The Wildwood All Things Change, but Some Things Stay The Same.

Vlarindara had settled to her haunches when Raigo started railing at her - her expression softening despite the verbal beat down. She listened attentively before taking a step forward, her plumed tail wagging slightly at her back. "Raigo.." There was a sorrow in her tone as she lowered her head, her ears resting against her neck. If it was truly as he had said - and Borden and Jaysyek wanted her to return - then she had done what she'd feared when the marsh had made her ill...turned her back on them. "I believe you...Why wouldn't I? But...That means that I've turned my back on my pack...by running and not trying to fight back - or to stay.. or even returning. I left of my own accord...which is worse than being driven out.. You know I'd never...want to leave Grizzly Hollow.."

Quietly, she glanced up at the tall sides of the mountain, amber eyes peering through the treetops as if she could see Midnight Plateau. "I...I want to go back.. to go home" Could she really go back? Just... return to Grizzly Hollow and expect things to be the same as they were? Perhaps with the puppies there, she could offer to take care of them..maybe be gifted with the task of watching over them while the wolves hunted. Maybe...even take her place as Omega and work to show the alphas she hadn't intended to leave.. But...would they let her? Perhaps it would be best to remain alone for a while... to heal her injuries and gain her strength back. How could she expect the wolves of the Hollow to care for her in this condition if she couldn't reciprocate? Vlarindara shifted, trying to settle near Raigo's feet, to press her pelt against his and take what comfort she would allow herself. He was all grown up now, right? She could..afford to let him take some of her worries...couldn't she? After all -that's what siblings were for, right?

Raigo didn't want to hurt her feelings, and he felt bad as she began to pull back as he berated her. But she had to hear what he was saying. He was preaching the truth to her, he truly was. Vlar had always been so smart, and her lack of effective decision making now was something that needed to be properly corrected, in case she made even more decisions that were poor in judgement. Why couldn't she see what was so clear to all of them? To everybody but her? Eyes narrowing even as he wagged her, tail, the youth sighed as she made her argument, and began to shake his head, though his lips broke into a thin smile. She was so sincere in her excuses that she couldn't even see what was so plain to the rest of them. "I know you wouldn't, Vlar. You love them to much. Which is why you need to come back."

And she wanted to her. Her next words hit Raigo like a freight train, and he whined at her, beating his tail against the ground. "I know, I know you do." She cuddled up against his paws, and the creme colored male settled down to his stomach. Resting his head on her back, he sighed into her dirty fur. Licking her back, he tried to sooth her with his actions in a way that his words couldn't. "At the very least," he said after a few minutes of silence. "You should come home for me. I traveled all this way so I could see my sister, and if you're not there, then what reason do I have to be there?" He wasn't completely without hope in Grizzly Hollow without her, but he wanted her to understand that it was his love and devotion for her that had brought him back, rather than his loyalty to Borden and Jayse.

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He told her to come back-and Vlarindara waned to..more than anything..but.. she couldn't...Not right now.. not in her condition. "Raigo..." There was pure affection in her tone as she smiled at him, shifting slightly and resting her head on his paws, curling herself around his form quite happily. At least.. for now, she could enjoy herself - for now she could be happy.. Before she had to figure out what she was going to do. "I'll...go back...Just ..for now - I think I'll stay here...recuperate a little.. I can't show my ace to them as I am now.." Vlarindara's tone was embarrassed, her posture, while relaxed and lying down.. was nervous. "I just...I can't.."

There was a comfort in the simple touches. They were brother and sister, by choice though not by blood, and part of that was being able to draw comfort from one another. Raigo hardly cared that she was resting her head on his paws, he only wished that he had come back sooner so she would have been able to rely on him more. He was still young, and still naive about a lot in the world, but he knew that he loved his sister, and wanted to make things right for her. There would be words had with Kiche, the devil who had driven her away. Resting his head on hers, he licked her ear, giving it a gentle tug as his tail beat the ground a single time. Sighing, he felt resigned. "I wish you would come back now. But alright. Promise?" Raigo's tone grew serious, and he hoped that she would be willing to accept his promise. "Can I stay with you?" Surely Borden and Jayse would understand if he didn't return for a while. Afterall, he was fighting a division of loyalties here: family vs. pack. Because right now, they just weren't adding up.

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Vlarindara blinked at Raigo, letting him tug her ear with a laugh. "You should stay with the pack, Raigo.. Borden and Jaysyek will need all the help they can get with the pups on the way...With only Kiche and Elettra there.. they need more help.. If the pups are hurt.." The white wolf shifted and gently licked his cheek, her expression having softened, though her plumed tail thumped happily against the ground next to her. "I promise you, little brother - I WILL come back...

The reassuring thump of her tail helped with his belief that the white beast would in fact return home, but until she was actually in the Grizzly Hollow pack lands with him, Borden, and Jayse, Raigo would not believe it. There were somethings that one could not simply take on faith, and given her previous reason of not returning, he would not accept it until she was physically back home. But he said nothing, and merely continued to lick the top of her hand. Their relationship was a cosher one, and it always had been. Just because they were no longer in the same pack didn't, and would never, change that. Sighing, Raigo ceased his affectionate licks and laid his head down on top of hers, closing his eyes. "I'm glad I found you, sis," he murmured before he drifted off into a sleep, the tension easing from his body in a way that it had not done since he had first gotten lost and left Grizzly Hollow.

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