Redhawk Caldera glowbells

as winter's teeth settled into the grey air, kivaluk and chickadee held a somber discussion. she did not want to see her father perish if the cold was too much for him. kukutux maneuvered in ways that made her feel outside moonglow now.
it was decided they would leave, and in the days to come she would persuade her parents to accompany them.
there was grief in this, and as chickadee wandered the familiar haunts of the beloved caldera, she found herself wishing fiercely that @Ceridwen would come home right this moment. she didn't want to leave without saying goodbye.

More often than not wishes do not come true. Or at least not in a way you have expected them to. However, at least for today Chickadee's hope had stirred the heart of at least one god above and it had made sure that Dwin's path led towards caldera, even though she had not intended to come this way in the beginning. Time and distance spent away had made all the difference - the burnt-out and disillusioned girl that had left the Brecheliant was not the one, who had come to visit her birth-place now. 

It was surprising really, how little caldera had changed in Dwin's absence. She walked the well-trodden paths quietly and stopped at familiar landmarks to revel in memories - both from her early childhood and then of those that were of her second summer here. There was the ledge, where she had threatened to throw her sister over, should she not behave. Here she had spinned tales of the resident big fish, who liked to snack on naughty puppies. Funnily enough - she could remember she had not felt good for the last few months, but she could no longer bring back the exact feeling. No longer mattered. 

The scent marks along the borders had thinned and the area, where the family resided had shrunk, so it took her a while, until she caught sight of the first wolf in the area. Dwin observed the other quietly, her grey coat blending with the surroundings and the cloudy, rainy day. And only, when she was sure, she knew, who the wolf was, did she emerge from the shadows and approached her carefully. 

"Fancy seeing you here," she greeted Dee.

just when she had almost given up her languishing patrol, there her sister was, calling dee. eyes watering, she gasped, then scampered in to hug tightly; "dwin! oh, wow! dwin!" laughter rang in the cold air, and for a moment chickadee didn't let her go.
but eventually they parted, and her eyes dancing, taking ceridwen's sameness and differences, all the things she had missed.
their eyes met; her heart lurched as if just remembering what they were to do. "it's so good to see you. and you look great, really," soul breaking a little at the vague idea that ceridwen might not want to accompany them. but surely — there was a chance, right?

Though the both Blackthorn sisters had had their good and bad days in the past, the joy of seeing each other again after, what seemed like a lifetime, was immense. Dwin froze a little from such a display of affection, more from a lack of such close contact during her months, but then eased in the heartfelt embrace. For a moment there nothing else mattered than the fact that the two of them were together again, feeling happy and whole as if no time had passed at all. 

"Well, you are the first to tell me this in a long while and - frankly speaking - yours is the only opinion that matters. So - thank you!" Dwin dipped her muzzle quickly. "When did you return here? Last I met you - you ran with the Moonwoman and her kin?"

"we came back last spring, just before the kids were born. i had them in the blackthorn den," chickadee murmured, cheerful up until her brow furrowed hard to avoid crying.
thankfully her eyes watered but did not give her away. "and we just stayed. i always wanted to come home. moonglow was where kivaluk grew up. but he decided to come here, and eventually he joined mama in leadership."
so many memories built here;
how painful to leave them at all.
"where did you go? what's the best thing you learned?" chickadee asked next, wanting to drink in all the experiences before any parting took place.

So both had missed each other probably by days or weeks in the spring. On one side Dwin felt regret for the time they could have spent together, but did not. On the other - she would once again be roped in caring for children that were not her own. This had made her miserable and angry the summer before and she would much rather have her nieces and nephews remember her as the mysterious, but fun aunt Ceridwen than the exhausted and grumpy one. It was all for the better. 

"To the world end and back again," Dwin shrugged. It was really hard to pack in many months worth of travel-logs in just a few sentences. "Actually - it feels as if I was kidnapped by the pixies. Followed one to their world in spring, danced and sang and celebrated with them all night, and when I returned - it was autumn already," she grinned. "So - what's the kids' names? Was motherhood all you hoped it would be?" she asked, genuinely curious.