Arrow Lake we'll do it all, everything, on our own

Laurel was over the moon to have her baby boy @Lucas back in her life. Along with @Marten, @Tadec and @Indra they travelled now; first stop was Diaspora, to find her baby girl so she could join them once more. Then they would travel to the Hollow to collect the other children that were left behind. And they would see then whether they would rejoin Lost Creek Hollow or travel on with their company to find a place that was a little more like home and a little less reminding of when Bearclaw Valley was usurped (for that was, in Laurel's eyes, what had happened). And a little less reminding of Xan and his utter lack of love for Laurel.

When she reached the borders of the pack Laurel called for @Piper and she waited by the borders. Her heart pounded in her chest and she hoped that it would be her daughter that'd greet her personally. She didn't feel much like dealing with Stigmata or anyone else.

one post cameo, feel free to PP her <3

the closer they got to diaspora, the heavier indra's heart sank. she was not ready to see stigmata again, and selfishly hoped they could whisk piper off without having to interact with the man that had bittered indra's past.

she remained close to marten and lucas, hanging back as laurel called for her daughter. there was little to do but wait, and indra stiffly kept her head up and ears alert for whoever approached.

The girl hadn't really even had a chance to tell Stigmata that she had found her way back to his claim in the mountains. She had trekked and trekked until her limbs quivered from the effort that it took to move them further. All that time, and she had found nothing about Lucas. Piper could not help but to feel like an awful failure. She thought back to how confident she had been when she'd told Indra that she would find him, or find out where he had gone, and she was not certain that she would have the strength to confront how wrong she had been.

Still, the Redleaf girl had learned an awful lot in her time away from the rest of them. She had learned how to exist on her own, and that had been valuable enough. It didn't meant that she hadn't missed them; she had carried the stone that Rannveig had given her on the beach all the way back to Diaspora. She had every intention of giving it to her mother, just as she had promised on that day beside the river.

When the call sounded overhead, Piper's ears lifted and her heart raced wildly. She turned to where the sound of it had come from and raced in spite of her weariness. Nothing could have prevented her from being reunited with her family. When she saw the reddish fur of Indra and then the liver color of her mother's cloak, she could feel tears pricking at the back of her eyes like needles. She jetted forward and dropped the rock at her mother's feet with heavy breaths. “Mom...” the Redleaf girl breathed softly. For once in her life, she was speechless.

Laurel waited nervously at the borders. She'd never admit to feeling nervous, but she was terrified that they would simply cast her out here and tell her she could not see her daughter. So when she saw her daughter's ruddy fur, reminiscent in the distance to her sister, Laurel let out a sigh of relief as her tail started to wag careful beats. The reunion was not as happy as Laurel had guessed. Was she not happy to see her mother again? Laurel had never quite understood why Piper had left her without a word, had not even said good-bye to her. All she knew was that Indra'd found out she was in this pack, and now that they had found Lucas she was the only missing link to this family (well, except Wyatt who had purposely decided to leave and didn't seem to have any interest in being with his family, so he was dead as far as Laurel was concerned).

Piper quickly came closer, her breath racing. Laurel didn't see the stone at first at all -- she just moved closer to her daughter and embraced her, pressing her head close against Piper's head and nibbling gently along her neck. Piper, where did you go... she murmured, though it was clear from her voice that she was smiling now that she was reunited. Only as she stepped back from the hug, Laurel noticed the stone on the ground. She looked at it, not entirely having realised that Piper brought it but knowing it surely hadn't been there before. Did you..? she asked as she looked at the stone.

unaware of piper's return, stigmata descended to diaspora's low borders in order to accost the redleaf caller himself and send her swiftly away. he may have been more accommodating to any other member of piper's family, but his slanted history with laurel (if it could be called that) had him almost overeager to send her away disappointed.

