Sun Mote Copse pitter patter, let’s get at ‘er.

Rejection had forced Clover home. With a flawless losing streak in gaining acceptance into another pack—how rude![/mdash]there were no other options. Winter had been harsh, and Clover was tired of doing all the work. The road home had been easy to remember, and she made quick work of her journey home—stopping only to tend to her basic needs. When the Cospe was in front of her, Clover settled as close to the borders as possible. It was mid-day and the sun was falling; Clover was eager to forego the inevitable formalities in favor of a meal and a nap.

She sat, allowing a moment for her to catch her breath before making her presence known. "HEY MA, PAH!" Clover called, "COME'RE, YOUR FAVORITE CHILD IS HOME." Although she had matured somewhat on her own, the most charming of Clover's characteristics had prevailed.

Finley still couldn't believe that Sugar was back. It had seemed so impossible that her little daughter would ever find her way back home. Lucy never had. Lucca, Cinder and Tywyll hadn't. She had already added her littlest pup to the ranks of those who had disappeared, never to return. And then, there she was, walking into the den and laying down at her side as though not a thing were amiss. There'd been something odd about that reappearance, but Fin wasn't about to question it. She was too grateful to have her little Squirrel returned safely to her arms.

It seemed that Sugar Glider was not the only wayward family member that would make a reappearance, though. It seemed that late December was simply a time for miracles as Phox and Figment had showed up earlier that day. And now--Fin could've keeled over from shock--Clover's voice was ringing in her ears, just as loud and brash and beloved as ever she had been before she'd left.

"You've gotta be SHITTING me!!?" Fin shouted back, not quite reaching Clover's volume, but just loud enough that her daughter would be able to hear her and know to expect her at the borders soon. The Blackthorn matriarch was weary and aching still, but she ignored it to bring herself as swiftly to Clover's presence as her old bones would allow.

It wasn't until she actually clapped her eyes onto the girl that she accepted that she hadn't just been hearing things. She paused briefly to gawk at the young girl, brown eyes searching green and tracing across silver until they landed on that mark. The little clover on her hip that told Fin that this was indeed hers. A smile broke across her muzzle as she limped forward to smush her muzzle against Clover's cheek.

"Where have you been, you little brat?" Fin murmured affectionately in greeting.

A shit-eating smirk spread across Clover's lips at the sound of Finley's reply. "NO I'M NOT!" she replied, her cheekiness evident in her hollering."COME ON, MA, I'M WAAAAITING!" Excitement drove Clover onto her paws; she resisted breaking into a run to meet her mother halfway—politeness and etiquette, or some shit like that. Clover's enthusiasm grew tenfold as Finley's silhouette appeared suddenly through the woodwork. She was quick to notice the frailty in her mother's gait; seeing her so weak was unsettling, but she did her best not to gawk.

Once closer, the familiarity of Finley's face quieted Clover's concerns. She hadn't expected to be so elated by the sight of her mother, nor had she expected to be such an emotional pussy, but somehow, tears began to spike at the corner of her eyes. "Awe, Ma," Clover cooed as she squished her face into Finley's embrace. "You remembered my name," brat was a more suiting name for her, " I've been here and there, and all over the fuckin' place, but, nowhere was quite like home." There was some truth to her words—at least she'd be accepted here, unlike those other, shitty packs. 

Pulling away from the embrace with her tail wagging, Clover observed Finley. "I missed you, Ma," she said—the one truth amongst the other fabrications.

It was her. It was really her! Fin breathed deeply to take in as much of Clover's scent as she could fit within her lungs. The smell of foreign trees and lands clung to her fur, but she was there beneath it--a scent that was uniquely Clover that would never change. She laughed against her daughter's shoulder as she explained of her travels (sort of) and reached to nip her nose lightly with a, "Still full of shit I see," at the no place like home comment.

Her features softened as Clover said her last. "Me too, kid," she answered, feeling tears pricking in her own eyes. She blinked them away with a shake of her head and pressed forward with the conversation. "It's the craziest thing," she began, "I was just telling your little sister about you and Fiadh the other day. My magical motherly wizard-y powers must've come out and I managed to summon you here by talking about you. Tell me, did you walk here or just materialize here on the borders?"

Caught—and yet, Clover's expression didn't change. She exhaled a soft, hummed, "Mmmhm," as she nodded in tandem with the sound. "Still as shitty and stinky as the last time I saw you," Clover agreed, as she ducked her head in an attempt to avoid Finely's teeth; the effort was fruitless. 

