Gods, he’d missed home and Pteron so damn much! The striking variety of Loessian flora, her winding rivers both fresh and saltwater. Even the nest where Pteron had been ‘hatched’ still remained, only a bit roughened by the immortal turn of the seasons. All of these things (perfect and wonderful in their own way) gave Wolfbane a constant reminder of the mare he’d shared them with, and when the first spring rains had fallen in the North it meant that the final piece of his life would fall back into place, completing the puzzle.

So much had changed, though.

That’s why he’d flown directly back from Nerine, as quickly as he could manage despite his exhaustion, just to intercept his wife and daughter on their flight home. Home was not how they’d left it, sadly. Bane had left Loess in incompetent hands when he’d fled for safety, expecting (stupidly) for things to be maintained and waiting for him. Now a dragon sat on his throne and their position in the kingdom was unsettled.

His lack of judgement spelled failure, and Lepis deserved the news from his own mouth before seeing things with her own eyes.

Poised at the southernmost border of the Pampas with the sea crashing in his ears, Wolfbane stood against the wind and trained his vision on the horizon, expectant. Marni should be capable of good, strong flight by now which was why he’d left before them. Partially because he was terrified of being confronted by Wyrm immediately after arriving here, mostly because his youngest child had yet to molt into her adult feathers.

Pteron was basically a stallion now, Marni not far behind on her journey to becoming a mare, and once again Lepis carried their child. Scanning the bright heavens, Wolfbane felt his age like never before and resolved, first and foremost, to hold his beloved spouse close and then his daughter. Regardless of what was to come, they had each other. He was bound and determined to make the most of that situation before these quiet hours became memories, lost to time.

Refugee of Loess : Member of the Southlands

Wolfbane

Bane almost looked away before they’d appeared like two far-off birds in the sky. Lepis and Marni grow from dark specks to hazy outlines, soaring in from the sea and soon coasting right above Wolfbane’s head and beyond. He’d heard his mate’s confident whicker and watched Marni soaring, feeling a twinge of pride at their flight that seems bittersweet after having seen Pteron changed into a man, and twisting around to follow them at a gallop the three are reunited after having spent so many weeks apart.

Never again the male pegasus promises himself, peppering Lepis with a kiss here and there once she’d curled into the protection of his shoulder. Beqanna seemed so empty without them, and the changes they would face were insurmountable without the idea of his family there to guide him. “Not to say I was worried, but I was tempted to head back and meet you halfway.” He smirked casually, letting Marni catch her breath before reaching out to press his nose against her cheek. “Pteron is fine and Loess…” Bane drops off with just the hint of an edge.

He inhales to continue but the sound of feathers and his wife’s name give Wolfbane reason to pause and curve his head over one shoulder. “Hello,” the golden mare interjects, no doubt catching the puzzled look on Bane’s face. For a second he mistakes her for a sibling of his spouse; the two seem similar in age and strikingly mimic one another in color. “I’m Heda.” The stranger tells them, and a spark of recognition widens Wolfbane’s eyes.

Heda, Lepis’ mother.

What he knows of Lepis and her family is what she knows of his: they’ve told each other stories and by now the couple is familiar with names. He thinks Sawtooth has met his nesting partner, and at this point he’s met Castile, her ‘uncle’. Heda, however, is a character he doubted the pair would ever meet - but that doesn’t show on his face. The puzzlement smooths over into a calm smile, he tilts his gaze towards Marni when her grandmother tries an introduction and that smile widens when Marni puts her best foot forward in return.

“We’ve been better.” Bane laughs politely, shifting around so that Heda wouldn’t feel excluded from the group. His hips and the curve of one wing touch against Lepis with silent support, the all-too-familiar bulge of her pregnant belly a welcome feeling. “I was just telling Lepis that things in Loess have changed. Castile has taken control.”

Heda was a part of Lepis’ past - she might know Castile and have input on how best to handle the situation. Still, the corner of Wolfbane’s eye shifts imperceptibly to catch his wife’s response and expression at the news.

Refugee of Loess : Member of the Southlands

Wolfbane