Ouroboros Spine wolf-father, at the door

maybe @kassuq, @massaraq? or @aiolos? family she hasn’t had a thread with yet :))

it was a slow morning, she did not rise before the sun like usual. her venture from the previous night kept her mind occupied into late hours. she blinked aggressively at the light that shone down onto her as she left the ulaq. a big yawn for such a small body followed, and she sat not far from the mouth of the ulaq.

galana closed her eyes, welcomed the sun on her fiery fur. the warmth felt like a kiss to her face. the girl felt she needed to pick a trade of sorts sooner than later.

i hope you don't mind me! <3

kivaluk has spent most of his time with @Chickadee, almost sliding into old habits of isolation. he seeks galana and when his path crosses with her's, tries to sync up her as a full grown woman to the small cub she'd been when she'd disappeared.

it is hard. harder because she reminds him of their mother and it forms a lump in his throat that is hard to breathe around.

sister! he calls out to her when he is sure his voice will not crack from the resurfaced relief that she is not dead, as he'd feared.

!!! ofc not <3

kivaluk! he stayed consistent with her memory of him and galana was happy to think of it when she looked at him. she hadn't been able to speak much with him, but chickadee had spoken of kivaluk and her union with him. seeing the blackthorn girl as a sister wasn't all that difficult in her mind.

it was only a matter of time before sakhmet's children were reunited.

❝brother!❞ she was fully awake now, ears and head turning rather fast towards his voice.

her tail reflexively stirred behind her, waving at a comical speed. just like she would've many seasons ago, galana stepped towards him and graced his chin with puppy-ish kisses and greetings.

kivaluk's joy and relief are palpable entities; bubbling inside and letting themselves out in a soft, breathy laugh as she bounds nearer, peppering his chin in puppy kisses. his tail sways behind him, wondering if galana's presence means sakhmet is not too far behind.

but he tries not to let that hope run away with him.

i was so relieved and happy to hear you have come home. kivaluk admits. tell me of your adventures.

she gave him his space; ears previously perked at his words turned away as kivaluk continued. galana's jaws hung open, the hope she'd have words to speak diminished quickly. her tail continued to move, but now only relaying the nerves that riddled her.

how could she tell him?

but i think the wondering might be stoppin' up their throats even more than yours.

valiant's words came to her but they quickly prompted frustration. how could that be true? she sat down in front of him looking into the eyes they wistfully shared. he hadn't meant to turn this greeting so fast, but the mention of her time away brought disagreeable memories forward. galana shut her mouth to swallow the illness that rose in her throat, remembering he was possibly more 'stopped up' than her.

❝i wasn't alone.❞ her eyes internally rolled, irritated at her oh so obvious choice of words.

❝i couldn't even tell you why they were coming through here, but i went with them, wanted to go see the ocean. then, mida did something real bad and they couldn't turn around to take me back here. it was all a big hurry, teeth nipping at me when i was going to slow. i'm sure they carried me for a time, i can't really remember. they weren't anything short of a group of thugs, doing bad things and fightin' alot. i just- i don't know kiva. they took care of me, taught me how to keep my belly full and kept me warm. i don't know why they kept me around, they were scared i think. i was scared to, but i knew i was pushing my luck with them.❞

she let out a sigh, hoping to release the heaviness on her chest with one breath.

❝i'm sorry, kivaluk. i never meant to leave, i was stupid.❞ she'd meant that, truly embarrassed for how trusting she was.

as galana tells her story, kivaluk almost wishes he wouldn't have asked. he didn't want to hear that she was basically kidnapped. his heart sinks to his belly and his stomach twists and knots in ways that has his breath leaving him in a sharp hiss. he is horrified and angry. not at her, but at the wolves that had taken her. taken her from their mom. that had taken her from him.

he blinks a few times, swallowing the anger and bile that rises in his throat.

he is not ready, yet, to respond.

do not apologize, galana. it is not your fault. she had been such a young child! how could anyone blame her?

i suppose what matters now is that you are here and you are safe.

galana's ears flattened further. he'd told her it was not her fault and for moment she thought that maybe she didn't deserve that. she did not deserve what had happened to her, and the guilt wrapping around her throat loosened; the breath she took in was no longer a strangled one.

the desire to say sorry once more was still there, she would say it in a trance if she could. kivaluk's anger was a presence she grappled with; how else could she wish away the agitation other than with more apologies? galana had learned no other way.

❝we're both here.❞ she said quietly, almost a whisper.

the girl moved to sit beside him, leaning her head into his shoulder. her brother. mida, gray, they were not brothers. kivaluk would never do the things that they'd done.

❝do you... do you think that our mother will ever return?❞ surely, he'd thought about.

surely, others did too upon galana's return. she knew it. she bore her mother's fur, her eyes, and in a twisted sense... her absence.

❝if i found my way back, maybe she will too.❞ her voice was steady, but soft. 

hope.

at galana's questions, kivaluk draws in a soft breath, glad that her head rests against his shoulder. it makes it easier to hide his expression from her, the way it clouds. she is still just a girl and kivaluk struggles between wanting to protect her and wanting to be honest, wishing that they could overlap more than just the little bit that they did. he wants so desperately to tell her that their mama would return to them ... but he is a man grown now and she, a young adult; left when she was still so young, so vulnerable.

the truth was, kivaluk doubted it. greatly. but it wasn't an impossibility either. still, he didn't want to fill her with any more hope than she already had, only to see her crushed beneath it when it began to wither.

i don't know, galana. kivaluk settles for honestly, wishing he had something more concrete to offer, either way. it has been so long ... and she has not been the most stable of mothers. not like aana. it hurts him to speak of his mama as such! but it is the truth as kivaluk knows it.

she left me before, too. returned. and left. and she hasn't been back since.

but you have aana and aiolos. and me and chickadee. but was it enough for her? that was something only she could decide for herself, of course.

❝yes, i do. it is enough.❞ galana drew in a heavy breath.

she could not help but wonder. sakhmet, mom? where are you? being a near clone of her mother, she would follow her steps. whether intended or not, she'd caused pain, both of them had.

❝missed you.❞ she whispered.

her big brother was steadying presence; it was a grounding one at that, holding her feet down as her mind would drift to the sky.

how fiercely kivaluk wishes that it didn't have to be enough for her! that she could've known their mother in true ... but it brings to question whether kivaluk truly knew her himself. he thought he had, but the truth was not so stable as that.

he inhales deeply and lets it out in a heavier sigh.

missed you too, 'lana. he murmurs, glad that he had her back ... for however long she intended to stay. she was old enough now that she was free to make those choices for herself. selfishly, kivaluk wishes she would stay, but not so selfishly that he does not cherish these moments here and now.