Redhawk Caldera it's over.

Elwood's eternal optimism had finally faded.

It had been a brutal two months -- two months of patrolling, waiting, and putting on a happy face for his family. And while the two youngest still seemed able to cope, Elwood had accepted the grim inevitability that it didn't seem that Finley or Lucy would return. He wasn't sure yet what his life would look like without them; he was still processing it, and no amount of Raven's poppy powder seemed to help.

He found it hard to set his paws in motion when Raven called for him, but he forced himself to move. The pace that took him towards the borders was slow and as his niece swam into view in the distance, he paused. Beyond her was a mirage, surely -- because it was undoubtedly Finley, but Elwood's mind couldn't reason how or why she was there.

Tentatively, he padded closer, yellow eyes narrowing then widening. "Finley," he murmured, then accelerated. He loped past Raven and beelined towards his mate, who looked tired, thin, and bedraggled, but his gaze drank her in gratefully. He paused just inches from her, searching her face with a whine before nudging her cheek with his nose. The absence of Lucy was painfully obvious and unnecessary to mention; instead, he pressed himself against her, hugging her close with the intention of never letting go.