Through the forest, the Wolf of Harmony walked onward. He did his best to backtrack his way back to the small settlement that Anise had created to provide shelter to many of the Kimlascan Pack's wolves. It was quite a trip, Cayde knew this. When he ran away from that settlement, he ran mindlessly and hopelessly, but somehow, he felt as if he knew the way back. Call it hope, call it good luck, or call it destiny, the answer would never be certain.

It took some time, and by now the morning sun had risen higher into the sky, slowly turning the orange and yellow sky into more of a blue sky, but Cayde had been able to find his way back.

Padding through the path, he glanced around, realizing that judging by the broken branches, pine needles, and leaves on the ground, he was walking on the very same path that he had created the previous day when he ran away in such a hurry. Now, he was returning, on that very same path.

He didn't know how Anise, and the other wolves, would react to his return. He wondered if they felt bitter towards Cayde, ashamed to have put such faith in him, or perhaps instead, they too felt emptier now that he had not been around, just as Cayde felt towards them.

Either way, it was time to confront Anise and the pack.

When Cayde stepped through into the clearing within the valley where the refuge was, he was met with shocked eyes, all showing different emotions. Anger, happiness, hope, hopelessness, bitterness, uncertainty, and so much more.

Cayde kept his head high. Not to assert dominance or show that what had happened yesterday did not affect him, because the events of the previous day did indeed affect him. He kept his head high to show that he had changed. Not entirely, as even the Wolf of Harmony could not change overnight, but he was on the path to change. For the better.

Moving further through the clearing, Cayde noticed that there were many, many more wolves here than before. Triple the amount, perhaps. It was shocking, how much that number grew in one day.

Cayde kept moving, until finally he met eyes with the one who had made him feel like an outcast. Anise, now acting as the caretaker of the wolves that sought refuge here, met eyes with Cayde, and showed bitterness and fury. Not wanting him to possibly lead any of the wolves into a blind following to what she assumed to be the certain doom of fighting the Wolf of Chaos, she stepped through the crowd of wolves to face him.

"Anise." Cayde began, stopping once the two were mere feet away from one another.

"Cayde," Anise spat, "What brings the 'noble and honorable' Wolf of Harmony here?"

Cayde nodded in understanding at why she would say those things in a sarcastic manner, and smiled politely in acceptance of what she said.

"I did not come to fight." He assured.

"So you came to manipulate then," She remarked, "To try and sway wolves to join your cause."

"No." He replied.

"Then why are you here?" She narrowed her eyes. By now, the crowd of dozens upon dozens of wolves had formed a circle around the two, unsure of what was going to happen.

Cayde looked around at all of the wolves, before his gaze returned to looking at Anise.

"I came to apologize."

Anise did not reply, she merely kept her eyes narrowed.

"I've been a terrible leader... and a terrible friend. I was a bad influence, I thought that by fighting for what was right, using hope as the reason for why we would always succeed... I thought it was what was best. But it wasn't, and I'm sorry." Cayde said truthfully.

Anise still glared at him.

"Hope is powerful, but hope alone cannot win wars, hope alone cannot bring peace, hope alone can't make wrong things right." He continued.

"Under the cover of hope alone, I asked all of you to join me in a cause that wasn't right. By assuming that hope would guide us to victory, I would have only led everyone to slaughter. We relied on hope alone, and because of that, we lost our home to begin with. Trying to take it back with a similar mindset would have only finished us all." Cayde said solemnly.

Anise no longer had her eyes narrowed, and now simply just listened.

"I'm sorry, to all of you... for what I tried to do. I want you all to know that you do NOT have to come with me to try and reclaim the Kimlascan Pack, you do NOT have to feel like you have to because it's what I'm going to do."

"But in this past day, I've realized that hope, while powerful, is not the only thing that can guide the right causes. Determination, courage, devotion, and so much more, are other things that guide the right causes. Just because I'm the Wolf of Harmony, doesn't guarantee success just because I had hope."

"I want you all to know that I am changing for the better. I will be the Wolf of Harmony you all deserve, I will not blindly manipulate, I will not lead you to a cause you do not wish to partake in."

"But I WILL be a better leader, a better friend, and a better Wolf of Harmony. Because I have a responsibility, to try. To not regret that choice to try... because a true Wolf of Harmony would understand that there really wasn't a choice to make." Cayde repeated exactly what he told himself earlier that day.

Because they were honest words. They were the truth.

"And the Wolf of Harmony is what I always want to be."

With that, he nodded once more, to confirm that he had concluded his apology and speech, and now awaited the reactions of Anise and the many wolves around them.

The once angry and bitter expression had long faded from Anise's face, and was replaced with a slow, hopeful smile.

"Now THAT is the Wolf of Harmony I knew I saw in you." She said with a smile.

"You always had that true spark in you, Cayde. I saw the true Wolf of Harmony you were destined to be only one other time before this, and that was when you sacrificed yourself for all of us. Now, it seems like you've finally gone on that path to becoming that true Wolf of Harmony all the time. I'm proud of you." She laughed a little.

"Though I do hope you can understand why I was so bitter." She added.

"Of course," Cayde nodded, "What I asked from all of you was wrong, and I didn't know that at first, because I was blinded by the assumption that hope would always make things right, and nothing more. I'm sorry I did such a thing."

She nodded back, "I think I speak for everyone when I say that we all forgive you, and we like this version of you MUCH more than the old you. You're just like how you were before, in all the good ways, and you're working towards refining your flaws. Though you could learn to talk a little more." She joked.

The many wolves nodded as well, accepting his apology.

"I'm not asking you to fight with me, to try and take back our home. I'm not saying that we will succeed, just because we're fighting for what is right, but I am going to try. You don't have to try with me, only join me if it is what you truly wish to do. Not because of what I said, not because of what I will do... only join me if it is what YOU want to do." Cayde told them.

There was a moment of silence across the entire clearing, before one wolf moved across the clearing, closer to Cayde.

"I'll fight with you." They said.

And another wolf came closer as well.

"I will too."

More wolves approached Cayde.

"I want to fight!"
"You've got our back, I've got yours."
"We want to do this too."

One by one, more wolves moved towards Cayde.

"I'm in."
"You can count on me."
"It's our home, not theirs!"

The looks of hesitation soon began to fade, and were replaced by looks of not only hope alone, but determination and courage.

"We're here for you."
"I'm not backing down."
"Let's do this."

Soon, the majority of the wolves had crowded around Cayde.

"I want to help too."
"We have to try."
"We can do this."

And soon, every wolf had crowded around Cayde, all willing to fight alongside him. All but Anise, who stood there with a smile.

"I'd be happy to fight alongside you too," She said, standing alongside him, "If you think you can keep up with me, I'd be happy to fight alongside you." She teased.

Cayde chuckled, "We would all be happy to have you." He assured.

"Where's Pahanin?" Cayde asked.

"She went back to where Saint's group is. She figured that, if there was anywhere you'd be returning to, it would be there. There, or the Kimlascan Pack. What a surprise it will be for her to see you come back with so many wolves." Anise laughed.

"I suppose it's time we go and unite groups, hm?" Cayde asked.

Anise nodded.

And so, with Cayde reunited with Anise and her group, the large group set out to link up with Saint.

Cayde knew that he had a responsibility, and it seemed like the large remnant of the Kimlascan Pack wanted to uphold that responsibility too.

The responsibility to try.