Northstar Vale you break me up

It was strange to see Keoni undergo such drastic changes since they had left home. Nikai didn't remember seeing Keoni so happy for a long time. It was encouraging and made him curious about where she lead him, but it was also disconcerting that she was so much happier away from home and it made him wonder what path lay ahead of them. Leaving Keoni didn't even occur to Nikai as a possible outcome, but what if making his sister happy meant making their mother unhappy? He felt his stomach a bleak pit at the thought, and so his energy came and went in waves -- excited to finally listen to his wanderlust and to see his sister so happy, but dreading where it may lead them and dreading a betrayal, to him, of their mother and her well-being.

Nikai's ears cupped forward as Keoni howled for someone and he sniffed the air. Respectful of the other pack's border and feeling a little wary of being so close to another pack for the first time ever, Nikai stayed close to his sister, nosing her shoulder nervously while he waited with submissive body posture, neutrally splayed ears, low tail and alert expression.