Set to happen the day after the joining thread
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When she woke the next day, Savina panicked that it had all just been a dream. That her mind was playing out what she so wanted. But when she became more focused his scent still lingered. A sigh of relief left her lungs. It would've been horrible if it had just been a dream. The ebony girl would've been morose for days. Luckily there was no need for such feelings though. Ehno and her were reunited, and it couldn't be better. But then she remembered that her dear brother still had no idea what had happened to Ghita. And to the mother they both had loved so dearly. She hated to ruin the joy of their reunion with such sad news, yet she knew that she had to tell him, she couldn't put it off any longer. As hard as it was, it was important. It needed to be done, and now.



The slender wolf jumped from her bed and stretched out her limbs. Then she softly trotted down the hall to the room Ehno had taken residence in last night. The Orion stood there for a few moments before making any noise. She didn't want to deliver the news in the house. The family grief needed to be a private matter and a private moment. But where should they go? Savina didn't want to go to the beach. The beach was where they had found each other, and she didn't want bad memories there. Rabbit Lake had been the spot for many of her difficult conversations, and there would be much less chance that someone would bother them there. Her mind made up she put her nose against the door to his room, and quietly called to her brother. "Ehno? Are you awake?" Maybe once the bad news was delivered and he had his time to absorb it all, they could talk on his travels of the past year. To help soften the blow a little.

Ehno had slept a deep, dreamless sleep, the kind that leaves one feeling rested, if not a little groggy at first. But he never really considered himself too much of a morning person anyway. So when he turned over on the small bed, a satisfied sigh escaping his lungs, he almost took Savina’s quiet call as a dream late in coming. And then the memories of the day before hit him, swift and sure. That all hadn’t been a dream, had it? The fear of simply imagining the incredible reunion jerked him into a more fully awake state. He lifted his head up, amber gaze scanning the unfamiliar room quickly. He was in the mansion. And he caught Savina’s scent nearby. It hadn’t been a dream after all.



He smiled in relief, hopping off the bed and padding over to the slightly open door. It felt good to be in his natural form once again. He hadn’t realized just how much he missed walking about on four paws while stuck in the middle of the hustle and bustle of the Spanish ship. As soon as he came to the room yesterday, he had dropped his worn bag in the corner and shifted back. He was already feeling quite comfortable. Stopping at the door, he nudged it open further, happy to see his sister waiting there. He nuzzled her in greeting, a smile gracing his lips. “Buon giorno, Savina.”

Not in this post, but for when she does explain what happened, I'm going to have her say it English. Just because I know it'll be long and it would be a pain for you to scroll through it all XD



A smile instantly graced her features as Ehno appeared at the door. It was wonderful to see him in his natural form again. The way she had always seen him and remembered him before. She nuzzled him back, giving him a soft lick on his cheek. The ebony girl was so used to speaking in English that she had forgotten that she could greet him in Italian. "La buona mattina a lei anche." The words fell off her tongue elegantly. To her Italian was a much more "pretty" language than English. Her native speech sounded much more appealing to the ear she thought. Though she didn't dislike her second language.



Trying her best to hide her melancholy about the news she would soon have to give him, she let her tail swing lazily from side to side. Keeping the smile on her face. Though admittedly the smile was real. Ehno always could bring a smile to her face. "Spero che lei ha dormito bene. Pensavo che potremmo fare una passeggiata a un lago che è nel territorio. È un realmente piacevole un, e possiamo raggiungere su tutto." Savina couldn't wait to hear about all her brother had done and seen over his travels of the past year. She just wished that she wasn't going to have to break a part of his heart first. The ache where her's had was pulsing in her chest simply thinking about it.

XD Alright, that's fine.



He smiled sweetly at his sister. He had nearly forgotten just how beautiful she was when he smiled. It was wonderful to see that smile again, right there in front of him, rather than in his memories. And he was finally able to spend time with her again. That was something he had missed greatly on his journey, one of the few things that had almost held him back. But he knew he would always have that itch to explore, constantly whispering about the great mysteries of the world in a small corner of his mind. He knew it was part of who he was, that he would have to leave sooner or later. He had left part of himself with Savina when he had left. It felt good to be whole again.



He found himself nodding quickly at his sister's suggestion. "Ciò sembra meraviglioso. Condurre la maniera." He stepped out of the room with a slight bounce in his step, ready to follow her to the lake she mentioned. It had been so long, a year separating now from when they had last seen each other. Ehno had seen so many things and learned much from his journey, he couldn't wait to share the stories with Savina. He knew she would enjoy hearing the tales of his journey just as much as he had. But the Italian wolf was equally eager to hear his sister's tales, to find out how things had been at home and just how she had managed to get here herself. A year was a long time, and they had both experienced so much.

