After her surprise visit with @Kito, Furia was returning to the scene of the crime to see what damage had been unleash. It was far worse than she had imagined, but as someone who had been literally swept downstream by the flood.. well, she couldn't be too surprised, could she? There was panic in her as she moved, quickly sweeping across the mire -- or what was left of it. "Actaeon? Jamil? Aquila?" she called, her voice ringing out in an eerily quiet territory. This wasn't right. Not even the birds were singing! There were no insects chirping, no nothing -- just suffocating silence. "Jay!" Her son was her first concern, as always.

@Aquila

FORTUNE FORTUNE SMILING FATE
I HAVEN'T SEEN YOU MUCH OF LATE
NEED YOU NOW AND CANNOT WAIT
BUT WANNA LOOK, YOU'RE NOT AROUND

Hearing the calls for Jay was good enough for Aquila. There were only so many lions who would be likely to be calling for the young boy, at the very top of that list was the soul Aquila most craved to know was okay. His heart soared upwards as his own trodden searching pace kicked into high gear and he sprinted (read: walked quick as he could through thick wet mud) off towards her. His head tossed back as he ran and Aquila sounded a few deep calls into the sky for @Furia. Please oh please let this apparition be anything but. Let this be real... let her be alive. He hoped as the sick thought crossed his mind she could be a ghost...

He burst unsteady and awkward through some fallen brush. A thick branch in his way was snapped as he pushed down hard upon it with his bronze socked leg. "Furia!" Aquila shouted, desperate and needy, while a golden form began to appear ahead of him in their former home.

ART BY RABS , CODE BY LARS

Now that she found her connection to these lands, Kito was in no hurry to leave @Furia's side. As a ghost, maybe she could be of some help while navigating the newly renovated Mire. Kito couldn't get hurt, so she could look around in the trickier locations. While her daughter called for family, Kito called for her son. "Dero?" Though she would seek to aid her daughter as best she could, calling for those who would not recognize her voice did not seem beneficial, so the silver woman would stick with the only soul who would know her.

Then came a voice to answer Furia's with her name. It was not a voice Kito recognized, and thus assumed it to be one of the men that belonged to the list of names her daughter was calling. She'd offer a chuff towards @Aquila if only to help him find them better as the bronze lion came barreling through the dismantled Mire. If he could take his eyes off of the golden woman, the native might spot the flickered image of the ashen Hodari elder.

Table by Amanda

(ooc: hope you don't mind Dero in here too, Bluey. If you do... well blame Poe, she said I could XD)

He couldn't not go back. With or without the rest of them, Dero had to go back into the Mire as soon as it seemed safe enough, maybe even a little bit before that. The dark beast was practically in denial that the flood waters had simply swept away his son. How could he lose Kiton again so easily? It was only a year they got to spend reunited, a semblance of his family put back together. But now, here he was again, at a loss, wanting to believe that it was only a temporary separation.

Dero made his way as best he could through the swampy lands. The flood had done considerable damage to the trees and shrubbery of the Mire. Would they ever be able to return? Would he ever want to live here again was probably a better question. If Kiton truly was gone, Ecrosia would likely remain a haunted place in the eyes of the father.

The eerie silence of the lands made the Hodari patriarch hesitate in using his own voice for the time being. Instead, he'd stick to simply trying to find known dens, checking everywhere for any sign of life. There were already a few tracks left here and there, likely of wandering visitors after it became known that the Mire had flooded, but the scents were unfamiliar to the dark male. Nothing spoke of his missing family. Not Kiton. Not Taj. Not Furia. Not everyone else who was still unaccounted for. By the time he did hear his sister's voice, though, the battered man was already fairly deep into the territory. Hope rose in his chest that she was alive and okay as the brother instantly altered his path towards the sounds of her voice. Even if she wasn't calling for him, Dero could go no where else.

It wasn't just @Furia's voice, though, that the dark knight would hear. There was someone else with him, someone familiar, but the memory was too far placed that it didn't immediately trigger to him that he was hearing his mother's voice. She had never shown as a spirit before, so why should he ever expect to hear her now? Whatever the case, his name was unmistakable coming from the same direction as Furia's voice. Then even @Aquila's voice chimed in in return. Good, another member accounted for. "Furia!" Dero threw his head up to add his own voice to the much needed reunion of family -- yes, Aquila, you're family now -- as he then similarly bulldozed a path towards his sister. Elation blossomed within him to see his sister's golden pelt, safe and unharmed, only to then freeze on the spot when he finally noticed the silver figure next to her. "...Mum?"

Table by Amanda

And suddenly, she wasn't quite so alone. The almost-there form of her mother called out for @Dero, and soon enough the form of @Aquila came rushing onto the scene -- followed by the shadowy man himself. "Aquila! Dero! You're alright!" She was beyond relieved to see the both of them, but before she could rush her brother with an affectionate hug, she noticed that he had noticed. "Oh," the lioness paused. "Right, right. Mum's here for some reason but she can't angry pierce the veil like grandma and grandpa." Furia glanced between the two. "I'll let you roleplay with yourself catch up for a few." She grinned before slipping off towards Aquila. "You're okay, I'm so glad."

