Kirano nodded violently, even though his mother's old friend probably couldn't see.
Yes. You tell Mom and Dad, and Uncle Ouka too. Kirano's helping me here. Is everyone well?
The last sentence was more urgent than the others, for as long as everyone was okay, he was fine. He 'heard' violent growls from minds to his right, and he dashed off in that direction, only to find Shyra and Aurora fighting each other. He sighed mentally, then jabbed a mental dagger into each of their minds, neither of them strong, due to multitasking.
Break it up! Now is not the time to fight!
As he held his position, he searched weakly for Kioko's mind. He found it, and brushed it somewhat.
Come help me. But don't attack anyone. Tell Tamarand, too.

Kioko nodded to Tamarand, and just as she was about to start off, she heard her brother's weak message. Her eyes were soft with confusion, but she nodded to herself.
"Tamarand, Kirano needs us. He says not to attack anyone."
As she started to run, a sudden realizatin hit her, and she faltered, almost falling before she caught herself.
Wait...Kirano wouldn't tell us not to attack unless he knew them...And..
She glanced up at the white and gold wolfess flying about.
And there's another wolf with plant powers.
"Oh my gosh! Mom!"

Starmoon was about to try and restore the illusions, when a navy blue wolf with three tails rushed. it. It made not a sound but with its feet, and closed its eyes, concentrating hard. She looked at it carefully. there was something oddly familiar about the wolf. Like a long ago dream.

Fayte circled and wheeled above the battle below. She did nothing, saving her energy. When she saw Medina fall, she was about to dive down and help her, but the other she-wolf soon righted herself. Fayte sighed in relief, only to turn sharply as lightning struck beside her.

((sob sob i wrote an entire page of text as a response and my internet crashed just as i wanted to send it T.T now i have to rewrite it all))

Aurora balked as her mind was stabbed. Used to this kind of thing, she recovered quickly and spun on Kirano, demanding, What was that for? Can't you see i'm trying to kill this demon- she cut herself off when she noticeds that the forest was no longer blazing and the 'demon' she had been fighting was only Shyra. She glanced at Kirano again and asked, What's going on?

----

Shyra stumbled when her mind was attacked. As she was recovering, she suddenly noticed that the forest was back to normal and the icy demon wolf had been replaced by Aurora, who was snapping at one of the twins. She recognized him as Kirano and struggled quickly to her feet, not wanting him to see her all sprawled on the ground like that. Now why is that... she wondered, blushing in the gloom.

----

Lyanti flinched as yet another wolf entered the clearing, but he quickly noticed that he only split the two females up. Confused, he turned to Starmoon and whispered,

"Hey, could you light the clearing up for me? I have a bad, bad feeling about this..."

----

Tamarand stopped short and turned to look at kioko in confusion, only to see that she was staring at the sky above, yelling, "Mom!" That was when Tamarand noticed the sky roiling above despite the recent victory. Oh no.. he thought. Kale's losing control of it... He turned to Kioko and said,

"You said Kirano needed your help, well kale needs mine. We'll meet up with you and the others later."

Without waiting for a response, he dashed off in search of his brother.

---

Kale risked opening one eye as he heard Tamarand call his name. he saw his brother running towards him. He said,

"Tammy, I can't hold it..."

He growled and replied,

"Why do you think I'm here you idiot? And don't call me that."

he took a deep, deep breath and let loose an empowered bellow that reached the roiling clouds above, almost spliting them underneath his *censored*ault. It wasn't enough to abate the storm completely, but it was enough to let Kale gain control again. While Kale steady spread the storm apart, Tamarand readied himself for another sonic boom...

----

Medina wanted to ask so many questions but she felt Kirano's presence suddenly leave, probably to search for the others. She quickly took to the skies, yelling,

"Faaaayte!!"

