Hoshor Plains brings me 'round again

what, exactly, says "sorry for leaving but I'm never coming back and I thought I should let you know I'm alive"? surely something a little more grandiose than a whip-thin hare, but after a morning of hunting it's all she could come up with. placing it by her paws, the woman howls for @Ira and @Evergreen, settling on her haunches. she's surprised that they remain in the plains, so long after the destruction, but supposes it will take a while still for the creek to recover, if ever. 

shifting her weight, she sets her gaze across the plains, waiting for one or both of the leaders to appear. selfishly, she wonders what would have happened should she have stayed here instead of searching for her family. here, she might have ascended the ranks to a position akin to the one she held in morningside. now, she attempted to parent a scarce niece and her shell of a brother. it's an ugly thought, and she hates herself for thinking it, offering a stiff shake of her pelt as if that might dissuade such thoughts.

The call has Eve scrambling to his feet. He knew it! Eventually someone would come back to them, and the former Count feels his resolve grow stronger. The days he spent wading through thick flood waters in search of others who no longer reside within Kaistleoki now feels less useless.

Granted, he didn’t find Dawn… more like she found them again.

He strides towards the call, clumsy in his movements and still entirely Off in everything. The bear is not quite who he used to be. Winterbourne is off on a hunt for now, providing where Evergreen cannot… but surely he will come around soon, to see his sister—to be reunited again. The abandonment had hit him hard, after all, and Eve of all people knows that feeling.

With Dawn in sight, he slows his pace. Hhi, he greets. Welcome home.

evergreeen; a small smile curves her muzzle. she's always been found of the male, though the seriousness of this meeting stops her from giving a more exuberant greeting. "evergreen," she greets, tail wagging. she's glad kaisteloki still stood; they'd been in somewhat better shape when she'd left, but a large portion of the members had been missing. 

she pushes the hare toward him, stepping back slightly in clear sign that it is a gift. "I need to apologize. I left suddenly—to find my family, among the wreckage of the quakes." she pauses, realizing that something feels, well, a little off about the leader. nevertheless, she continues. "I found my niece, and stayed with her at Easthollow. then my brother; but he'd damaged his mind in some sort of accident. he'd lost memories." she discloses this, wondering briefly if she ought to at all. but she still trusts the man, despite all the time that's passed. "I'm caring for them now, but needed to come back and check on you; on Kaisteloki. to explain, and truly, evergreen, I'm sorry." 

What starts as a happy reunion swiftly switches. Eyebrows furrow upon the former Count’s face. He leans his head back and to the right, confusion etched in his features. There is understanding, as family is beyond important; he knows what it is like to lose it, and regain it all the again. What he does not understand, however…

But… you left a piece of your family here, he says, a lisp in his voice, rough on pronunciation with odd pauses. And now you aren’t coming back? Is it so easy for her to leave another brother in favor of this other? Did his trauma, his fears of abandonment, mean nothing to her? For once, he finds himself angered.

it takes her a moment; she thinks, at first, he means the bonds and wolves she'd met here. but it is more literal than that, so after a moment, "winterbourne." her expression softens; she had not seen much of her brother while he'd been here, and it was unlikely she'd ever get to know him well besides the fragments of memory she had. "I don't want to leave family," she begins, realizing the defensive angle of her argument soon enough. 

she is here to explain her decision, not defend it or change her mind, she reminds herself, and so continues. "but my brother, my niece, they need me more now. if winterbourne is still here it means he is content in kaisteloki; that knowledge is enough for me." something is more clearly off about evergreen, now. she wants to ask; but feels it will only make him defensive. if he wants to volunteer details about himself, he will; that does not mean her concern falters, however.

“Winterbourne.”

The bearish wolf nods his head—if anyone deserves an apology the most, it is the silver male who risked his life to save he and Ira alongside Tobias, who sought to find his family that recently found him, only to realize they were both gone.

He stiffens, it seems Dawn is reluctant to see the truth; of how wrong her decision to leave the boy is. And you did not think to ask him what he wants? He would have gone with you. O-Or, he would have appreciated the opportunity, but you want to abandon him here? Fur begins to rise across the bear’s back.

"no," she states firmly, straightening now as evergreen's anger becomes evident. she wonders why he is so concerned for her brother; it seems odd, for him to care so deeply about his thoughts, feelings; her own family's affairs. "I care for him, but I would not have brought him with me," she states. 

"I have failed too many times in search of family to drag him along on what could have been a dead end." despite knowing very little about her elusive sibling, or perhaps because, she had made the decision to go out alone; a trip that had turned into one that had no return. "why do you care so much for my brother?" she asks bluntly, wondering now if something terrible had befallen the boy, again. she'd always thought him safe here; he'd been here before her and after, too; obviously he was fond of the place and the wolves that resided here.