Though Clover's spirit of sentimentalism was distracting, she did not miss Finley's mention of a little sister. Sure, she had had little brothers, but this was different. "What, what? No fuckin way," she exclaimed, reaching forward to bump her mother's shoulder with her snout. "I have a little sister now?" Not wanting to get too ahead of herself, she added, "I mean, I'm not surprised that you and Dad popped out some more kids, but I don't know, I wasn't expecting another sister!" Fiadh was cool and all, but this was a new sibling that she could corrupt get to know. "Are there more of 'em?" she pressed. 

To Finely's, quip, Clover finally answered, "I go wherever I hear people talking about me. You see, I've been following Tegan this entire time because of all the shit he's been talking about me." A joke, of course—all the meat in the world wouldn't entice her to follow her brother around.

"You have two of them," Finley informed her with a grin, "Avery and Sugar Glider. They'll be a year this Spring. You have two brothers too, but I know how you feel about those things." Her heart ached momentarily for Tegan and Lucca, the other two wildlings that had been born alongside Clover and Fiadh, both still out in the world somewhere, likely causing havoc. 

She rolled her eyes at the quip about Tegan. "I always thought you two would get along so well if you quit being so much like each other," Fin commented, knowing it would irritate her daughter. She smirked.

"Avery and Sugar Glider," What weird fuckin' names, Clover thought to herself, "That's awesome, Ma." The mention of brothers caused her to poke out her tongue, and she agreed, "Blegh, yeah, brothers are gross—keep them away from me." Clover would find out more about them in time, she was sure. 

Despite Clover's time away, Finley remembered how to push her buttons; Clover's expression soured, her ears giving an irritated flick. "I am not like Tegan," she disagreed, failing her temper rise. "He's a fuckin' cry-baby, party-pooper," Nice one, Clo.

Finley smirked at Clover's retort. She could've pointed out what they did have in common, such as being loud and temperamental, but also fun and full of wit and sass and fire. She cherished those things about them. She kept her mouth shut, though, because she didn't think the temperamental part would go over that great. Besides which, a distraction suddenly bustled out of the trees at them, causing Fin to turn and smile with sudden excitement.

"Speak of the devil!" Fin exclaimed just as Penn was saying "Hey mom, do you know if we have any--" He stopped short as he saw Clover, his brow quirking. "This is one of your new brothers, Pox," Fin introduced, "Pox, come say hi to your older sister, Clover." She wagged her tail as Penn glanced from her to Clover and back again. He paused before saying, "....yeah, nevermind," and promptly turning away to trot back off into the Copse, leaving the pair of them behind.

Turning back to Clover, Finley smiled. "He's a delight, you'll get along great," she said with a little laugh that stopped short as a thought occurred to her, "I mean, if you're staying. Are you?" She realized she ought to have asked that sooner and not just assumed that this wasn't a short visit. When Fiadh had come home, that had only been for a day before she'd set back out on her own. If that's what this was, Fin would be grateful for it. But still, she hoped this would be something more permanent.

Clover was granted a moment to breathe once Pox had arrived. Distracted by the yearling, who seemed to have appeared out of thin air, she watched him approach before looking expectantly to Finley as she sought an introduction. "Hey, kid," Clover greeted, much calmer than she had spoken moments prior. Her brother was quick to disregard the conversation and left as quickly as he had arrived. Clover turned to Finely, her expression smug. "You know, this only helps prove my point about brothers," she teased. 

When asked about the permanence of the visit, Clover shrugged. "I mean, my plan was to stay," she replied.

Fin gave a shrug in response. ”I never claimed you were wrong about them,” she said with a smirk. She too had had brothers after all, so she knew how they could be. To be fair, she’d never really gotten along with any of her sisters though. Not like she had Colt. Who, she realized, Clover didn’t know about yet. Damn.

”Well you’ve got my approval, and I would guess you probably have your dad’s too,” she said with a wag of her tail, ”That should be good enough for @Wraen.” She gestured with her muzzle for Clover to follow as she turned towards the heart of the territory, intending to walk while they talked.

Wraen was formally glad for Towhee's reunion with her dear brother and the other kid, but inside bitterness was gnawing on her conscience. It did not seem fair that yet again her cousin was lavished with long lost friends and family members, while she waited for Elfie, who never came. Even Maia's return could not ease her grief - she had not even told her about it, believing that her dear airhead of a sibling would not understand. Not, while she herself had not come to terms with it.

