Neverwinter Forest life is a highway

He'd been loitering in the area with @Belharra for a day or two, maybe longer (who cares about details, ugh) when he noticed something that should've been obvious: a familiar scent that was thicker the further he travelled in to the woods. It brought to mind images of the mountain-home he had left behind; his mother's face, his siblings', the pain of loss. Maybe the reason Tuvak had been oblivious to the presence of @Simmik was due to his aversion to that pain. It stands to reason that Tuvak might avoid anything that would remind him of the home he hated and the family he loved, and missed, and wanted -- so upon finding a fresh trail he was intrigued but also too afraid to pursue it.

A few feet away from this path, he spotted a cleave in the dirt. Brown soil upended and muddied by the melting snow. As he wandered towards it he found the scent of rabbit, and knew that there was some kind of warren nearby - perhaps at the base of the incline among some brambles he could spy - but something held him back, freezing him in place. Uncertainty was one thing, but this freeze-up was not acceptable; so with a huff and a shake of his pale coat to rid the suffocating sensation which blanketed him, he took the initiative and lunged down the incline, intent to hunt.

GERRRROOOOMMINOOOOOOOOOOOO!! Belharra’s voice belted, followed by her streaking form. Belharra had seen Tuvak pass by seconds before, but her form had been obscured. Why was that? Because Belharra, bored and wanting to see more of the forest, had tried to climb a multi-limbed pine fir. She had made it roughly ten feet off the ground before she realized wolves really were best as terrestrial and not arboreal beings - that and, she was finding it harder and harder to find a limb that supported her weight. 

She landed roughly in a snowbank, nearly buried to her head in white. Shaking the powder from her ears she marched over to Tuvak with a grin, sniffing at the ground around him. Rabbits, if she had to guess. OI!! TUBA!! (Nevermind that wasn’t his name.)) What’s ye up to on this fine fine day?

Her patrol had been quiet today, that was until she caught the scent of strangers on the breeze, followed a few minutes later by a loud call; she couldn't make out what had been said, but the sound helped her pinpoint the location of the intruders, or the general area at least. She knew the woods well and made quick work of tracking the scents. The fresh scent of rabbit eventually mixed with that of the trespassers, making anger boil in her chest. How dare they cross over their borders and hunt their rabbits?

Simmik sprinted forward once she realized where they were, fueled by her possessive rage and the need to prove herself. It didn't matter that she was alone and likely outnumbered; she continued forward anyway, hackles raising and a snarl rumbling from her chest as she saw the two intruders. It wasn't until she reached the top of the incline that she noticed the familiarity of the male. His scent smacked her in the face, more potent up close, and she realized too late that it was Mesa. She froze, or tried to—she was so stunned that she forgot that she had been sprinting towards the slope, so instead of freezing, she flew over the edge and tumbled down the hill. She landed hard at the bottom, leaping back to her feet after a few seconds. She coughed a few times and shook the snow from her fur, trying to get back some kind of composure and not let the two of them know just how mortified she was. She stared at her brother for a few seconds, unable to come up with anything to say. Finally, she asked: How did you find me? That was why he was here right? Nothing else could explain it.

Sorry this took me 84 years to reply to!!!

First there was the hollering of one voice off his flank, and towards this he spun. His pale coat blustered and spiked more out of anxiety than anything. But there was a second voice - not as forthright as the first but intimately familiar in a way Tuvak had not ever experienced before. As loud as Belharra was, it was the second voice that drew his attention and held it When he saw his sister striding closer with an accusatory look upon her face, Tuvak was conflicted. His body wanted to curl low at first, to tuck his tail. A part of him refused to buckle despite the display done by Simmik (specifically because he did not want his new friend Belharra to see him look weak) and so, his reaction as a mess of frenzieid indecision.

The look the two siblings shared spoke volumes on its own - but then Simmik spoke, sounding incredulous, which was precisely the word Tuvak would have used to describe himself in that moment if he were aware of it. 

What? He gasped, realizing he had held his breath as soon as Belharra had shouted, and let it out with some exasperation. How did you get here -- is mom here? The more he spoke the more animated Tuvak became; he looked from one patch of trees to another with a shake of his head, and even corralled his limbs in to obeying him long enough to scurry about a few steps, hoping to find Takiyok's scent somewhere. There was nothing like it, though. Even Simmik's coat boasted smells Tuvak had never come across before.

An angry cotton ball was hurling towards them at Mach 6000. Belharra's ears were erect as she watched the furious cloud stumble, and then land hard on her behind. She cackled as Simmik landed roughly and recovered - she was fine, so it was okay to laugh, right?

Belharra was used to way more polite receptions. Her excited tail flagged as she was ignored by not one, but two wolves. Hmph.

This was clearly a reunion, which meant there were either waterworks or emotions forthcoming. Belharra didn't have a lick of that kind of patience in her, nor a stroke of that maternal genius - so she cleared her throat in an excuze-moi fashion and left the two to catch up.

no need to apologize to me; i post at a snail's pace always

His answer was confusing; it seemed like he hadn't come here for her...but how could he have stumbled upon this forest randomly without knowing she was here? She couldn't wrap her brain around it at first. She spent so much time worrying about what she left behind eventually catching up to her, that it seemed like the only plausible explanation. She wondered if he might be lying but when he asked about mom, looking around for her with such earnest hope in his expression, her suspicion was immediately forgotten. He moved towards her and sniffed her coat, and she stood there silently, trying to piece everything together. She shook her head too, as if pulling herself from her confused trance. What? No, mom isn't here, she finally said. I left..by myself. I live here now with my pack, Neverwinter Forest. She left out the part about them technically trespassing; it seemed of little importance right now. Where have you been all this time? Simmik asked. Why did you leave? Obviously he hadn't seen mom anytime recently or he would have known that Simmik left a while ago, which meant she was probably out looking for all of them. A pang of guilt tightened her chest at the thought, but she pushed the feeling away for now; it wouldn't help her deal with this.

The unknown woman cleared her throat and swiftly left, leaving them to figure this out brother to sister. She was grateful for it, considering she wasn't keen on having this reunion in front of someone she didn't even know. Her gaze searched her brother's face as she waited for him to speak again, as if she could find answers there whether or not he revealed them.