The word stings, as if Eve himself were being rejected instead of River. It amazes him how selfish Dawn thinks of the situation, but perhaps, he, too, is being the same. Stubborn in the way he digs his heels into business that is not his. His blind eye twitches, as if a violent memory.

Because I know what it’s like to lose family, he says, and I found him, lost, without one, and he thought he got it back when you guys joined us. Now you want to leave him all the same. Even if it had been a dead end, at least you would have had each other. Just like how he had Thistle, until he didn’t any longer.

because I know what it's like to lose family. her hackles prickle, she stiffens. "you think I don't?" she spits, temper flaring for the first time. the names rattles off in her head—stone, brook, aditya, grayday, catori, shale, and so many more besides. he does not, can not know what it means to lose a mate, children, a father; to search and find them only to lose them again. hollow hurt and grief flashes, her expression tightens, tries to smooth the tension across her shoulders. this is not a contest of who's hurt the most, lost the most. 

she'd never told him, what she'd been running from when she'd first joined. she did not ever intend to. striving for tact, she continues. "look, evergreen. he has not lost me, us; we're just over the mountains. but I can't be at his side when others need me, not now." 

@Ira can u take wb off ppc pls? <3

His head is low as he makes for the plains, ears tucked against his skull as he contemplates his failure. He'd been hopeful when he'd found scent trails, even excited at the thought of bringing something back — but they'd all gotten lost in the snow eventually, and he'd ultimately found nothing living to pursue. He hates returning with nothing, but he's tired and frustrated now, and not likely to catch anything even if he found it.
The figure he spots at the border doesn't seem quite familiar at first, but he recognizes Evergreen immediately when his gaze shifts. His ears perk, pace picking up as a surge of anxiety drives him forward. He dislikes the idea of his companion being at the border without him — but that thought is quickly forgotten when he gets close enough to realize who Evergreen is talking to. His breath catches, and he stops. Dawn? He starts to really focus, then, and suddenly he notices the tension in the air. His nerves fray instantly, and he looks to Evergreen with questioning eyes, then back to his sister, with an expression best described as "deer in the headlights."

Then why? He wants to screech back. His round ears flicking as she spits at him, anger curling in both—the hurt is strong, wounds that cannot, would not heal. All the bear hoped to accomplish was an understanding that Winterbourne needed his family just as much as the others.

Do you not think he needs you, that he needs all of you just as they do?! He steps forth, unwilling to back down, even if she wishes to retreat in a “agree to disagree” mannerism.

Alas, his expression shifts from enraged to horror. The step he takes is retreated back, ears airplaning to the side and the fire fizzling out at the sight of Winterbourne’s approach.

a rift is opened between them, and from it comes that old, bitter pride that had been her downfall time and time again. "what would you have me do, evergreen?" she asks, harsh and firm. her auds angle forward, gaze narrowed; she will not have the man she'd once considered a friend force his way into her family, her affairs, her choices; not when he wants her to abandon her ailing brother and lost niece for winterbourne. 

but she can't elaborate, because he's there, suddenly; she wonders at the stupidity of their argument when her sibling is just a call away. she blinks, forcibly softening the stiffness of her bearing, expression softening as she regards her brother. "winterbourne," she greets, taking a step near but not greeting him in the exuberant way of her family; for suddenly he seems quite fragile, standing there, and tatters of hurt and rage and grief still flutter in her chest.

He swallows hard as Dawn greets him, gaze shifting between the two figures once again as he tries to comprehend the situation. You're alive, His voice drops with the first realization to strike him, and he mirrors her step forward. Twice now Dawn has been dead to him; twice he has grieved her and given up hope of finding her or any of his family. It's almost hard to believe she's really here, but he can already feel his his spirits lifting a little. But Evergreen... he glances back a third time, noting his expression, and he remains puzzled at first. It should be a happy occasion, after all. Dawn is alive and okay, and home, and —
And then it clicks. But you're not staying. His voice is only a shade tremulous as he addresses his sister again, hardly betraying the mix of emotions that accompanies the realization. He shouldn't have expected it, he knows; he'd never been close to any of his family members, had never gotten the chance between all the tragedies of his young life. Why should he mean anything to them, when he's never truly been one of them? But logic doesn't seem to stop the hollow ache taking root in his chest.

Whatever argument he has ends locked on his tongue. What would he have her do? Give Winterbourne the option, make him feel wanted, just as the others must—if Dawn could so much as give him the chance he deserves, then maybe things would be alright.

But it is too late, and his expression cannot hide the sorrow he feels for Winterbourne  within. The happy relief that the silver male reflects dies the moment he turns to the bear, and he feels the pang of his heart shattering all at once.  

