Ouroboros Spine she'll take this test

Backdated a few days! Not sure if everyone is still at the big hunt?

She howled long before she reached the borders, and consequently, was met there by Valiant.

"Three," the Delta proudly told her, and Angel Oak burst into tears. She had to be guided to the den with joyful tears still clouding her eyes. She couldn't even see her new brothers like this — but her mother's familiar face was quite clear.

"Mama," she whisper-sobbed, scooting forward on her belly with her tail wagging wildly behind her. She would not come any closer without @Raindrop's permission, but she was already ecstatic about this new development. Baby brothers!

The birth of her second litter was tough, and it had taken a lot out of her. But, slowly, she recovered. She and Valiant fussed over the children at all hours, making sure that they had everything they needed (even though they didn't need much but warmth and milk.)

She'd heard her daughter's call before she arrived at their home den. She nearly cried knowing that one of her daughters had returned. "Angel! I'm so glad you're home. Come in, come meet your brothers." she happily insisted, urging her daughter closer.

Though the invitation had been to meet her brothers, when she was pulled closer, Angel curled herself around her mother instead. It hit her again that she could've died out there in the Taiga, and her mother would never have known what happened. She would've been just another family member disappeared, and all that would be left was Raindrop and Rosie.

Except — that wasn't true anymore. There was Ludo, now, and Valiant as well. And now these three little beans, pale and smudged with cream and gray.

Angel began to cry anew.

"They're beautiful," she sobbed, her words catching despite her best efforts to speak reasonably. She mopped at her face, embarrassed by this strange emotionality. "I'm sorry, I just — "

She sniffled. This wasn't the time to rehash everything that'd happened.

"What are their names?" she asked, taking a renewed interest in her brothers. "How are you feeling, Mama? Oh — I brought you something."

She looked 'round, realizing she'd lost track of the pelt. It was then that Valiant stepped forward, the caribou pelt in his mouth. He pulled it over them, wrapping both women in the warm hide.

He shared a significant look with his wife. The pelt smelled strongly of a man, despite the distance it'd traveled.

"I'll let you two catch up," he told them. "Holler if you need anything, alright? I'm gonna look for some supper for us."

He departed.

Her daughter curled up beside her, just as Raindrop had done when Angel was but a pup. It was clear that Angel was enamored with her newest siblings. 

And when she began to cry, Raindrop immediately went to sooth her, rubbing a paw up and down her leg. She wouldn’t press, as much as she’d wanted to.

Instead, she answered her question. “It’s okay, Angel.” Raindrop reassured her gently, “The first one is Valor, the second is Skyfall, and the third is White Bear.” She pointed to each pup with her snout as she named them. 

“I’m alright. This birth was much different from yours, but I had help. Valiant and Ippiksaut, our healer, helped me through.”

Just then, Valiant brought into the den a beautiful elk pelt. This was the gift that Angel brought back. Upon closer inspection, Raindrop could smell the scent of another weaved into the fibers. She shared a look with Valiant. Just another question for later. Valiant wrapped his two ladies a in the warm pelt before he went off to fetch dinner. 

“So, how was the trip? What all have you learned?” She asked when they were alone. “Did the herd take you far?”

A little shiver went down Angel's spine. Perhaps she wasn't the only one who could have died. It was miraculous to be back in each other's arms, and deep inside her, Angel began to feel misgivings about her plans.

"I'm glad you're safe," she said softly, lifting her gaze from her new brothers to her mother's face. Identical blue eyes met, and Angel took a deep, shaky breath to keep from crying again.

"It was a good trip," she assured her mother, "but a difficult one. I was injured, and for a while, I grew very sick."

She told her mother about the sharp reed that had pierced her paw, and the terrible infection that had laid her low for weeks. She spoke of the recovery afterward, and of regaining her strength. She spoke of the taiga — and then she spoke of Sega.

"I wouldn't have made it if not for a kind man who fed me and protected me while I was ill," she confessed, knowing this would pain her poor mother to hear, even having her daughter safe and sound before her. "His name is Sega. He leads a pack called Great Sky — that's where I've been all this time." She nosed at the beautiful caribou pelt. "This is from him as well as me, and Great Sky as a whole. He asked me to bring a gift to you."

A pause.

"Mama, I think that he is courting me," she said, her voice surprisingly calm.