Therefore, when she caught sight of Finley walking together with a young wolf that was definitely of Blackthorn origin, Wraen's lips pressed together in thin, hard line and her green eyes flared in jealously. Again. Someone else had got it all and she had been left empty handed. If she had been alone, she would have screamed in disappointment, now, however, she sighed and let the bitterness wane. When she came close enough to greet the two wolves, her expression was calm and collected, she even smiled, though more because it was expected from her. 

"Good day, Finley!" she greeted the Blackthorn matriarch. "Will you introduce me to your friend here?"

"Well, I would hope so," Clover interjected, her voice lifted by a chuckle. She was thankful to have her mother's blessing and hoped that the rest of the leadership would consent to her joining as well. "Wait, what?" she asked with an uncharacteristic tone of surprise; Wildfire had been the Sovereign when she had left. "Why would Wraen have to accept me? Doesn't Wildfire run the pack?" "Or did something happen?" she wondered silently. Despite the conversational cliff-hanger, Clover followed Finley's lead as they traversed further into the territory. She'd offer a sidelong glance to her mother every so often to check in and see how she was managing—Clover hadn't expected to see Finley's limp to develop so rapidly. 

In time, they crossed paths with another wolf, and Clover paused at her mother's side. "Hi," she offered with a wave of her tail as she put on her big-girl panties; she didn't need her mother to introduce her. "I'm Clover—Finley's daughter."

Apparently, Clover had missed more than Fin recalled. It all seemed to trickle back into her brain the moment her daughter had asked the question. There was so much she didn't know. Wildfire, Colt, Kiwi. Clover and Kiwi had been friends. How was she going to tell her that her friend was responsible for her uncle's death?

Fin had faltered in her step and in her speech, but fortunately, Wraen chose just that moment to appear. She smiled as the leader approached them, though her mind wandered back to her current debacle as they spoke. After a moment, she heaved a gentle sigh. There was nothing for it, though she would wait for a break in the conversation before she brought it down.

Finley did not say much, leaving introductions for her daughter to manage. A smart move (if it had been planned as such) on her behalf, but Wraen was a tad bit disappointed that besides the name and parentage she had not been left with much to work with. If it had been a complete stranger, she would have carried out the usual interview to determine the character's general usefulness to the pack. Now, however, it was already clear that Clover was joining the ranks and Wraen did not know, what to ask her. 

"Are you stopping by for a visit or do you intend to stay?" she finally asked, because she had missed the beginning of the conversation and felt that she was entitled to know at least this fact.

Clover nodded. "Yeah," she answered. "If that's okay with you, of course. After all, Wraen was the Sovereign; she had the final say in whether or not Clover could stay. "I'm a good hunter and will help keep the caches full. I can also go on scouting missions if you need anything." Hopefully that'd suffice. 

For good measure, her tail waved—she had been in this position multiple times, and for once hoped it wouldn't end in rejection.

Fin smiled as Clover confirmed that she intended to stay. She'd already known that, but boy did it sound nice. That her children wanted to stay with her was something she could hear a hundred times and never stop smiling over it. She looked at Wraen as Clover went on to speak of her credentials, giving a small nod as though to confirm her claims. She kept her mouth shut, though. This was her daughter's job interview. Clover could earn her own place without mommy stepping in to secure it for her.

Unlike in cases of Pippin and Phox, who had been accepted with little to no questions asked, Wraen found Finley's approach refreshing and helpful. Let her daughter deal with the joining process herself. Of course, the Sovereign was not going to deny the entrance, because the joy in the Blackthorn matriarch's eyes about having her dear daughter with her again did not escape her attention. With so little happy events lately, she would do anything to keep the elder lady happy. 

"Food has been scarce and hard to come by these past few months. I do not expect you to keep up that promise of full caches, but it is important that you take care of yourself. We have some food reserves, take them, if you absolutely need them, but keep in mind that we have young and sick to take care of as well," Wraen explained the situation as realistically as possible. "Your skills in scouting will be very appreciated - I need people to check frequently my favourite scavenging spots," she added. 

"Have no illusions about easy life here, Clover, and I can't promise you any wonders, but if we all work hard, we should be well off," she finished her monologue and waited to see the girl's response.

Fin supressed a smile at Wraen's speech. It was matter-of-fact and just as thorough as it needed to be. It was all stuff Clover needed to know, but it was also stuff that she suspected her daughter might just brush off. It was hard to picture her daughter taking something like responsibility seriously, but she supposed everyone learned to do that at some point. Maybe Clover would surprise her.

In any event, she kept quiet until the speech had ended and Clover had responded her acceptance. With that, Finley and her daughter headed into the territory for the tour, and to hunt down the rest of the Blackthorn clan and let them know that there was yet another amongst them.