It had been a lazy trip from the willows to the plains and then through the valley. Stark had kept one plump wing - with feathers and breast meat still attached - to offer to Valette whenever they made it to the stone circle. The cut through the pass had taken him and @Banner straight by what had been Duskvale but the scents were different - and faded. Whomever had been there was there no more and Stark couldn't say he felt bad about that. It might have been a nice little haven but there had clearly been a lot of changes in the past year and he was only hoping that Valette and her pack hadn't also move right on. 

Luckily for his sister since Stark was carting some of the leftovers from the turkey he'd downed it meant he couldn't speak much. Not that they needed it, as in tune as they tended to be with one another, but no doubt they both were so far in their own heads given they'd come back to somewhere they never expected to be. When they finally got close enough that he could see some of the unusual rocks in the distance he'd given a playful bark and his tail had even wagged a bit. He nudged Banner and moved towards the borders a little faster once it's scent had reached them and he thankfully did still smell Valette. He set the morsel down at his paws, licking his chops to clean himself up a bit (no one would ever suggest he wasn't vain.) "Well then. Thankfully we didn't get lost." He said with a little grin before he lifted his head and gave a howl for @Valette - hopefully she wasn't too busy. 

 

Stark hadn't been too antsy before they'd arrived, he couldn't think of anyone else he'd had to really check up on. Maybe that was sad, even the packmates they had left behind hadn't made enough of any impression on him to warrant looking for. Of course Tambourine and Silas came to mind but he had no clue where to even begin to look for the boys. Maybe it was best he let that go for awhile. Once he and Banner figured out what they were doing then they could handle the rest of everything. He drew in a deep breath and let it out slowly, one of those things he'd picked up from Banner and her angry outbursts. Those had been far more infrequent and he wondered if his sister's control was getting that much better, or, if there had just been less to rock her boat lately. 

Those idle thoughts were broken once he realized someone was coming towards them and the familiar dark figure was in fact Valette's. Stark couldn't help his wagging tail, grinning over at Banner when they were greeted so warmly. "What can I say, we're hard to get rid of." He offered before nodding towards the hunk of turkey, offering it to her with an easy grin. "We've been traveling the last year, just exploring. Felt like a good time to come back and see how everyone had been. So... What's new with you? Seems like the pack is still doing well."  Which no doubt was a vote of confidence to her leadership - first hand experience told Stark a pack would crumble without someone strong leading it. 

 

Stark was happy once he saw Banner start to relax a bit, his own comfort mostly road on the way that Banner felt. Maybe he was too dependent on his sister but after finding her to be the only one he could trust for so long - well. Could he really be blamed? Maybe he could. He probably should be. He couldn't help the brief laugh when Valette teased him back, shrugging wolfishly at her response. "Still," He hummed out. "Our mother raised us with manners." He said with a wink - and that was true. While he didn't had much (any) respect for his father he was exceptionally proud of his mother and her memory. 

His face shifted, a frown coming to his lips when she explained that her mate had died. He'd been right - she had taken up with Steady but that wasn't that long ago and they had already lost one another. It was disappointing. "I'm so sorry to hear that." Maybe later he'd talk about what happened with Octavia, but, he wasn't ready for that. Especially not on Val's borders and not in front of Banner because she'd heard too much about it anyways and he didn't need to break down in front of her again. Stark tried not to let himself get too caught up in what pains he'd gone through in the past and focused on what Val said. When she offered a space in her pack he almost wanted to leap on it - it was a generous offer, but he didn't know if that was what the two wanted and he cut his eyes to Banner. 

"You know we're both experienced and can pull our weights, but, we really just came to see how you were doing." Stark admitted candidly as he looked back to Valette. "Do you want to stay, B? I'm good either way." He wouldn't begrudge Banner the chance to put her roots down or to keep going if she didn't want to be back in the Wilds for too long - but they were so far from the Keep and the ghosts that haunted them, and Stark thought that with all that, maybe they could start over for awhile. They'd lived a decent life out on their own but facing winter was different. He'd just be glad it didn't come with all the tribulations of the previous year. 

 

Stark held his breath for a moment, wondering what Banner was going to decide. For the pair of them he was handing the reigns over and let her choose the path that they took. He let out a slow breathy when Banner quickly said yes - maybe she'd been hoping to stay in Easthollow the entire time. Stark couldn't help but smile, looking over to Valette as they were formally accepted and then bid to follow. Unexpected - all of it. He wasn't upset though. He had a proverbial roof over his head and he had a task to give himself to - working for the pack and it's good. As they made it further into the packlands Stark was paying close attention, trying to note all he could from how many males he could pick the scents up of and then the the females too. The children surprised him the most. 

"I'm sure we'll run into each other." Stark said with a smile as Valette gave them a brief tour and then took off, leaving the duo to themselves again. He leaned over to bump his snout against Banner's, smiling gently. "Hope you aren't planning on getting rid of me so quickly...wanna find a place to hunker down tonight?" He asked. They could use with some good sleep and then tomorrow they'd get going. Stark was confident they'd do just what they'd done at the Keep - kick ass and take names.