With the pack still recovering from the loss, with down-trodden leader, two old people, badly mauled adult, ton of unruly kids and a sulking nearly-two-year-old, it was a miracle that nothing bad had happened yet. With so few of the people, who actually knew, how to do a proper job along the borders, caldera felt way too large for the small family that was inhabiting it. 

Therefore had it not been for Dwin in the vicinity, when Sylvie had called, her older sister would have waited a ve-e-e-ery long time for anyone to appear. She did not recognize the she-wolf, because
[size=small]Dwin's older siblings had not been present for the most of her childhood and youth, therefore naturally the images of the faces beneath the names had faded away. "You look too old to be a lost kid," she told the stranger mistrustfully. "What do you want?"[/size]

Had Eljay and Maia truly created this snivelly, whiney pile of mess? Dwin wondered mercilessly, looking up and down the woman before her. She bore some resemblance of Eljay, there was the tell-tale Blackthorn stripe along her back too. So she was at least related to them. Still the tearful introduction did little to stir any sympathy in the younger sibling. She was not heartless, but the recent circumstances had been such that adding another problematic character to the already huge sea of sorrow seemed a bad idea. 

Still - the same way she was not allowed to apply medieval witch-hunting methods in raising any of her little relatives, she also did not have authority to drive Sylvie - was it? - away. In her current form she saw very little use of her, but Brecheliant presently was in no place to refuse anyone. Not even serial killers. As long as they kept their adventures outside the caldera and in secret. Was Sylvie a killer in disguise? Well, in that case... Not now, Dwin! She stopped her flow of thoughts curtly and therefore asked a more proper (boring) question than the one that had been at the tip of her tongue (and would have probably made things more interesting). 

"What happened? Did they kick you out?" she asked, tilting her head to the side, now wondering, what could possibly this Blackthorn offspring, who had apparently inherited the very worst lack of self-confidence and insecurity from both of her parents. "Or did you cause some trouble?" 

Dwin frowned. Why on Earth leave anywhere, anything IF you do not want to do it yourself? Like truly? As a six-month old she had left on her own accord, wanting to learn about the world. But it would have never occurred to her that she should go just because it was something everyone did. She was tempted to ask, if Sylvie had a spine at all, but that would probably not be received well. Because it seemed that this specimen got upset about far-less important things. Seeing her whine and cry had already made the situation very uncomfortable. 

How had this snowflake survived as long as she had - Dwin had no clue. She felt annoyance creep up, when her sister declared that she had missed Maia and Eljay. The way she said it would be excusable to a kid, not a fully grown woman. Compared to her, even Frolic and Glee with their shared single neuron of brain capacity, were more adults. "Father is old and frail and mother is devoting all her time caring for him and the younger siblings," she stated the facts bluntly, a hint of accusation in her voice. Where the heck were you earlier, when they needed your help?!!!

"They certainly have their paws full with reckless, lawless and irresponsible small-wolves," she explained and paused, while in her mind she continued then a sister or not, turn on your heel and seek a baby-sitter elsewhere. "So - I suggest before I take you to them, you get yourself sorted out. Because - quite frankly - you are a bloody mess right now," she said instead, which was probably a bit better than she had wanted to say.  

"Geez, you are so full of yourself!" Dwin took a step back and looked down at the sobbing mess right at her feet. She did not feel any pity, rather suspicion that this lass was simply manipulating with her by pretending to be this super-vulnerable, miserable thing that everyone in the world hated. Maybe she simply felt comfortable to be in this sorry state - this meant that she did not have to do a thing to change for the better. 

"Hate would imply that I give a crap about you," she said, looking down. "I do not. And I am pretty sure the world does not care about you more than it does about me or anyone else," she went on. "So, stop feeling sorry for yourself - that's not going to change a thing," she said and leaned down to nudge the she-wolf on the shoulder. "Come on - I will take you to the parents. They'll know best, how to deal with you. Better have an embarrassement to the Blackthorn name here than have you running around and crying on the other people's doorsteps," she added and would probably receive some stern words and scolding from her parents later. 

"Get up and - for the love of God - please, stop crying," she added. "People here have real problems - our Bronco just died, left a devastated wife and three kids as orphans. So - show some respect - and tuck your self-confidence issues elsewhere for the time being," she instructed. 

Dwin knew at her heart that she had been too harsh on her older sister. But she had got so fed up of her inability to be herself around her siblings, of constantly feeling like a failure in this aspect, being a disappointment to her parents for yet again not managing her temper, that dealing with Sylvie, who turned out to be unstable, was more than she could handle. She was about to say something along the lines of - sorry, it is not personal, but things have been rough for a very long time - when she realized that the girl was not entirely herself anymore.

Frozen in fear and reeking of stress. 

"What the hell?" she muttered under her breath, approaching the empty shell of what had been a semi-coherent person earlier and sniffing the air around her carefully. I can't take this anymore... I just can't... she thought to herself. Then sat down, thought for a bit and with a sigh of resignation she called for @Eljay and @Maia to deal with this. If this co-creation of theirs was faulty and with glitches, it was better that the makers dealt with it. While waiting for them to arrive, Dwin watched Sylvie and wondered, why, why, why had gods of any kind not given her at least one normal and useful sibling to rely on. Those, who were left here, were either brainless (in the process of growing some, hopefully) or brain-damaged. And the sane ones apparently had fled the nest, when there had been a chance to do so.