayward sister returned. Her tail wagged happily behind her as she came closer to her siblings. "I missed you too Stella very much," she made sure to say. Kateri felt it was important that the other girl knew that. She didn't want her to think that she'd come back for nothing. "Papa will be so happy to see you too." She knew that for a fact.

When their sister finally spoke it was to explain that she hadn't wanted to let them down. That was the reason it had taken her so long to return. "Oh Stella, it was very noble of you to go looking for your mother but we would have understood wouldn't we Leo?" She said looking to her brother hoping he could help her reassure Stella. "What's important is that you came back." Now that Stella was back Kateri felt like their little family was more complete. "I've been doing better," she replied when asked how she'd been doing. Then she looked to Leo so that he could answer too. She wondered if he was steuggling as much with his new siblings as she was hers.

Leo too felt many years older than when Stella had left, so much had happened while she was away, he hardly knew where to start. So for the moment he was content to take half a step back, allowing Kateri to great their sister as he had, and make her own inspections.   Their older sister’s words echoed Leo’s own, and he nodded along, eyes fixed on Stella. With the first buzz of reunion starting to fade a little, the boy had remembered why his sister had left in the first place, and he was wondering how her mission had gone, not knowing her own thoughts were circling the same subject until she talked. Instantly, he frowned, wanting to reassure her but not knowing what to say. Kateri had no such qualms, insisting that Stella had no reason to apologize, and they were just happy that she was back. Of course, Leo agreed, and yet.   His frown deepened. For perhaps the first time in his life, the Vuesain-Kipley felt a small stitch of irritation towards his half-sister, just the tiniest sliver. It was rare that Leo even thought about the fact that Kateri only shared a father with the rest of them, that she still had her mother around, but her words suddenly made it very clear, and they bothered him. So, as the girls tried to move on the conversation, he couldn’t help but butt in, trying to catch Stella’s eyes as he asked, quietly: “Didn’t you find anything at all?” It might have sounded accusatory, was it not for the vulnerable look in his eyes, hinting at the frail hope he had otherwise tried so long to kill. Thoughts ”Speech”

Lakela @DA

Stella took Kateri's words to heart. They did not exactly alleviate the ache she had carried around, but it was like a healing balm to the wound nonetheless. They were family, and it felt good and right to be back together. And yet, her reason for leaving had been as much selfish as anything. She wanted to find her ma because she missed her, of course it was for all of her family, but she'd be lying to claim it wasn't for herself too.

Leo was watching her as they spoke. Meeting his gaze wasn't easy, she wasn't sure what to say. She couldn't tell what to make of his expression either, a mixture of trepidation and other things that she was all to ready to reflect her own insecurities upon. His voice though, sounded just as vulnerable as she felt. She wanted to offer her brother anything to relieve the creeping discouragement, but all she could do was meet his gaze with a sad shake of her head. "I looked everywhere I could think of, until I couldn't anymore, but I didn't find anything." it was a lame excuse, and she knew it. "I didn't find any bad news, either, just a whole lot of nothin'." She tried to take a calm breath, but found her voice was shaking. "Leo, I'm sorry."

Maybe Stella had delayed her return out of hope of finding something, or maybe it was because she was afraid to return without the good news she'd desperately hoped to find. Either way, she had come back home now to face the facts. Things were different, she could tell, and as much as she wanted to put everything back into its place, she couldn't. But maybe, just maybe, together they could be okay.

(This post was last modified: Jun 15, 2022, 11:40 PM by Stella.)

To Kateri had never mattered that she'd only shared a father with Leo, Lynx, and Stella. They were her siblings and she loved them all very much. She did what she could to be there for them and she would have shared her mother with them if that would have helped. She knew each of then felt the pain of their mothers absence in their own ways. Often she felt helpless to make it better but she knew she couldn't ever understand what they were going through.

The Slayer girl was surprised by Leo's question, the way he'd spoken it. She hadn't ever heard him be like that before. Then Stella's words explaining what she hadn't found. In a way it angered her. How could a mother do this to her children. Leaving them wondering and wishing for answers that wouldn't ever come. The presence of a mother that wouldn't ever be there. She reached over and touched her brothers shoulder with her nose. A silent reminder that she was always there for him.

Kateri wanted to tell them to forget their mother, that she obviously didn't care if she could up amd leave like that but she knew she couldn't. She couldn't hurt them more than they already were. She moved toward Stella and touched her shoulder as well. She really wished there was more that she could do. "Maybe it's just been too long and she's still out there and hasn't returned because she knows that she shouldn't have left you and hasnt figured out yet how to make it up to you?" Kateri offered hoping it might help a little.