----

Kurano dashed through the forest, trying, in vain, to catch the scent of anybody. the wind was much too roiled up by the storm for him to catch the scent of anythign and his psycic radius wasn't wide enough for him to contact anyone's mind. What the poor wolf didn't know was that he had long since run past everyone. Kurano gritted his teeth in frustration and slashed at the ground, ripping out a sizable chunk of dirt. I might as well be a powerless wolf, my abilities are useless! Angry, Kurano dredged on... still in the wrong direction.

((Poor you. And Poor Kurano. T.T))

Fayte turned sharply as she heard Medina call, her pelt was slightly unruffled by the wind, but no much. Her eyes fell calmly on the other winged wolf.
"What is it?"

Kirano sighed mentally.
What do you mean..demon? Wait, nevermind. I'll ask later.
He added.
But, take a good look at the two wolves you were fighting.

Starmoon nodded, and lit up the area like daylight, though the sun was not yet up. The patterns on her pelt gave off a faint glow, and she glanced at Lyanti, the strain plain in her voice.
"I can hold this for only a bit. The illusions were hard."

Kioko nodded as Tamarand ran off, then picked up her pace. She rounded a corner, and skidded to a stop, but still crashed into Shyra. She stood up, her ears flat in embaressment.
"Hehe. Oops. Sorry."
It was then that she realized that the small area was lit up.

Lyanti's voice became naught but a hoarse whisper as he gasped,

"Oh my god... Aurora!! Kioko!!"

---

Aurora winced as the clearing was lit up, illuminating everyone.. including the alpha of the pack in which she grew up, namely her father. Realization dawned on her that she had just fought against her father!! How stupid was she?! Instead of rushing to greet her dad, she hung her head in shame.

----

Shyra stumbled once more as Kioko came out of nowhere, accidentally tackling her to the ground. This time, she stayed down, watching the exchange now going on between Aurora and Kioko, and the members of the pack they had just been fighting. the male seemed to be Aurora's father, from what Shyra could guess, and figured that was where she gained her water powers from. With a resigned sigh, Shyra settled down to wait. She had a feeling this would be a complicated discussion.

-----

Medina pulled up so that she wouldn't crash into the other female as she quickly explained everything to the best of her ability.

"We have to stop fighting, the wolves in this area are your pups! Aurora, Kioko, the twin, they're all here!"

----

Tamarand took a deep, gasping breath as he recovered from the difficult siege he and Kale had fought against the storm. It was dead now, and only a few whisps of harmless cloud was left of it. he turned to Kale and said,

"Don't EVER do that again when I'm not here..."

      "Shut up, Tamarand...."

Kale looked away from him, obviously ashamed of himself. Tamarand sighed, turning to stare off into the darkness of the forest, now slowly turning lighter at the approaching dawn.

----

Kurano felt the wind settle again and tried scenting the air. That's when he finally realized how far off he was. This realization did nothing to lighten his mood, not in the least. His neck fur bristling in agitation, he sauntered back in the correct direction.

Kioko stared in shock, then ran to her father, licking him happily on the ear.
"Dad! How've you been?"

Fayte almost dropped from the sky in shock.
"What?!"
She spun around, glancing at the orange pelt of the wolf she had fought.
"That's...Oh my gosh...I was fighting Kioko! She's gotten so strong!"
She turned to Medina, a grin on her face, and folded her wings to her side, diving toward her pups. As she neared the ground, she flared her wings, dropping softly beside Lyanti. She buried her muzzle in Kioko's shoulder, and her voice was soft.
"Kioko...you're so strong. How'd you get so much stronger in that short time? You were the weakest when you left, and now...You can almost fend me off."

Kioko buried her nose in her mother's fur, relishing in the familiar scent.
"Tamarand helped me--Oh my gosh! Where's Tamarand?"
She suddenly dashed off in the direction Tamarand had run. fayte glanced at Lyanti.
"I think we best be meeting this Tamarand."

Starmoon inhaled deeply, trying to keep her strength up.
"I'm going to have to let this light die. Its taking too much of my strength."

