Wapun Meadow they send me away to find them a fortune

@Valette :D

there was no one. lonely months ticked by. he had hoped that along his aimless travels he would find some sort of company, someone or something to ease his restless mind. but there was no one. all he was left with were demons who whispered the devil’s words into his ear nonstop. one would think this would be unbearable, but leo embraced them. he figured that if he was destined to a life of solitude he might as well come to terms with them. what once was a curse was now a blessing.
hunger gnawed at leo’s sides as he trotted across the meadow. we need food, the voices hissed. he lifted his head and sniffed for any nearby prey. there was a rodent nearby.
he dropped down into a crouch and followed the alluring smell. surely enough, there was a weasel fiddling in the earth. the ghost started to slither towards it but haulted when it caught sight of him and sped off. leo gave chase and stopped in his tracks as it slipped into the saftey of its burrow.
dissapointed and hungry, he sat in front of it and growled under his breath.

Now her heat was over, Valette felt that she could go outside of the territory again. Not that she would leave it often but sometimes she would check the neighboring territories for prey, or signs of prey. Maybe they would wander into their lands. If their deer population was low and in the neighboring territory as well, then such a thing was concerning.

Valette didn't expect that she would run into anyone really but she did notice another wolf up ahead. She trotted towards the other curiously, most of the time very friendly. She noticed how the male seemed to hunt but fail at it. Valette then squinted her eyes. She knew this male! "Leo!!," Valette let out in surprise and stepped closer. "Leo, is that you?," she asked.

he flinched when his name was called and looked behind him to find a familiar face. his astonishment kept him silent for a moment before he whispered, “desna?” it couldn’t be! leo stood up and closed the distance between them with a few steps. he tilted his head from one side to another to see if he was not imagining things. everything he had confronted in the past months were bad, he couldn’t believe the good existed anymore, but there she was as real as ever.
a small smile spread across his maw. “yes, it’s us-” he answered before quickly correcting himself, “-me.” he didn’t, no, couldn't let her know about his little friends. “it’s nice to see you.”

Valette wagged her tail profusely when seeing her adoptive brother. Even though he hadn't stayed long she was still bonded with him. Maybe it was just one of the wonders of youth. Easily making friends for life. "Yes, though I do go by the name of Valette now. But you can still call me Desna, Nanook does it as well,' she spoke with a nod. Though, Nanook had left a few weeks ago.

Valette tipped her head when he spoke about 'us' but then corrected it to 'me'. She smiled understandingly at the male. "Likewise! Have you been doing well? Still in that pack in the mountains?,' Valette asked. She couldn't remember smelling his pack the last time she was in the mountains but maybe they relocated, it was quite common.

”oh! sorry, i’ll remember that,” he hastily replied. suddenly having to call someone a different name maybe challenging, but something he was willing to do non the less.

”things could be better,” he sighed, thinking back on all the troubles he’d been through. “still alive, that’s all that matters.”

a soft sadness crossed his gaze when he was reminded of his older pack. “no..,” he murmured, trailing off into thought. survival had made him forget about the mountain’s existence. his home, his family, were they even there anymore? “i think they left,” he answered himself aloud. “but enough about me, what have you been up to?”

Valette shook her head lightly. "You can still call me Desna if that is easier for you." Valette didn't mind if people of her past called her Desna. Nanook did it as well, same for Xan. She knew it would be quite a change for Leo. Valette looked a bit worried at Leo when he sounded a bit negative. He must have had it tough the last few months.

"But, Leo!," she let out. "Why don't you join my pack?,' she offered to him. Maybe joining another pack would make him happier. "I've been doing well. I have three children, though they are hardly children anymore," she hummed proudly. In fact, she might be pregnant this moment. She hoped so but it was too soon to tell.

his eyes lit up and his tail swayed from one side to the other. “i’d like that a lot,” he barked ecstatically. how could he say no to an offer like that? perhaps his woes would be cured by the comfort of a new home, at least that’s what he hoped.

his smile grew wider when desna mentioned children. “oh, that’s great!” he beamed. did this mean he was an uncle now? “what are they like?”

Valette quickly beamed as well when Leo said he liked that idea. "Yay! We will all be together again. Nanook will return soon as well, and Xan is back in Bearclaw Valley," she hummed. Though then she remembered that Leo and Xan didn't really get along but maybe they would now. Oh well. He wasn't in Easthollow.

