Hushed Willows house of the rising sun

It had been over a year since she'd last seen him, and although he did not seem to have changed a bit, he seemed smaller, somehow. It occured to her that she must have grown.

Still, she was still his little sister when he rushed toward her, and she met him with equal enthusiam, paying no mind to the small hesitation. "I've missed you so much," she professed, rocking back on her rump to wrap her forelegs about him. "I'm sorry I've been gone for so long." She knew -- or thought she knew? -- that he and Aditya had taken over after Grayday's death, and part of her still felt terrible about having been absent through the family's toughest times. But that was in the past, and there was no use in agonizing over it now.

"Can I stay here?" she asked plainly, lowering herself in supplication. "With you?"