It wasn't just @Furia turns out. He leaned against her body lightly, eyeing @Kito with a worry and suspicion. Your mother? In part it was simply awkward to meet anyone's parents, did Kito know Furia was expecting? Did she know the situation or would it still have to come out and he'd have to be present? Coupled with his harboring, invasive thoughts of Sangria's ghost that still haunted him... seeing this parent as a ghost went from just awkward to worrisome. It could be a trick... but... but Furia seemed convinced this was her mother. She'd know better than anyone right? Right?

He'd keep close to her just in case. He glanced to her from the corner of his silver eyes and exhaled relief, dropped his shoulders and leaned over to rest his head against hers. I'm so glad you're okay. Is Tae okay too? Fate would be bitter and cruel if not...

"Hello, dear," the silver woman first offered towards @Aquila as he seemed to question if Furia's mother was really there. Yep, grandma Kito is ready for grandbabies! The silver woman remained fairly calm for the time being, allowing for @Furia and the bronze lion to check on one another until the Hodari's own son showed up next. Even after everything her daughter had already told her about what had happened to Dero over the last few years, nothing could truly prepare the woman for her son's condition. The yearling she had left behind had now grown into a man, battered and scarred by the woes of war and hardship. The cloudiness of his right eye was an easily identified blindness to add to the numerous other reminders of his past. Scars were not an uncommon thing -- even Kito had her own collection -- but none of her family had ever come to look like this.

The silver woman did her best to keep her expressions light and comforting as Furia confirmed to her brother who the ghost was at her side. Kito's brows knit like only a mother's could as she stepped towards her boy. "Dero... My sweet boy." Already, tears threatened to well in her eyes. All the maned woman wanted to was reach out a paw and cradle his cheek like she had done so many times when he was still a child. But just like her reunion with her daughter, the ghost was unable to truly embrace her children. "It's really me, sweetie. It's Mum." It might have actually been a good thing that Kito could not touch her son. She might have been too afraid to touch his scars in fear of hurting him, even if she knew they were long since healed. It still didn't lessen the shocking sight of him.

If it had just been the two of them, then mother and son likely would have had the opportunity for a proper catch up like what Kito and Furia had managed, but for the time being, there was other company and likely bigger goals. "I'm so happy you're okay, Dero," the mother murmured gently to her boy as she moved to his side now. "We'll catch up more later," she'd then whisper. "Your sister has already told me quite a lot." But there were still things that even Furia didn't know, and so Kito looked between the two men for those answers, even as Aquila asked about Actaeon. "Has anyone else been found?" All Kito knew for now was of Furia's well-being and now Aquila and Dero, but there were certainly more that needed to be found.

Table by Amanda

The dark man was transfixed on the sight of his mother, certain that he had finally lost his mind. How else could he explain the sudden appearance of the silver woman? Losing Kiton was just the final straw, a last blow to the obsidian man's mental capacities. But... But @Furia could see her too? Even @Aquila seemed to notice something next to the golden woman. Only when his sister confirmed the appearance of his mother did Dero managed to step forward towards the spirit. Dero... My sweet boy. That voice hadn't changed at all, instantly taking the man back to his youth. "Mum," he finally managed to say the name again, though this time not as a question. Already ladened with emotions, it all threatened to spill over with one more drop in the bucket at the sight of Kito. "I.... How are you even here?" Dero was in disbelief, but their reunion would be short lived for the moment as the silver woman declared they could catch up later. Yes, she was probably right. There were still more to look for, and now that Dero had found his sister, that was one less worry on his mind.

Aquila quickly asked about Actaeon while Kito asked about everyone else. How did she even know who else they might be looking for? Oh, right, she already had time to talk to Furia. "Only a small group has made it out that I am aware of," the dark knight started to answer, keeping his emotions at bay while speaking. "Roan, Hanneth, Faelyn, Lysander, Kallan, and Avana are all safe...." Dero could more easily speak the names of those who were safe than those who were still missing, or even worse, those who were known to be gone. His son's name teetered on the edge of his tongue, but the father could not bring himself to say it out loud yet.

Table by Amanda

In all the happiness of knowing one was safe, Furia had lost sight of the others. When @Aquila inquired after Actaeon, her ears fell. "I don't know," she mumbled, her gaze drawn to @Dero as he began to list the names of those who had been found. Of course she noticed the absence of her husband and son, and panic began to set in all over again. It was entirely selfish of her not to consider the other names missing as well, but she only had one husband and one son -- she refused to lose either one.

"J.. Jay and Tae?" she asked her brother, eyes wide. Actaeon had gone missing roughly the same time during her last pregnancy and the idea of it happening all over again was horrific. "Jamil! Actaeon!" she cried into the wind, rushing her heavily pregnant form off into the midst of the chaos. Furia refused to lose her family -- not when they'd only just gotten the chance to start over.

exit!