"My kids are so wonderful, Leo," she spoke dreamily. "Steph is dark in color like me and wants to be a hunter. Clary wants to be an explorer and is traveling with Nanook. Ezra is my only son and a wise young man. You must meet them," she spoke with a smile. "Will you join me back to Easthollow?"

he was surprised to hear about xan. of all places, back at bearclaw? last time they met, he seemed to despise the place and leo assumed he was contempt at blackfeather with his dad. maybe he’d have to give him a visit sometime to catch up, but was that the wisest decision? maybe, he thought. though xan never liked him as a pup, their last encounter was, well, not bad. that was always good in his book.

all the children sounded great, as he’s expect. “i can’t wait to meet them!” he beamed. he didn’t need to think twice about her offer. “yes, lead the way.”

Valette grinned. "I can't either," she spoke as she started to walk back to Easthollow. Leo didn't look that well to her so she didn't want to exhaust him by going at a faster pace. She realized if her mother hadn't adopted Leo and seen her as her own she might never have stepped up to watch over Keoni and Nikai when they needed a mother. Her kids would understand that even if Leo wasn't his 'real' brother that he was her brother anyhow.

'They have an adoptive brother as well," she explained to Leo as they arrived closer to the borders. Valette then howled to @Ezra and @Steph. "I am not sure if they are around. But I am sure that they would love to meet you," she spoke. Valette then glanced over Leo. "And then we will make sure to get some food in you." Valette then realized she might need to call for @Stark as well, so she howled for him to get to know Leo as well. "You should meet my mate too."

The howl had roused him from his light slumber, waking him just before he had drifted off into a deep sleep. He wished he could ignore it and doze off again, but it simply wasn’t in his nature to disregard a summon, especially one from his mother. So with a groan he rose, yawn spilling from his maw as he made his way towards the borders. Eventually he spotted the pair in the distance, the unfamiliar male causing a bit of curiosity to spark within the youth. 

Normally he would have been cautious around a stranger among the borders, but the male didn’t appear visually threatening and since he was here with Valette, Ezra figured he must be someone important. A friend? An ally maybe? He looked towards his mother once close to the pair, eyes questioning yet soft as ever.

Steph was responding to the howl, too, though she hadn't been sleeping. It wasn't often anyone found her in a deep slumber. It just wasn't that important to her. She spotted her brother and chuffed to get his attention before they reached their mother. She lowered her head to mouth at one of his front legs as she trotted beside him, her tail wagging in happiness, as it usually did. 

They reached Valette, and a stranger, and Steph stopped the playful attack on Ezra. Curious eyes turned to the other male, wondering who he was, and why they had been summoned specifically. Was he family? Or maybe just new and their mother wanted them to show him around. Tail wagging, she smiled at him. Hello, she said, her voice as friendly as her body language.

phone post, i’ll format this when i get home!

he followed close behind. feelings of excitement and nervousness clashed in him. everything seemed so strangely surreal. a possible permanent home back with his family? it felt to good to be true. something will go wrong, a voice nagged, but leo quickly pushed the thought away.

his eyes lit up when an ash-coated wolf answered desna’s call. a darker colored one came soon after. he assumed this was ezra and steph. “hello,” he returned with a smile, “i’m leo, your mother’s brother.”

Valette smiled at her children. Leo explained who he was and Valette could only nod in agreement. "Leo will be joining us. He is your uncle," she explained. Her eyes traveled from Leo her children. She realized how much difference there was between Ezra and Leo. Ezra looked more like Leo's uncle than the other way around. Though Valette wasn't commenting that out loud.

"I know that we suddenly have an extra family member, but now you've met most of them. Aunt Nanook, Xan over at Bearclaw Valley and Leo," she hummed. "The only one you haven't met is my sister Sesi." She then turned to Leo. Should she tell them Leo was adopted? Maybe that set the wrong tone. However, Nikai and Keoni were adopted as well and fitted right in. Perhaps she would tell them later.

While Steph gave off her normal friendly vibe towards the stranger, the greyscale youth pressed on with a more curious and cautious posture, not intimated in the slightest bit still wary for the sake of his sister and mother. And Ezra, in typical fashion, said nothing when the male introduced himself, only giving a subtle nod to acknowledge that he had actually heard what was said. “I’m Ezra” he introduced, hoping to get the formalities out of the way.

The news of yet another aunt, Sesi as she was called, peeked his interest. Family had always been the most important aspect of his life and yet Ezra had never bothered to learn more about that very topic. He knew nothing of his paternal relations but his mother’s family was obviously still around and for the first time he felt a drive to learn more about them.