I'm out of town until Sunday, so no need to rush the reply. And omg sadness ;.;
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Her head nodded as Ehno responded and she lead the way out of the mansion and started west towards the lake. The anticipation and fear was mounting inside of the slender female. This was going to be so hard for both of them. Savina wished more than anything that there was something she could do to make things hurt less for her dear brother. She knew there was nothing though. Nothing could dull the pain of what she had to inform him of. Knowing she couldn't keep up the happy facade much longer she started into a run, knowing it would be easy for him to keep up now that he was in his natural form. This way she wouldn't have to talk until they reached their destination. The tears were already starting to well up behind her emerald eyes.



At their fast pace it took no time at all to reach Rabbit Lake. It was a beautiful place. Nice and secluded. As good a place as any for delivering unwanted news. The sooty girl came to halt at the water's edge, turning to face what perhaps was the only family she had left in the world. The grief was written all over her face now, she could hide it no longer. Savina resolved that she would have to tell her brother in English. It was the only language she had ever used to express these things out loud. She didn't think she could do it in Italian without breaking down at every other word. "You should probably sit down for this..." She diverted her eyes away from him for moment while she sat herself down. Her head and chest were pounding. "Ehno...I'm afraid the news from home...isn't good..." Watery orbs looked into her brother's amber gaze. The last thing she wanted to do was cause him this kind of pain, but there was no other choice.

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He had enjoyed the silence at first, taking the time to glance around the still unfamiliar surroundings. He already felt rather at home in these strange lands, sleeping soundly and without a fear the night before. Maybe it was because he was always felt at ease when Savina was around. It felt to good to be with her once again. But right now, there was something that was bothering her. It was evident in the silence and even clearer to him when she took off running towards the lake. If everything was fine, he knew she wouldn't mind going at a slow pace, enjoying the scenic route as they walked and talked, side by side. But Ehno simply followed at her quick pace, giving her the silence that she wanted right now, despite his quickly beating heart and the curiosity running rampant through his mind. But the more he thought about it, the more her silence began to worry him.



The pair made it to the pristine lake, finally slowing their frantic pace as they reached the water's edge. The Italian boy made to comment on the beauty of the lake in hopes that it would cheer Savina up a bit, provide a distraction, but she beat him to punch. And what a punch she had thrown. That look of grief on her features stopped him in his tracks, allowing her to have the first word. Ehno felt his heart stop for a moment in his chest, a wave of worry and dread washing over him. Bad news from home? When she brought her gaze back to his own, his words got caught in his throat. It pained him to see that saddened look on her face, to see those tears in her eyes. "W-what happened?" he finally managed to ask, a tiny part of him dreading the worst possible scenario.

Sorry for the delay. Things have been kinda nuts lately. And I totally just had to come up with a name for Ghita's mate XD
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This was so horrible. If it had been hard to tell Naniko about what had happened this was a thousand times worse. She saw the look of worry written all over her dear brother's face. If only she could spare him this pain. But he needed to know. It wouldn't be right to keep it from him. Savina averted her gaze once again when she began to speak. "Not long after you left, Ghita and Carlo became mates and they were going to have puppies. But...she miscarried. Mother and I did all we could to try and help her through it, but we just couldn't get through to her. Then one day when I got up to check on her she was just...gone." The two year old would never forget the panic she had gone through trying to find her sister. She had felt like such a failure. Like she had let Ghita down. "We looked all over for her, but we never could find her. I haven't seen or heard anything since then..." Carlo had been devastated after losing the pups and then Ghita. It wasn't long before he left as well.



That had been difficult to tell him, but it was nothing compared to the blow that was about to be delivered next. Preparing herself, the ebony girl took a deep breath that turned into a bit of a sob. "That's not all though Ehno..." Tears began to roll freely down her cheeks. Her heart ached in her chest. "Not too long ago, right before I ended up here...well mother and I were taking a walk in the woods..." She sobbed again. Closing her emerald orbs as the tears continued to flow from them. Her neck and head were lowered, she wasn't able to look at him while she said it. "There was a bear...it came after me first, but mom got its attention on her. She...she was running near the edge of a cliff and it was right behind her...the weight must've been too much and she...she..." The sable girl rushed up to her brother, burying her face against his chest. "She fell...Ehno I'm so sorry..." Her breaths came out in unsteady gasps and sobs. Her entire body and soul seemed to be in pain.

