"Stop here" a male voice called from the sky, and the horse and rider did just that. "They are secretive." The journey had been long and they had taken frequent, short breaks, but Foxglove was unwilling to move slowly. The only long break they had taken had been to sleep for a short period of time. She reached out and rubbed the velvety nose of the champagne mare, murmuring soft encouragments to her. Szellem flew above them, visible to all as merely a small bird flying strangely close to a canine atop an equine. The world had certainly become very strange, he knew.

It was early morning when they reached the beach, the blonde wolfdog sliding off her horse as soon as the mare stopped. The mare began wandering towards the grass further away, but Foxglove drifted to the water, standing with her feet in the ocean. As the tide came in, she felt it rushing over the tops of her feet, the sand moving quickly as the water retreated to cover her toes. She wriggled them free, only to have it happen again. A soft smile crossed her delicate shepherd-like features, jades squinting in the sunlight.

"I like this," she told Szellem, who flew to rest on her shoulder. "I knew that you would," the spirit contented. It had not been a frivolous whim that had brought them here, though. Foxglove lifted her head to the fresh sunlight, singing for her sister. She hoped that she would come.

Eyes of jade, eyes that matched nearly her entire family's gaze, watched the ocean as she waited, hoping her sister would come to her now. Perhaps Magnolia would not want to see her again. Maybe she would want Foxglove out of her life as she had seemingly wanted Niro out of her life, as her father had not known where she was. Later, her father and sister would see one another again, but Foxglove did not know this, of course. She could not see the future, after all.

The mare she had grown close to was a ways away, but the tribal scout with her gypsy scarves and adornments was not concerned, for she did not think the horse would wander too far away. Szellem remained silent, knowing that this time was necessary to pass in silence, for Foxglove had much on her mind. The spirit bird heard the approach of the other just a moment before Foxglove did, both turning to look behind them. Foxglove's gaze lit up; Maggie was here.

She was hesitant to go to her sister, for they had not been all that close when they had been living in Dahlia de Mai with their mother and Poppy. Foxglove had been quiet, anxious, nervous; Magnolia had been excited, rambunctious, adventurous. Still she feared that her sister would reject her, too. With a small smile, she nodded, a bit of nervous laughter coming from the blonde wolfdog. "Hi Maggie," was all she could think of to say.

Magnolia's reaction was not the one that Foxglove had been hoping for, but at least she had not scorned her as openly as the blonde sister had feared she might. She had worried so much that her silver sister would hate her for choosing to leave with their mother rather than to stay with their father, as Maggie had chosen to do. She had feared that they would both hate her, in fact, but neither did, it seemed. Maggie did not seem entirely happy to see her, though. Something was wrong here. She could tell.

The answer came after the questions of their mother and sister: Maggie did not want her to be here. At least, not so close to her home. Szellem had perhaps brought them too close. Foxglove knew her face had fallen for a moment, but she could not help but feel rejected. "I'm sorry," she said quietly. "I knew I could not come too close, but I had hoped this was far enough away. I am so happy I found you," she added in a timid voice. Maybe Magnolia had not wanted to be found... Maybe that was the problem.

"Mother and Poppy settled almost immediately with a pack she stayed with once. They taught me and Poppy their language. I didn't stay long, though, I took up with a band of gypsy wolves and then I ended up here again. I live in AniWaya now... I went to the kingdom to find you and Niro, but you had gone, and then I went to Dahlia de Mai, but it was gone..." She trailed off, wondering if Magnolia would know what had happened to their birth pack, or if she had been as sad as Foxglove had been.

Still, she could not shake the feeling that Maggie was not happy to see her. Was it possible that she did hate Foxglove?

Foxglove did not feel comfort from Szellem sitting on her shoulder. His close proximity was upsetting to her when all she wanted was her sister's touch, to know that Maggie wanted to see her. The spirit bird could sense this feeling, and though she did not ask him to, he knew that the wolfdog wanted him to leave, so he flitted away to fly near the mare, giving the two girls time together.

They would... kill her? Szellem had told her that they were secretive and that was why they were not going closer, but he had not told her of their customs. Why would Maggie settle in a pack that would kill a family member of one of its members just for coming to visit? Jade eyes opened wide at this revelation; it frightened her more than she could say.

"I don't know. It just wasn't there anymore," she said a bit numbly. Dahlia de Mai seemed so unimportant now that she was with Magnolia and it was not going as she planned. Suddenly, Magnolia was crying and holding her, and Foxglove let herself be held tightly, folding into her larger sister. "Why are you here?" she whispered, eyes closed against the world as she pressed against her sister, fighting the tears that threatened her now.

It was not something she wanted to do, but Foxglove allowed her sister to pull away from her, though she reached out with one hand to grasp the silver one of her sister. She did not want to let go, she did not want to lose the contact she had craved for so long in missing her sister. So much had changed, that much was obvious, but Foxglove hardly knew the extent of it. Their father had taken a mate and they had a half-brother. Magnolia lived in a secretive pack that did not like outsiders. She had come to terms with sharing the same ailment that afflicted their mother. What else was there?

A new question formed in her mind. Who was Larkspur and why had Magnolia followed him, how had he saved her? That was not the most pressing of the things she said, though. "What do you mean, you can never leave?" she asked in her wispy, breathy voice. It sounded formidable.