We're On Our Way Home [Toiro]

[Deleted]

Thick fog enveloped the forest in the early morning hour, winter’s chill clinging to the misty air. The barren trees shivered overhead. Alone, a wolf followed along an old path, once familiar but now so strange, so surreal. He felt heavy as he walked, head hanging low as his nostrils tested the scents in the air. The scent markings were recent, and hauntingly familiar to the young brute. His pale fur was wet from the fog that encircled him, large paws padding over the mud alongside a river that had once taken him far away. Today, the same river would lead him home once more. His heart was working overtime inside of his ribcage, conflicted emotions building with every step.

The earliest signs of spring were beginning to appear in the woodlands, but most would not notice the tiny green buds forming on the branches above. In spite of the scant sunlight, Arche saw the hints of color around him. It was a promise of new life, the coming of a new, merciful season. He had never cared for winter, in spite of his heavy coat. The new life was the same verdant hue as his gentle eyes – the same eyes as his mother before him. At least, that was how he remembered them… But so much time had passed, sometimes the memories became muddled in his mind. No, he was certain his mother’s eyes had been green. He could never forget her loving eyes.

But he looked different now – very different. He was no longer a young, energetic pup, full of life and limitless energy as he explored his father’s territories with his litter mates. A year had hurried by without him. Now, he was as large as his impressive father, tall and muscular from a year spent in self-imposed exile. Arche realized that his brothers and sister were fully grown by now as well… if they had survived. They were alive – they had to be alive. He could not bear the thought of returning to an incomplete family, but he was fully cognizant of the fact that he had been the one to tear their family asunder in the first place.

    Do they believe that I am long dead? Will they recognize        me as one of their own?

Veering away from the fateful river, Arche began the trek into the realm of Shyia. The familiarity was both exciting and frightening. So much time had gone by, and he had not returned to them. Of course they thought him dead. He would have come back to them if he were alive. Right? And yet, he hadn’t. He stayed away, unwilling to face a truth he could not stomach. He tried to tell himself that what happened before no longer mattered, that they would be happy just to know that he was alive, but there was still a gnawing fear that his reception would be hostile.

The brute stopped in his tracks before he strayed too far into his father’s lands, tilting back his chin to call. He could see his breath hanging in the cold air as he howled to announce his presence before falling silent to await his future. There was no turning back now. His head felt light and his heart soared at the prospect of seeing his family again.

you and i
have memories

longer than the road

that stretches out ahead
?

words: 578

tag: Toiro

ooc: hope this is good

for reuniting!

[Toiro]

The deep howl of an adult male announced a foreign wolf’s presence within the territory of Shyia, in all likelihood another loner who had come to seek acceptance within their ranks. As always, Toiro was grateful for the swell in numbers which Airila typically received during the winter months – despite his shyness, he loved meeting new wolves and showing them what life in their beautiful lands was like. So the grey alpha rose, his breath steaming around him in the frosty morning air as he gazed from his spot in the mountains out towards the direction he would travel to meet this newcomer. Before he began the mercifully short journey down the slopes, the large wolf responded with a short low howl to let the other know that he was on his way, then set off at a gentle lope.

When Toiro first caught sight of the lone figure through the morning mist, a jolt of recognition struck him like a bolt of lightning and he halted abruptly. Arche. This male’s scent was different, lacking the familiar comfort of family, but he had the same grizzed ash pelt, and those intelligent green eyes which were so similar in appearance to the beautiful emerald orbs of his beloved mate. Toiro’s grey eyes blinked several times, their usual steely glint replaced with a storm of uncertainty and confusion.

The six year old father continued to stare at the hauntingly familiar figure for a long moment, wondering whether he was beginning to become afflicted by delusions in his old age. This wolf looked so much like his long lost son… but that was not possible. Arche had vanished along with Aludra a long time ago; surely the pair would have returned before now if they had been capable. Still, he had to ask…

“Is that really you… Arche?” Toiro’s voice, when he finally found it, was barely more than a hopeful whisper - so as not to shatter what he was sure was an illusion - and he ducked his head almost apologetically in fearful anticipation of being told that no, he must be mistaking this wolf for someone else.

[Arche]

That sound, the name, it sounded almost foreign as it was paired with the voice that he had not heard in so long. Not since before that terrible day. He almost flinched at the sound, but instead he managed to slowly lower his hindquarters to the ground in a sitting position, feeling much smaller than he had ever felt before in his life. He swallowed slowly, ears flattening slightly in unconscious shame and submission. Guilty. It was the only way that he could describe his feelings. After all, had he not been the reason for his mother's death? Had he not taken the female away from his father and his family? He blinked slowly, watching the other male's face as he struggled to find the words to explain why he had gone, why he had abandoned them. Finally, as if the words were the most painful ones he had ever uttered, he opened his mouth to speak. "Yes, fa-..." He let the words fall silent before he could manage to get it out. He had no right to be considered a son, he had no right to call the wolf in front of him 'father'.

He inhaled slowly, finally lifting his eyes from the other male's chin to look at his eyes. "I want to come home." He said, the last word sounding strange to him. It was home, it felt like it was, for everything around him was somewhat familiar. But at the same time, he did not think he deserved it. Why should he? He had taken away his mother, it was his fault she was dead, and here he stood, expecting to be welcomed back with open arms. But he had come here, he had made the decision to return to his family, whether they wanted him back or not. He needed to be here, he needed to make up for leaving them and taking her away from them. "If you will have me..." He added, lowering his head slightly and flattening his ears to the side as he waited for the judgment to fall on him. Why would his father accept him? What right did he have to claim this place as his home?

The spring had come, bringing new life along with it. Did that also mean that new chances, new hope, and new beginnings could follow? He bit his tongue, refraining from allowing the many excuses that he liked to pretend were reasonable and worthy to spill from his mouth and onto the ground in front of the alpha. There really was no excuse. He had betrayed his father's trust, he had destroyed his mother. Not to mention the other failures that were his fault in his past. But he could not change any of it, no matter how much he wanted to go back in time and fix his many mistakes. All he could do was try to move forward and be worthy of his father's pack once more. Could he possibly ever truly be welcomed home?

Words: 504
Tags: Toiro
Muse: Medium
Notes: I figured we could just continue this thread for Arche to re-join Airila.