:] It's all good. And this post just seemed to take off on its own as I started writing. :o WC: 505



Ehno kept his worried gaze on his sister as she finally delivered the heartbreaking package of words she had carried with her all this time. He looked to the ground as the words fell to his ears, feeling the ache in his heart immediately. Ghita, his poor sister, had gone through so much, and then just… vanished. It was a shocking blow, not what he had expected. He felt so naïve for even thinking that everything would remain happy and wonderful while he was gone. Life was too cruel and surprising for that. He tried to blink away tears, to appear strong in the face of such tragic news. But he couldn’t prevent the tears from falling down his cheeks. Slowly, he lifted his teary gaze up from the ground and back to his sister.



His heart froze when his sister continued. ‘That’s not all though Ehno…’ That feeling of dread wormed its way back into his stomach. What else could have happened when he was gone? Fear sparked in his mind when their mother was mentioned next. He flinched slightly when Savina looked away and resumed the delivery of the bad news. Her averted gaze and increasing sobs had alerted him to the severity of the situation before she had even finished speaking. That ache in his chest grew even worse. Mother was gone too. Just like that, with just the blink of an eye. The mental image of the tragic event appeared in his mind, acting like salt in the fresh wound on his heart.



He was brought back to reality as his dear sister rushed to him. “Shhh… It’s alright Savina. There’s nothing to be sorry about.” He wanted to be strong for his sister when he saw her so distressed, but he couldn’t keep the shakiness out of his voice from his own tears. He lightly rested his head on hers in a comforting gesture, an attempt to calm them both. The tears flowed freely from his amber eyes, every so often accompanied by a single sob. Ehno clenched his eyes shut in emotional pain as the situation hit him again, but it did nothing to stop his tears.



He couldn’t keep that little voice in the back of his mind quiet, its frantic whispers only causing the pain in his heart to worsen. If only you had STAYED home, maybe you could’ve done something. You could’ve prevented this! Ehno struggled to silence that small part of him, but by then he was wondering if what that little voice said was the truth. When his silent sobs began to subside, he found his voice again. “Maybe I shouldn’t have left. I should’ve stayed home… should’ve been there to protect you all.” His voice was quiet and shaky as he spoke, fading into a whisper in the end. He felt like a failure for letting this happen, even though that rational part of his mind knew there was probably nothing he could’ve done.



But who listens to rational thought as they grieve?

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The tears continued to stream from her jade orbs as she nuzzled against her brother, as much to comfort him as herself. She felt his head rest softly on top of her own, thankful for the increased contact. There had been a small part of her that feared he might be upset with her for what had happened. Savina didn't think that Ehno would ever really feel that way, but grief does strange things to people. After all, it was only after this all had happened that her anger problems had arisen. She wondered if that was the reason for it, or if it had only been the catalyst to bring forth that part of her. They sat there, silent for a while. Both issuing their soft sobs every now and then.



The next words that came from her brother's mouth shocked her. The femme could understand why he had those thoughts, for a long time she had shoved some of the blame onto herself. But now she knew that she had done all she could. Sometimes there are things that just can't be stopped. Lifting her head she touched her nose to that of her brother's, looking directly into his eyes. "Don't you blame yourself Ehno. None of us wanted to hold you back. We were all adults, we took care of ourselves. Sometimes...sometimes things just happen. I don't think there's anything anyone could have done." Tears still fell from her eyes, but not as hard as they had been. Softly she nuzzled her nose against his in an "eskimo kiss" fashion. Gently she placed one of her paws on top of Ehno's. "We all wanted you to follow your heart Ehno. We knew you wouldn't have been happy if you stayed. You know mother always wanted for us to do whatever made us happy." Her words were spoken softly, but powerfully. Hoping they would somehow comfort her brother in his time of great pain.

Sorry, this took me forever to reply to. T_T



Ehno drew in a shaky breath as his sister spoke. Her words had a calming effect, further quieting that little voice in the back of his mind and allowing that rational part of him to think things through. She was right. There was no way that Ehno would have put of his journey for long. Eventually that wanderlust in him would have taken over. He would have taken off no matter what. “I just wish I could have spent more time with you all back home.” The shakiness was returning to his voice. “I never thought that when I left home, that it would be the last time I would see them…”



He nuzzled his sister again, watching her through tear-rimmed eyes. As much as he would have loved to close his eyes to fight the tears, he felt better being able to see her. Her presence there relieved him greatly. The male couldn’t imagine how he would be if something had happened to Savina too. “At least I still have you.” That ache in his chest had not dulled, but he felt a little relief to know that his family hadn’t been taken away from him completely. Already he missed Ghita and their mother greatly, but he knew that neither of them would want him to dwell on their deaths and feel sad forever.