Kirano, satisfied, sat back and watched Kioko run around. when she left, he padded toward his parents, only to stop when he saw Aurora.
What's wrong?
His mental touch, no longer an icy dagger, was gentle and caring.

Lyanti nuzzled Kioko, his brown fr almost blending into hers. He also bumped his mate when she landed, obviously flustered by the news that was, in turn, shocking everyone. When Kioko ran off to find this 'Tamarand', Lyanti saw something in his daughter that he remembered having as a younger wolf shortly after meeting Fayte. He nodded to Starmoon and said,

"Thank you, Starmoon. You saved us much pain in stumbling around, trying to recognise each other in the dark."

----

Aurora snapped out of her stupor when she heard Kirano contact her. She shook her head and replied, Nothing... It's just that I should have been able to recognize dad. I coul dhave hurt him, Kirano; you and I both know he's getting old, no matter how much he refuses to admit it. I could have hurt him.....

----

Medina followed Fayte, but at a much slower rate, still sore from her tumble out of the sky. She landed just as Kioko ran off again. She jerked her head in the young female's direction and asked, "Where's she run off to now?"

----

That's when Kurano finally found them. A deep, agitated scowl rested on his muzzle, not lifting even a tiny bit as he saw his parents.

----

Kale's ears came up as he heard something. He turned to Tamarand, who was still daydreaming, and said,

"Someone's comming."

Despite this, neither one of them rose to thier feet, too tired to do so.

Kirano laughed mentally at the echo of Medina's remark.
To find Tamarand.
His reply was simple, though he wasn't going to say more until Kioko had returned. He refocused his attention on Aurora, and growled at her mentally.
Yes. We all know that. But you didn't hurt him, and that's all that matters. If you had hurt him, Mom would have gotten your hide, especially if she knew it was you. And anyways, he's got StarMoon to help him. She never seems to grow old, you know that. Looking at her now, I see nothing different than the day we left. So don't think about what could have happened, think about what DID happen.
With that, he walked the remaining distance to their parents. He buried his muzzle in his dad's fur, and flicked his tail over Fayte's fur, over and over, making sure they both were welcomed.

Starmoon let the light fade, but she lent a little strength to the sun as it rose. It would rise slowly today, for she was weary, but it always sank at the same pace at which it rose.

Fayte laid her head on Kirano's back, her eyes soft, and shining with tears. She felt his mind brush hers, but instead of letting is go along, she embraced it, her mind sorrowful yet joyful at the same time.
I have missed you, my pup.

Kioko slowed her pace as Kale and Tamarand came into sight. She barked a greeting, then stopped as she neared. Her breath was gone, and she was panting to get it back. But she quickly told of what had happened, mostly to Tamarand.
"And its my parents! Come on, you have to meet them!"

Aurora was stung by her brother's words... and the truth in them. She watched him greet thier parents, the joy almost visible in the air. Her ex
pression softened and she smiled despite herself. Everything negative was pushed away at that moment and the child that Aurora used to be emerged once more.... to pounce on her father.

---

Lyanti laughed at his son, saying, Don't suffocate yourself now, young one. His next thought was cut off as a familiar black missle crashed into him.

----

Medina let the family reunite and she turned, instead, to Starmoon. She said,

"You look exhausted."

----

Tamarand glared at Kioko and her overexcitement. He jumped up, grabbed her, and pulled her to the ground, mock growling and saying,

"WOuld it kill you to stay put for a minute; we're tired here."

----

Kale could only snicker.

----

Kurano put his annoyances aside and calmly padded over to where his twin brother was greeting his mother while Aurora wrestled with dad. He touched noses with his mother, a light smile on his muzzle and his three tails swishing happily. Privately, to Kirano, he commented, Never tell me I'm the one with the better sense of direction, EVER.

Kirano grinned at him.
It would have taken me much longer to find my way back. You know that.

