Bearclaw Valley what if we rewrite the stars?

@Xan <3

Xan had returned and brought with him the resurrection of Bearclaw Valley. Nanook tipped her head and stared at the giant cliffs above her, scaling higher and higher, and topped with thick layers of snow. Standing firm, firm as they had ever stood, even in the face of every turmoil that had overthrown the pack that had once lived within.

She shifted against a cool wind. She was out of place here now, but memories danced within these walls. Bad and good, broken and redeemed. Here, their family had risen and fallen; here they'd scattered, but in a twist of irony, or perhaps just the strange working of time, this place now brought them together, first with her sister, and now with her brother. Nanook wondered what Xan would do with the land. The Valley had brought so much wrong to them already, but the Apaata wasn't so naive to think it only had good left to give. But she hoped she was wrong in that.

Her brother's arrival threw her heart into a new and perplexing chaos. Desna had accepted her with forgiveness and warmth, and pa had wrapped her in a long embrace - but she wondered of her brother - her comaker of mischief, and the one she knew had wished to reunite their family as much as she had wanted to herself - how he would take her? So much had changed since they'd last seen each other on the banks of the foggy river when she had been but a broken shell, and he, much the same. Nanook kept her paws well away from the markings he had begun to set and, with a tip of her head, bit her nerves and lifted her voice to beckon him.

♥

With every day that went by, his claim over the land intensified. It was a slow process, gathering individuals that he didn’t believe would disrespect his home, but would be well worth the wait in time—he hoped. So much had happened, so many hardships and troubles, so he was more than ready to finally have something positive happen in his life. He wanted his home, he wanted his pack, his family—perhaps even a family, though the thought still unsettled him as well as made him feel as if he was only seeking to obtain that which Desna had already created for herself. She was the youngest of them, and yet, she was the only one that seemed to have gotten everything in her life in order; as far as he could tell, she was doing the best out of them all. But he was catching up, correcting all of the mayhem in his life one day at a time.

Alexander was deep in conversation with Arthur when the howl caught his attention, making him bid the bear farewell in favour of greeting his guest; the voice was familiar to him, even after so long, and the fact that it was directed at him specifically made it difficult to not tell who it was. So when he saw the varying shades of grey standing beyond the Boulder Path, he was already prepared to see her—well, he’d thought so, anyways. The realisation that he wasn’t came crashing down around him once he’d exited the valley and was standing but a few steps in front of her. He wasn’t sure what to say—what to do—or even how he should greet her. He had seen her the day he visited Desna, he knew she was back and living within their sister’s pack but… he wasn’t sure.

His lips parted as if he might say something, then closed abruptly as his mind went blank. What was wrong? For as long as he could remember, he had wanted to bring his family back together. Ever since they were separated from one another, he’d made it his goal to become the best that he could be so that he could bring them all back together again; he’d always wanted to fix his family, so what was holding him back now? Absolutely nothing. He was getting what he’d always wanted, there was no reason that he should let it slip away from him again. Realising this, only one word came to mind:

“Salutitsinik.”

Her call bounced through the narrow cavity and vanished within the walls of the Valley, hopefully, to find the ears of the one she sought. She could do nothing more now but wait and, well, she'd done that for seasons already - she could do that a little while longer. So Nanook sat back and remained with head tilted skyward, gaze drifting across the fortress and taking in the deep shadows of the clefts. She couldn't understand why Xan would want to live here again. The place carried too much familiarity - too much baggage - for her to live anywhere closer than the neighbouring Easthollow - but maybe he was different.

Distracted by her thoughts, she only noticed Xan's appearance when he spoke. Nanook flinched with a start and dropped her copper gaze on him, before she dropped the tip of her muzzle to follow. She blinked, quiet a moment. Then, "salutitsinik," she returned, and reality finally sunk in place. Xan. After so many years of pining for their family to reunite - here he was, not a phantom or a ghost. Her brother. A careful smile haunted the corners of her mouth. She knew nothing about this man who stood before her now, hardly even his face - and she wondered if he felt the same, looking back upon her too. But that hardly mattered. He was still and always Xan, and years apart wouldn't stop him from being what he was to her, and what he would always be - "anik."