No worries! And sorry for my delay XD
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The midnight fey was so relieved to hear Ehno abandon such thoughts. It did them no good to try and blame themselves for what had happened when there was no fault to anyone. For now the both of them had to live life to the fullest. For Ghita and their mother. "I know, none of us did. But, I've come to realize, that its in the past. There's nothing we can do to change it, we just have to move on and continue to live our lives the way we want. But also to never forget mother and hope that Ghita is alive and well." It had taken the wolfess a long time to come to that conclusion, and she didn't expect her brother to necessarily accept it outright. But hoped at the very least in time he would come to see it as true.



Savina kept her emerald gaze on him while he kept his amber one on her. Softly she nuzzled back against him as well. His last words renewed a few tears that fell from her jeweled eyes. Ever since she had came to this place she had more or less resigned herself to the fact she would probably never see her sibling again. And every time that thought crossed her mind it broke her heart. She and Ehno had always been the closest of the three children, and having him leave on his wandering had been hard enough with the promise of return. But the fates had been kind, and had reunited to the two in this new continent so far from home. "Yes, and I have you." A soft smile spread across her muzzle at that. "I was so afraid that when I ended up here two months ago that I'd never see you again. But now we're together again, and that's all that matters." That would certainly bring up the question as to how she had gotten here. But she would wait for Ehno to ask. He had just been dealt a harsh blow, and she didn't want to move the conversation forward without him being ready to.

He was comforted by his sister’s words and the sound of her voice. When the words she muttered echoed his own thoughts he forced a small smile through his sadness. This was still the same Savina he had known and loved back home. And she was right. Both Ghita and their mother wouldn’t want him to dwell sadly on their fates for long. Even with this in mind, Ehno knew he would be feeling down for a while yet. With a soft sigh, he closed his eyes and leaned against his sister, content for the moment to simply enjoy her presence there.



After a few minutes of comfortable silence, he opened his eyes and looked out across the lake. “This isn’t how I pictured my day would start when I woke up this morning,” he said with a half-hearted chuckle. That dark voice in his mind perked up at this, telling him again that he shouldn’t have been so naive in believing that everything back home would have stayed perfectly fine. The voice was quickly hushed though, as he remembered his earlier thoughts and his sister’s words. “But I didn’t think I’d ever see you again either, when I first got stranded here,” he continued after a moment. “…How did you wind up here, anyway?” He found it peculiar to run into Savina somewhere so far from home, but he never thought to ask her until now. Maybe this simple change in conversation could help him take a small step towards moving on.

Rawr long post :O
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As Ehno's chocolate hued form leaned against her, she leaned into him as well. Their collective weight holding each other up. Her nose was flooded with his scent and it caused a wave of relief to wash over her. Every once and while she still feared that it had been a dream having him back again. She hadn't truly realized how much she had missed her brother until they were reunited. He was like her other half. All the experiences of her youth wouldn't have been the same without him by her side. Part of her had wanted to go with him on his journey. To go out and see the world. But Savina hadn't been able to leave her mother. Not a single part of her in any way looked down on Ehno that he was able to. She just couldn't leave mother with only one of her three children. After all, they were really all she had.



Triangular jet ears rolled back against her skull at his words. It was something that had needed to be done, but she still felt guilty. To so quickly ruin the joy of yesterday with such sad news. She knew her brother didn't blame her, yet she still felt bad. "I know...I'm sorry." Her soft voice whispered. And here it was. The question she knew had been coming. How much should she say though? The Italian girl hadn't told anyone about what had happened with Serge after their mother had died. But then again, if anyone would understand the resentment she held for the male it would be her brother, because he felt it as well. "Well...after the accident, I went back to the pack lands to inform the alphas. I told them and then went to the outskirts of the territory. I didn't want to talk to anyone. You know how it felt there, like they never really accepted us. I still can't believe this, but Serge..." His name came out of her mouth with a growl, as it always did. "He had the nerve to think he could come comfort me. I was so upset already, and the fact that he thought he had the right to do that after everything...I just snapped. I turned and attacked him. It all is such a blur in my head, but I know I didn't do any serious harm. After that I ran. I knew the pack wouldn't take me back after that." That incident still made her a bit sick to her stomach. It had been the first emergence of the monster her anger generated.



