Stone Circle mutually assured destruction

the woman tells her to buck up, and though the comfort ought to still her heart as it tries to escape her chest, she can not bring herself to smile. her gaze flashes toward a dark form approaching rapidly. At first, she can not tell who approaches, but the slight and youthful frame cross out Steady and Valette as possibilities. She does not see them, not yet. Just Nikai. Her form trembles with eagerness and she steps forward to greet him chin lifting in the slightest. 

and is frozen in her tracks at the horror and fear she sees there. her own gaze widens in fear, and her tail curls around her rump. no, she was too soon. should have waited, until she healed more extensively, until her fur could cover some of the worst scars that littered her face. his expression changed, but in the fleeting moment she knew that he saw her as something fearful. shuddering, she takes a half step back, until she realises that this is her brother before her, and she is scared. she moves forward, seeking to bury her muzzle in his fur, to breath in his scent and to remember that she is home.