Kioko just stood back up, practically running back and forth.
"No. Now come on! You have to meet them!"
She had to struggle to keep her excitement from getting too high. But she also had to keep down her worries.
What if they don't like Tamarand...? Oh well. I am a full adult now!

StarMoon nodded.
"I am tired. But I am okay. I've had worse days."
Her mind flashed back to the small river with the crocodiles, and a shiver racked her spine as she shook off the thought.

Fayte watched Aurora tackle Lyanti and grinned. She hadn't been at ease since her pups had left, but now, all was well. When Kurano joined them, she licked his ear, and readjusted her wings.
"Where've you been? Even Kioko was here before you."

Kirano did the best he could to suppress his glare, but he failed completely. Through gritted teeth, he growled out two words, "Don't... Ask..."

---

Once father and daughter had finished thier scuffle, Aurora comming out on top, they padded over to where the others waited. Lyanti, refreshed by the wrestling match with Aurora, had his trademark grin on his muzzle and looked ages younger. He lightly bumped his mate and whispered into her ear,

"You're practically glowing."

----

Tamarand sighed and stood, a wee bit shaky on his paws but overall stable.

---

Kale groaned but followed suit, though he wasn't all that eager to meet the parents of the she-wolf that hated him.

--

Medina smiled lightly and watched the reunion.

Kioko, now happy, walked alongside him, suprressing her excitement to a mere joy. She noticed how Kale seemed troubled, but decided not to bother. She usually got in trouble for messing around in someone else's business.

Fayte reached back with her hind foot and smashed down on his tail. She gave him a look, and freed his tail from between her paw and the ground.
"Just because I'm happy, doesn't mean I won't get mad."
She glanced worriedly at Kurano, but nodded and left the subject.
"So, how've you been?"

Kirano smiled at his twin's response, almost snickering. He padded over to Shyra, and in one fluid motion, sat down beside her. He brushed her mind, just enough to communicate.
You haven't introduced yourself yet. Why not?

Lyanti winced as his tail was caught in a deathtrap. He put on a pouting ex
pression and presented it to Fayte, who was oblivious anyways.

---

Kurano forced a smile on his muzzle and said,

"Not too shabby, I must say. Aurora's been giving me a hard time, though."

The resulting glare from his sister did nothing to diminish his impish grin.

----

Shyra jumped slightly when  Kirano sat next to her and said something. she had been thinking about somethign and had hardly heard hat he had said. Oh, sorry, she replied, What did you say?

---

Tamarand walked beside her in silence, wondering why she was so happy. what was so great about introducing him to her parents? Unless..... a million thoughts occured to Tamarand at the same time, overwhelming him, though his ex
pression showed nothing of it.

Kirano sighed mentally.
I asked why you have yet to introduce yourself. I mean, they aren't enemies or anything.

Fayte ignored her mate's look, and nodded to Kurano, a playful grin on her face.
"Sounds like Aurora alright."

Shyra blushed despite herself and replied,

There's no real reason for me to make myself known to them, not right at this moment anyways. She glanced at Starmoon and added, There's something familiar about that wolf though... what's her name?

----

Aurora gasped and said, "Mom! No fair, taking Kurano's side! He's lying anyways!"

---

Lyanti chuckled and said,

"Enough with these teasing games, where's Kioko? she's been gone awhile now..."

Fayte laughed at Aurora's remark.
"Well, then I will side with you next time you lie, then."
When her mate brought up Kioko, she shrugged, her ears swiveling to catch any sound, and she shifted nervously. She ruffled her wings, as if preparing to fly. It seemed as if the matter had turned her from happy to wary.
"I'm not sure, but if she doesn't hurry, I'm going to go looking for her."

Kioko, meanwhile, was still with Tamarand and Kale, though they were nearing where the others were. she was stepping lightly and quickly, as if walking over coals.
"Come on! We're almost there!"

