Broken Boulder it's getting late, and i

It really hadn't been that long since the Governor had left Bracken Sanctuary, but for Lily, it felt like an eternity. She heard the howl, and for an instant, she dismissed it as a daydream, an auditory hallucination. It was only after the last notes had faded away did it sink in--the call was real. He was home.

Eyes wide in excited joy, Lily raced through the Bracken Woods, where she'd been practicing her hunting, leaping over fallen branches and darting around the brush. She burst through into the clear and saw three forms just past the border, with a fourth--Korei, she thought, noting the lone ear, the white fur--rushing to meet them, making a racket as well. She slowed to a trot, her mouth opened wide in a grin.

She had thought she would be angry with him, for leaving again. That his homecoming would be marked with fury on her part, yelling, cursing. But none of the bile she felt or the words she'd muttered came to her now--there was only happiness, and above all, relief.

"Alarian." Her voice was gentle, sweet, barely a breath on the wind. It died as she noticed the relatively fresh scarring that marred his body, her smile dimming to a bewildered frown. "What happened?" she asked, brows knitting together in concern. Her eyes darted, first to the slim dark man, then his beautiful companion, her silky pelt a blend of colors she'd never seen before.

"Who--" She forgot her manners, meaning to stammer out another question. Instead, she caught herself in time, dipping her muzzle and blinking graciously at the two strangers. "Welcome. . .to Bracken Sanctuary. My name is Lily. This is Korei," Lily added, gesturing at the pale girl.