imagine his surprise when he noticed piper had beat him there; and that indra stood there too, dividing his attentions. he had to compartmentalize his thoughts, focusing first on the (returned?) piper, and her travel-weary form. concern laced his features as his eyes raked over her, but the wolf stood well back to allow the family their moment. he remained only to hear what piper would do for her future, and stood stiffly in the background - attempting to appear neutral in his silence - with his head bowed and eyes watchful.

just a cameo unless addressed

indra's solemn countenance lifted as piper strode by, revealing a stone just for laurel, warmly, indra stepped forward to embrace the scarlet yearling -- just in time to see the familiar shape of stigmata unfurl from the shadows.

she eyed the basilisk with mistrust, stepping back to give laurel the floor. he was silent, and his posture seemingly neutral -- but it did not ease indra's discomfort. stubbornly, she refused to meet his gaze, though the glower on her face was readily apparent.

Well, it was really wild that her mom didn't have any idea what she was out there doing all that time. Piper glanced toward Indra with a small expression of curiosity. She wondered if her aunt had even told Laurel what her plans had been. She had been out there for a great deal of time on her own. Surely, Indra would not have allowed Laurel to continue on living and thinking that her daughter had just run away. The young Redleaf girl could not imagine something like that, so she did what she could to force it from her mind.

When her mother asked her where she had gone, the girl looked at her with a smile and a wag of her tail. “I went to look for Lucas,” she said in a matter-of-fact tone. It was almost as though she expected this to be common knowledge already. “I told aunt Indra that's where I was going and... that I didn't want to tell you because I was afraid you would stop me,” the fiery girl shared in a moment of honesty with her mother. Her expression was not one of remorse, but had been hardened by her time on her own. She was no longer the lost little girl that she had been in the valley.

“But I went all the way to the ocean and some really nice guy gave me this rock in a trade so that I could bring it back just for you! I carried it all this way – made sure to keep it safe,” Piper remarked, nudging the stone toward her mother with a loving gesture. There was pride in the champagne color of her gaze. She had done it all on her own.

Stigmata went completely ignored by Laurel when he arrived. Instead she focussed only on Piper. She did notice Piper look at Indra when she asked where she'd gone. There was a look of surprise on Laurel's face when Piper said she had told Indra where she was going. She didn't remember hearing about it. Had Indra not wanted to worry her? Or did Piper simply mean she had gone to look for Lucas last time that Indra'd come to this pack? Well, whatever the case, she was here now.

Piper explained about the rock and Laurel smiled as she looked at it. She now remembered when they were at the river in Bearclaw Valley. Oh honey, that's so weet! she said with shining eyes. Laurel shuffled the rock a bit closer and looked at it for a moment before turning to give Piper the good news. We found Lucas around the coast area. We're going back home -- wherever that is. With all of us together again like a family. Laurel smiled, clearly expecting Piper to join them too.

It did not seem as though her mom was angry by her decision to look for her brother. This was relieving for Piper, who had feared how it might have hurt Laurel. She did not wish to sever her ties to her family. She loved them, in spite of her desire to be independent. Of course, the young Redleaf would never admit that she needed her family – not in those words. She was trying to find a way to make it seem like it was cool to take action, and she was a take action kinda gal. She didn’t exactly know how well that was working, but she was hopeful that she had left a lasting impression on someone that she had run into out there.
 
Laurel mentioned that they had found Lucas on the coast. “Really? When I got out there, there was only really one pack that I saw,” she said, feeling a strange sensation in the pit of her stomach. It was worse than the realization of failure. It was more akin to jealousy. Piper was jealous that her mother had found Lucas before she could…
 
She had wanted to be the hero. She had wanted to bring him back and restore their family to what it had been before he’d vanished. It had been her – she had taken it upon herself to venture out into a world she barely knew to search for the only thing that seemed to matter to anyone. It was supposed to be her moment of victory. Instead, she was left with her hurtful feelings.
 
“Where is home, ma?” she asked finally, her features had shifted. She looked so tired in that moment, but it was only that – a moment. “And where is my brother? I need to make sure you actually found the right Lucas and not some really convincing doppelganger.” A smile spread across her muzzle.