Kirano shoved her playfully.
Well, you're here, and as far as they know, all of us have been travelling together, so...They should at least know your name.
When StarMoon was mentioned, he turned curious.
Oh. That's StarMoon. Ceestial wolf. Very powerful. How is she familiar?

Shyra froze. Celestial wolf... it couldn't be... Her eyes wide, Shyra stared at Starmoon, a torrent of emotions storming through her at the possibility that this wolf, this Starmoon, could be her mother's sister, her aunt.

---

Tamarand supressed his smile and pressed on, quickening his pace somewhat, more to make Kioko happy than to actually get them there faster.

---

Aurora snorted at her mother's comment but then turned her attention in the direction in which Kioko had dissappeared. Aurora knew why kioko wanted to introduce Tamarand so badly, though Kioko herself probably didn't. the thought inadvertently made her think of Vince, who was still with Kylane at the cave. she longed to go to him, to bring him here as well and introduce him to her mother and father, bu she couldn't understand why...

((waaaah!! I want pippit!!! ))

((Me too!))

Kioko pricked her ears toward where the others were waiting, then let out a short, quick bark, to let them know she was coming. She had boundless energy, it felt like, though she had no idea why. She wanted to run. Run forever, then turn around and come back, all in a day.

Kirano tilted his head, then waved a paw infront of Shyra's face.
What's wrong?
He didn't want to enter her mind and find out, for fear of her being angry at him, but he felt he might have no choice. He waited.

Fayte heard the bark, and relaxed, folding her wings again to her side. She was always worried about her pups, especially Kioko, who always seemed to be the one to get into trouble.

StarMoon noticed Kirano join another she-wolf, and sniffed. The scent was slightly familiar, but she pas.sed it off as merely just from during the fight. After all, it was the fire wolf she had been tricking.

Tamarand called after Kioko and said,

"Slow down will you? The day's just barey started, we have time. besides, we're almost there."

---

Lyanti pricked his ears at the sound of kioko's bark. They were close. He was eager to meet this Tamarand, especially since this would be the first time he could use his 'protective father' act.

---

Shyra had zoned out completely, digging into her own mind for memories that could take Starmoon's name and paste it to the images she remembered from many years ago, to the time before her mother had died. She heard kirano's voice at the very edges of her concentraton zone, but she could not spare the effort to reply. As she did so, she continued to stare in shock at Starmoon.

StarMoon felt the fire wolf's eyes on her, and it only made her think more. She wished she could rack her mind for memories of the wolf, but that would take hours, as she had hundreds of years of other wolves' memories. But she couldn't repress a shiver that pas.sed through her spine.

Kioko slowed her pace to match his, but her tail continued to be a constant back and forth.
"I have so much energy for some reason. I don't know why."
She figured it probably was because of her nervousness.

Fayte guessed at her mate thinking, and pushed him slightly.
"Now don't be too hard on him. If you had a father as protective of you as you are your pups, then you wouldn't be here right now, and neither would they. Loosen up."

Kirano, now worried, tentavely pushed into her mind. He knew that he was breaking barriers of trust. O wolves' mind was their last sanctuary, the only place of safety, and they were not to be disturbed. But this was drastic.

Shyra shivered as she felt Kirano enter. she ignored his presence though, much more obsessed with the task at hand. the same words were repeating through her head.

It's her... It's her... it has to be... it has to be.. mom.... sister...mom...abandonded...death...fire...death .... celestial wolf.... death ... wolf

---

Lyanti bumped Fayte right back, saying,

"You wouldn't say that if you knew my father, Fayte. he's more like i was when i was young than even I am comfortable to admit, it's scary actually. But allright, i'll go easy on this one, but I can't guarantee the wellfare of the others." he ended his statement with an impish grin before straightening himself, virtually increasing his size twofold. he also lowered his brow, gicing him a stare that he knew to be piercing. even now he could make out the shifting forms of the approaching wolves.

----