Totoka River a snapshot in the family album

Her time spent on the island had made her less alert than she used to be; the scent drifted in and out of her nostrils without concern, for even if it did have a touch of the familiar to it, it was probably just a trick of her imagination, or--worse--Hemlock coming after her, admonishing the girl for leaving the island so soon after her brush with death. She sighed, shaking her head with a groan. Heavy, angry pawsteps soon reached her ears, and she turned to face her retribution, an irritated but resigned look painted over her face.

A face that soon grew blank with complete and utter shock.

So long had she been away from the Woods that the structure of the place, in her mind, was beginning to crumble. Everything was muddled, murky, as if in a fever dream. But one look at the white wolf, barreling toward her, and Blackfeather was brought quickly and suddenly to life again. The sounds, the smells. Every single emotion she had ever felt flitted through her mind, a sort of 'life flashing before your eyes' moment. He looked wrathful, and she supposed she couldn't blame him. She had left without word, after all.

Before Maegi even had time to accept her fate, he had come to a halt, and Vaati Melonii's voice rattled through her skull like cannon fire: "Who did this to you?"

Pain seared through her jaw, and the girl winced, closing her eyes tight. "May Sithis strike me dead, then." Skullchaser's final words to her, lost in the immediate aftermath of her injury, came like lightning to her mind. She tasted blood, and felt not the warm summer's breeze against her pelt but a cool alpine chill, battering against her ribs. Shivers ran from nape to tail, over and over, threatening to overcome her--

Until it all stopped, and was replaced quite quickly with anger. She blinked, once, twice, and saw her big brother in front of her, demanding answers. And she bared her teeth at him. A snarl in her throat. No 'Hello,' 'how are you?', 'I've missed you'--but an inquisition into her most disturbing moment? He could have prevented it. Could have gone looking for her, could have made peace with the enemy, instead of leading them into a war that had left them all shattered and indelibly changed. How dare he harass her so--no matter how good his intentions were--after all this time?

"No," she finally snapped, shaking her head. "I'm not going to tell you. I don't want to talk about it. I came all this way, left it all behind--"

Then she was a child again, suddenly, walking beside Vaati under the boughs of Blackfeather. Saw his face again for what it was, a great, young leader, full of promise. Not the disgraced rogue he was now. Not a savage. Her brother. Her stomach clenched violently in barely-contained sobs, and her face crumbled, as she continued, "Damn it, Vaati--where did you go? Why did you leave?"