Piper didn't seem happy at all about finding Lucas, which confused Laurel greatly considering she had gone looking for him, too. Though Laurel was often one who wanted that spotlight, in this case she really just wanted all of her children reunited again. She just wanted to have a home where they could all be free, and she would make them that home. It doesn't matter now, I'm still grateful that you searched, Laurel said with a smile as Piper said that she had not been able to find him in around the same place. He had gone to Bearclaw Valley -- maybe you just missed him while he was out there. Who knew? The real important thing here was that none of it mattered, because they would all be together again. Except Wyatt. But he didn't want them anyway.

I'm going to make us a home, Laurel said, sounding convinced. At the coast somewhere, me and Indra are going to lead our own pack, without dumb males this time. She glanced briefly at Stigmata as she said this, though not necessarily with intent -- it just sorta happened -- and then looked back at Piper. We'll be like sirens, and no man can tell us what to do. What do you say, Piper? You'd make a great siren. Laurel smiled at her daughter with confidence. Let's go find your brother so you two can catch up. I'm so happy to have found you all again!

can we say that they went to meet Lucas behind the scenes, if piper agrees to come? he's inactive right now (gone again :p). i assumed in further threads that piper didn't come, but you can easily wrangle her in EH too if she would have followed. ^_^

i will have her 'track' them and catch up <33

It almost hurt her to think that she had been that close to him on more than one occasion, and she still had not been the one to find her brother. He kept this to herself, though. Piper did not feel as though it was the best thing to be sharing with Laurel right after having been reunited with her. It felt like it had been ages, after all. As independent as the young Redleaf had gotten, she had still missed the warmth of her mother’s voice and the love that lingered in the back of her eyes. It was like returning home after a long journey; she finally felt at peace with herself.
 
“Okay. I think I’m going to stick around Diaspora for just a little while, but I’ll follow after you in a day or so. I need to get some rest… it’s been a long while since I’ve had some good sleep,” Piper offered to her mom with a small bow of her head. She felt like she had been on her feet for eons and that her eyes had not seen sleep for centuries. There was a part of her that wanted to catch up with Stigmata before she went off with Laurel and Indra. She wanted to know how he had done for himself in the mountains.
 
“Are you going to head back in the direction of Bearclaw, or are you set on the coast?”

Laurel was loathe to leave her daughter behind now that she had finally found her back. It was clearly written on her face that she didn't want that to happen, not really. But she also didn't want to push Piper away, knowing the girl had a mind of her own and she would just do whatever she wanted anyway. Alright sweetie, but please hurry on. I don't want to lose you again. What if a storm swept up and she was unable to find their trail? At Piper's question, Laurel said, We'll go east first to Lost Creek Hollow, and then we'll head back to the coast. It was all still very undecided, but all she knew was that she wanted to have the family complete and then they would found their own pack at the coast.

I'll see you soon then, right honey? Laurel leaned in to nuzzle Piper's face lovingly before she picked up the stone, ready to leave her daughter's side again, for now.

There was something in her mother’s voice that Piper had missed beyond the telling of it. She didn’t want to admit that she had, but she could feel it in the beating of her heart and the aching of her limbs. Had she been any stronger, the Redleaf girl would have risked everything to venture back with them instead of on her own. She knew better, though. The wildfire had found her own limitations after having been on her own for so long. Piper was no fool; she would call it quits for some time before she set out.
 
“Don’t worry, ma. I will find you as soon as I’m rested and able. I’ve gotten good at travelling,” the girl assured her mother with a nudge beneath the woman’s chin and a soft kiss there. Her words were intended as a promise – one she would not break. As much as she had tried to impulsively make decisions based on what she believed to be right, Piper missed them, and she did not want to be without them again.
 
After saying her farewells, Piper turned away slowly to find a place where she could rest her weary limbs.