And for once she found herself so full of words, so filled with questions, yet just as speechless as he.

It was still strange, but delightfully so, knowing that two of his sisters were so close to his—their—home. At any time, he could visit and meet with them, talk and catch up on life in general; there were plenty of things that he might never tell either of them but, at least to him, that didn’t make him any less invested in them. He wanted them to be in each others’ lives again, to not be torn apart again, and he would do everything in his power to keep things that way. The desire kept him attentive, focused on his sister even when words evaded him—she was really there, it was really Nanook.

“Why are—” he cut himself off, deciding it didn’t matter. “How are you?” This was good, this was normal… right? It felt normal, to a certain extent, as long as he ignored his overall awkwardness towards the visit. “Did something happen?” he then asked, concern lacing his voice. Sure, he wouldn’t mind a friendly visit, but he also couldn’t prevent his mind from rushing towards the what if’s. Maybe someone—Desna or her children—had gotten hurt, and she was here to tell him. Although he hoped that all were well, he wasn’t yet used to seeing his sisters, and so his thoughts jumped to worst case scenarios.

He met her with an odd pitch of concern, and she felt her smile falter with the set of her brow. "No." Nothing had happened that she could think of besides the usual happenings - the regular agenda of routine hunts and patrols. The kids were fine, and so was Desna. Easthollow seemed to be thriving, despite the cold season, their ranks grew by the day to fill in the gaps less committed members left behind. They had no enemies to speak of, no threats from outside or from within. She couldn't have imagined a better life than this, and at times she expected to wake up and find herself having lived a very, very long dream, for her life in Easthollow struck jarringly against how the world seemed to spin for her.

She blinked and, internally, shook herself. No, her purpose here was to see Xan and to speak with him, for nothing more than that she could. The thought stirred a deep and intangible feeling, and her ghosted smile returned. "It's strange, that you're so near now." But strange didn't taste like the proper word. Good, maybe. Like the way it should have been. "Strange that Desna brought us together." The irony wasn't lost on her. Between the four of them, only Xan had seemed to share her drive to unite their family, but in the end, it had been Desna who had been the catalyst for that to finally happen.

He was filled with relief as she answered. Although she didn’t share any positive news about them, the fact that everyone was still well and unharmed made up for that. “That’s good,” he noted, letting out a breath he wasn’t aware he’d been holding. With nothing having gone wrong, however, that left him to wonder why she was there. He thought about how he could ask without coming off as rude—he didn’t want to ruin his growing relationships with either her or Desna—various phrasings passing through his mind whilst he remained silent. Thankfully, his thoughts were interrupted before long by a comment, making him lose and then abandon any chance of regathering his train of thought.

“It is. Especially since Desna—” he cut himself off, thinking his next words over carefully. “Since Desna never really seemed like she wanted us all back together. It’s weird that she’s what ended up connecting us.” Deep down, he wanted to believe that, like him and Nanook, Desna would do anything to return their family to how things once were. But, at the same time, he couldn’t find any evidence to support that—but he did have what he thought was evidence supporting the opposite.

Forcing the thoughts right out of his head, he focused back on his sister and offered a tight-lipped smile. “Now all we need is Sesi and dad back and we’ll all be together again.” Minus Scarlett, of course, but the reason for that was obvious; he didn’t want to mention her, the news of her death still unsettling him, despite how long ago it’d happened.

For a great while, Alexander remained there and spoke with his sister. He shared small details here and there, still uncertain about delving into everything that lingered in his head, but he offered what he could. And when the time came for her to return home, he wished her well, parting with a verbal confirmation of his want to see her again in the future.