IT'S NATURAL -- open, visit/return

//idk if you guys remember her but!! i had lani here a while back, and now that I'm back on the site I'm bringing her in for visit.

She had left this place a long time ago, too scared to say goodbye, lest she lose her edge to leave. She had spent a while out in the unclaimed wilderness, just wandering. The avian had found the Rift barely a week ago, and had stationed her main home there while she set up a dual-alliance with BlizzardClan. When she heard that her second clan was allies with the place she had once called her one true home, she hadn't been able to stop thinking about it. What had changed? Who was leader? Did they move? "Did anyone even notice when I left?" The avian had barely been able to sleep, knowing that her origins was still alive. Alive. Gods, it was a good word to use. Better than dead.

Unlike her last two expeditions, Noelani left during the middle of the day. Morning light wasn't the best to travel by, and now she knew where she was going - the avian needed to find the landmarks. Wings tipped with amber and gold hues were extended fully, casting a shadow that looked minuscule on the ground, looking like it was racing her to get there first. It wasn't like she could blame it, she mused with a humming chuckle to herself. Noelani had brought with her a pouch of metal things she had forged - consisting of daggers, bits of armor, and puzzle balls. She really did like making puzzles - and patted it reassuringly as she winged over the unrecognizable landscape. Golden eyes were rounded and wide with worry as she wrung her talons anxiously, staring at the ground with the intensity of a hunter.

The avian almost missed the first landmark - almost. She was staring at the horizon when the knobbly back of a green mountain range appeared in the distance, Noelani almost looking right past it. Then she paused, inhaling the cold air so sharply that it gave her a headache, and she swiveled back around. With renewed speed she let out a whoop similar to the cry of a hawk, a huge, toothy grin on her face as she shot towards it. Each second was spent in an anxious fervor, the warm winds from below soothing and familiar; old friends to her, the ones that carried her out. Muscles straining, she managed to crest one mountain, and hand to glide to regain her energy, gaping at the shockingly familiar landscape that was described in one word: "Home."

She stayed that way, paralyzed as she drifted barely closer, and she suddenly felt relieved enough to cry. "Home! Dear gods, there it is!" She cried, letting herself dip and then rise again to go faster, too tired to fly instead of glide.

When she landed on the border that gave the best view of the beach town, she waited, staring around her with the wonder of a child. The beach, the water, the buildings... Even the charred ruins of her old home. They were all there. Noelani clutched her talons together, almost swaying on her feet but forcing herself to sit and wait. They would find her there soon enough... hopefully? Yes, hopefully. Hope was good.

Noelani turned to face the approaching feline, confusion on her face before it slowly turned into recognition, then joy. "Hoseok!" She called, setting to her feet again and then pausing. Could she cross the border? Probably not. She disguised the hesitation as just standing in excitement, feathery wings extended and the ones along her spine standing up - she fairly looked like an oversized, excited rooster. "Gods, Hoseok! Been too long!" Shame roiled in her stomach at her broken, ruined sentences, but still she beamed. "Didn't mean to- got really confused - didn't feel... right. Now I'm back!" She hummed, then made a little excited motion as she pulled off the bags strapped to her back.

"Brought gifts!" Noelani announced, showcasing the bunch of knives, daggers, and bits of armor. Each object was engraved with a swirly, cursive "N". She set it down right on the border, still unsure if she could cross.

//don't feel pressured to match the first post, love!!

//I'm so sorry for the late response! I've been on the road and all over New York for the past few days.

Noelani felt surprise etch her features when she heard the familiar, energetic bark of Theo, and was blindsided by the embrace that she was pulled into. The creature craned her neck to look down at the canine and would carefully wrap her arms around him, beaming as he stepped back. "Hello, Theo!" She greeted brightly, grinning at the tail that wagged at the highest velocity possible. "Yes, I did! Very easy to make, now. Take if you want."

The one person she hadn't imagine would come was Phan. Was it really him? Memories that had been buried for ages split through her skull and made her wince just slightly as she shoved them back down, turning to look at her old mentor. The wolf hadn't changed, which made her all the more sure that she was having another dream. Dear gods, it was him. Oh gods. "H-Hi, Ph-Ph-Phan." The creature mumbled, too surprised by the half-hug to return it. "I-I am... Okay. Left to... explore? Don't know. Needed to leave. Went to Rift, also BlizzardClan." Noelani managed to get out, a feeble smile painting itself on her lips. "Missed you. All."

//retro to injuries+oHH MY GOD ITS MAG

Noelani didn't know what to really say. She was pleasantly surprised by the people who had come to greet her, all of them those she had known. Her mentor was here, her old leader, her friends... She was home. What else was there to want? A lot, actually. Mental stability, a nice quiet life- but none of that mattered right now.

"Hi."

Gods, the voice was so, frustratingly familiar and heartwrenching, that her ears perked to capture all of it. She turned, hesitant, afraid. It was all a dream, wasn't it? Just another joke. She was back in the damned prison, and he was taunting her with another fantasy. That had to be it... Right? Not right. The avian felt her lungs empty of air, golden eyes widening, blood rushing in her ears as her heart pounded in her throat. There must be thousands of red pandas, it could have been any one of them... She was desperately hoping that it was true, and the voice she had heard, the expression on his face...

"M-M-Mag?" The avian' head was reeling, a hesitant, almost scared smile crossing her face. "O-oh my gods, i-it's you." Noelani cast her eyes to her talons, curling them into her palms, asking a stupid question. "A-Are y-y-you real, th-this time?" Her voice was tremulous, shaking unlike it ever had before. Was he actually real? She hoped so.

She didn't want to cry, but it damn well felt like she was going to. The hug, just like Phan's, was unexpected but accepted gratefully. Noelani somehow managed to hold back from crying, hesitantly holding the red panda close in the embrace, face screwed up as she willed herself not to cry. At his confirmation she lost whatever control she had on her emotions and tears welled over her eyes, grateful and relieved tears of joy. "I-I m-m-missed you s-s-so m-much, Mag." She whimpered, holding him close and letting herself relax for even the tiniest moment. She leaned back, worry etched into her face. "Wh-Where d-did you g-g-go? I w-was so w-w-worried for y-you."