424 words. A bit out of order, but trying to pick up the pace a bit.
As the stranger lead her toward the caves, the maturing woman felt her longing for home rekindle. Her mind knew where she was, but her emotions seemed confused; had it been so long? Could she no longer connect home to the beautiful kingdom she stood within at that moment? Impossible. Home was where the blood lived, and her blood was all over the land, coursing through the veins of other coymutts within the boundaries. She was proud to be the daughter of such widespread genetics; she was proud to be Talitha Lykoi. Or at least a Lykoi.
Her steps were slow and fluid, each one taking her closer to the destination she desired, to the faces of her past that she was desperate to see. It was the beautifully ragged face of her grandmother that caught her sight first. The one-eyed coyote appeared on all fours at the mouth of the Inferni caves; the sight of the old woman caused a fluttering of butterflies in the Luperci's stomach. Another reunion. Another possibility of disappointing the important figures in her life.
Gabriel's absence was enough proof in her mahogany-crowned head.
But Kaena seemed delighted, not disappointed, as the man who lead her through the land brought her closer to the opening. “Talitha.” The simple gesture of speaking her name, the voice warm, was enough to sooth the distress building in the stomach of the Lykoi child. A cinnamon-backed hand raised to cover a subtle smile; her grandmother had seemed to forget that she wasn't alone in the cavernous home.
As soon as she felt comfortable with the feelings of her grandmother, Talitha broke from the stranger's side, approaching the silver lupus with a sense of confident familiarity. With each step came the more familiar scent of her father. Her powerful, handsome, compassionate father. Her ideals were warped, she knew, but she enjoyed seeing him in such a holy light. Despite her longing to turn back to him, she remained focused on the Centurion; if Gabriel were upset, she would prefer to have words with him without an audience.
“Home is where the heart is, and I missed it,” she murmured; while she hadn't been asked for an explanation, she felt it was right to give them reason to her magic show disappearance once again. Perhaps it was the charge of liquor in her bloodstream that brought about faint traces of shining tears to her crimson Massacre eyes, but perhaps it was the simple fact that she was not being turned away.
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