There is a flicker of doubt—of whether he made the wound between family members worse than it already is, and part of Eve desires to flee the scene in his own anguish. Yet he refuses to leave Winterbourne, not again.

she blinks[mash]she did not think winterbourne had thought her dead, not really. but at his words, she realizes how wrong she might have been about the boy. she steps forward again; aching to pull him into an embrace but held back by the fading sharpness of evergreen's words, the way her brother glances to him. at his questions, she swallows. "no," she answers softly, guilt and sadness etched clear on her face. "sunny's badly hurt, river, and he and his daughter need me." 

she pauses, her gaze finding the heavy scars under his throat, the look in his eyes. he needs you. but her brother needs more more, and perhaps, she is being cruelly pragmatic; her full-blooded brother is her heart, and she has loved him and known him more than she's ever known winterbourne. "there's more family, over the mountains. easy, lavender, your niece. you could come with me." evergreen is ignored, now, the rift between them one she does not care to bridge.

More family, alive. Yet the revelation only makes him feel more hollow; there is no mention of @Kasatka or @Eventide, no hint that Catori might have found her way back to the splintered family. All he hears is a list of barely-familiar names, and the realization that he does not belong. He remembers Sunny most of all, and his heart aches for his older brother — but he can see in Dawn's face that hers aches far more for her littermate. Once, he'd have done anything for that kind of devotion from the wolves who are meant to be his family, but now...
He shakes his head slowly, and part of him starts to fracture and crumble somewhere deep within. They're your family, and you're theirs, more than any of you have ever been mine. I don't blame you for choosing them, especially when Sunny needs you, but I — He swallows. My place there died with our father, I think. Nothing was the same after that, and I've been gone so long now, and Kasatka and Eventide... They're gone, or dead, and how can he uproot himself now to make a place among a family of strangers without them?
I'll visit, He announces abruptly, voice thickening slightly with the sudden threat of tears. If you tell me where you're all staying. I'll visit often. But I need to follow my heart as much as you do — and mine is... Unbidden, his eyes return to Evergreen again, the glance so brief it could easily be missed but full of meaning before he focuses on his sister again. He can't bring himself to finish the sentence; it suddenly feels too intimate, too much like a confession he doesn't want to make in front of Dawn. He's made his point anyway, he thinks, so he moves to the next thought nagging him. How did Sunny get hurt? Will he live?

Eve can be skipped unless addressed !

Mixed emotions wash over him as Dawn does what he’s been trying to ask of her this whole time—almost as if it is easy for her to do so, and he finds himself confused by the sudden shift. As if she suddenly cares for someone she thought to throw away, moments before. Alas, the bear tries to squash the bitter part that rises, and be happy for River, for getting what he truly deserved; a family that cared for him, and to hopefully find what he had lost so long ago.

Nonetheless, he finally realizes this meant that he would be losing him. Not per se in a fact that they couldn’t still visit each other, but the constant that River’s been within his life would fade. He swallows whatever grief that comes with it, and instead, beams an approving, soft smile. If it falters just a tad, he can blame it on the overall emotional reunion, and the cold shoulder he is being given. He owes Dawn an apology for overstepping, and River too, but he doesn’t regret trying to stand up for him.

He prepares himself all for this, in a matter of seconds, yet the response that River gives is equally heart shattering and coming out of left field. It isn’t what he expected. Eyebrows furrow, mismatched green eyes shift to stare at the silver male in wonder.

“But I need to follow my heart as much as you do — and mine is…”

Yours is what, He whispers under his breath, inaudible to the others. The glance of honey eyes isn’t unnoticed. Eve caught that towards him. His heart picks up it’s pace, and yet he finds himself confused why it does. Kaistleoki must have become River’s home all along, and if this is where his heart lies, then the bear cannot argue with him either. The selfish part of him doesn’t want to, either.

Yet it becomes evident that his interference had been unwanted—alas, River was able to make his decision clear, but it isn’t what Eve expects, and he finds himself questioning whether he truly fucked things up in the end.

she does not understand, at first. but then she considers it, him—he'd been so young when grayday had died, when the flames had come. he'd experienced so little of their family as it was meant to be; full and happy. it hurt, truly, but she understood. 

and so the huntress nodded, accepting his choice. something about following his heart, which she supposes isn't with his family, as hers is. to anything occurring between him and Evergreen at the moment, however, she is oblivious. "we're staying at Easthollow, with Valette and her family." she offers, wondering if he'll make good on the promise. 

and then the matter of Sunny. "he was wounded, feverish. and something's happened to his mind. he can't remember—not me, morningside, or even his own children." she does not like admitting this aloud, it makes it real, exposes her brother's, and therefore her own, vulnerability. 

she sighs, stepping near the to boy, hoping to press her muzzle to his shoulder a moment, should he allow it. "I need to go back to him, now. but visit, please. I want to get to know who you've become." she admits, glancing once to him then.