"I wondered aimlessly for a few days, until I came upon one of the port towns. I thought exploring it might help take my mind off things so I ventured down to the docks. I'd never seen a ship before and I wanted to get closer, get inside and take a look around. I snuck into the hull of one but what I didn't know that it was ready to sail. Before I could get off it had taken off from shore and I was stuck. I don't have any idea how long I was in there. I couldn't see the moon or the sun or anything. But a ways into the journey a really bad storm came up. It ended up tearing the ship apart and I got washed out to see. The next thing I remember was waking up on the shore of a beach to the east of here." It had been a miracle she had survived the shipwreck. She had no idea how far out into the ocean they were at that point, but the fact that she had made it shore alive and relatively unharmed was amazing. "There was another Italian wolf that found me on the shore and helped me to shelter, because my leg was sprained. He said he lived there with his family but one morning I woke up and couldn't find anyone. I couldn't fend for myself so I started west along the coast until I came here and Naniko took me in."



And there it was. The full story of how the little traditional wolfess from Italy had wound up all the way over here across the ocean. Savina pulled back to once again look at her brother, very interested to see his reaction to her tale. "So there's how I ended up here. Now what about you? I want to hear about all your adventures and how you got here!" She couldn't wait to hear about all the interesting places Ehno had been and the people he'd met.

You have permisson to attack me for how long this took... =[ Sorry again, mate.
WC:836 I had to stop this post before it grew into something massively massive, lol. >.>



The male shook his head at his sister’s repeated apology, letting her know that it wasn’t necessary. He could easily see that she was hurt by having to share this news with him as well, but they both knew it had to be done. But now it was time to catch up on all the other adventures they experienced. Ehno sat quietly, listening intently and curiously as Savina began.



He felt a low growl form deep in his throat at the mention of Serge. How dare he try that. He had abandoned them before they would even open their eyes, and suddenly he thought he could play the part of the caring father? “I can’t believe him,” he muttered.



Perhaps he should have been surprised to hear that Savina actually lashed out at the man, but he was too filled with an almost forgotten rage to thoroughly assess what she told him. During his journey, Ehno’s thoughts would often wander to his mother and his sisters, but never once would he allow himself to dwell on his father. Hearing about him now only seemed to fan the flames of his dying rage into the great fire it had once been. As far as he was concerned, Savina did the right thing by attacking Serge. With the anger clouding his mind right now, he thought he would have done the same.



Ehno forced himself to calm his thoughts as Savina continued her story. There was no point in staying angry; Serge was long gone, and hopefully they would never have to see his disgraceful face again.



Amber eyes widened as he was told of her tale at sea. She was lucky to have survived. He remained silent for the moment, though, allowing her to finish her tale uninterrupted. There had been other Italian wolves here? He wondered where they possibly could have disappeared to, a little saddened that he wouldn’t have the chance to meet them as well. When she finished story, Ehno looked her over quickly. She didn’t seem to be hurt now. How long ago had this all happened? He nudged her softly. “I’m glad you’re okay after all of that. I don’t know what I would do if I lost you too.”



But he wanted to avoid falling into more somber thoughts for the moment, and he was glad that Savina asked him about his journey. Not only would it provide a good distraction, but he had so many stories to tell from his journey that he knew she would love hearing about. He took a moment to breeze back through his memories of the past year, and a thought struck him, causing him to chuckle a little. “Neither of us seems to have any luck with ships.” He looked into her eyes, smiling slightly before he elaborated. “Probably less than a month ago, I had found myself in Spain. I had just arrived in a port town, and decided that I would like to take a look around the docks. There were a bunch of sailors there readying one of the ships. Curious, like you had been, I went over there to investigate.



“One of the sailors there spoke a bit of English, so I asked him if they needed a hand with anything. Before I knew it I was hauling supplies on board and was soon off to sea with a bunch of wolves I could barely understand.” He laughed a little, remembering how difficult it was trying to communicate with the rest of the crew. Despite their similarities, Spanish and Italian were still rather different, so Ehno had to depend on the sailor who was semi-fluent in English to understand them. “Everything was fine at first, clear skies and just the sea on the horizon. Then a storm hit. The seas were rough, so we frantically searched for any sign of land we could take shelter on. We were all so excited when we saw the coast down there,” he motioned toward the general area where she had found him. “We stayed in a cave down there for two days, and when we saw the storm break, one of the sailors pulled out some rum to celebrate…”



He laughed a bit nervously at that. He wasn’t one who usually indulged in drinking since it left him feeling too disorientated for his tastes. But after being cooped up in a wet cave for two days, Ehno had been feeling a bit adventurous. “It’s probably why I got left behind. Someone thought we should leave right away, and I don’t remember much after that. Just woke up and I was by myself.” He couldn’t help but laugh a little at his own foolishness. “I guess it worked out for the better, since it led me straight to you.” His smile grew and he nudged his sister again.



He thought about which adventure he should share next. There was so much to tell her about, and it all wanted to be revealed at once.