Once again, Cayde roamed through the lush forest that outstretched before him for countless miles in all directions. Once again, he followed old paths to return to a previous destination.

But this time, Cayde was not alone.

This time, he had the support of dozens of Kimlascan Pack wolves, all supporting the same cause: reclaiming their home. And this time, Cayde was setting out with this large group to return to Saint and his own group.

And everybody, for the first time in a great while, seemed to be in good spirits. To be able to reunite with old friends and fellow packmates, to be able to reunite a large portion of the scattered Kimlascan Pack, it all brought good spirits upon the wolves. Life, despite the circumstances, seemed to be on the up and up in terms of the morale. Finally, there was time to breathe, to have some time to plan and process all that had happened. Only this time, nobody had to be alone anymore. They had eachother, and that in itself was quite the morale booster.

Small talk formed amongst the group here and there, easing everyone into more of a calm mood, which was nice, after the many days of uncertainty and sadness.

"What brought you to this realization, Cayde? To change?" Anise asked curiously.

To which Cayde smiled politely at her, "I guess I just hadn't been put in a situation where my morals were tested before. So, after what happened... I knew I had to change, and so I have... and so I will." He replied.

Anise was pleased with this answer, giving her more of a reason to put her trust in the Wolf of Harmony again. However, knowing that it was best to move on from this topic, Anise and Cayde began to talk about more lighthearted things. Reminiscing on good times, sharing different stories from their very different puphood lives, telling jokes to one another, and more. It was safe to say that by the time late afternoon had come around, everybody had their spirits lifted. It was a welcoming feeling to have.

Finally, the large group had arrived at Saint's own refuge. Cayde was quite surprised to see that, Saint's refuge had also grown quite a bit in recent days, now being a safe haven to a few dozen wolves.

Obviously alarmed by the arrival of so many new wolves, a few wolves alerted Saint, who eagerly approached to greet and welcome all of the new wolves to his refuge. It wasn't much, but thanks to the help of Soula, Pahanin, and many other wolves, there were plenty of safe spots to rest, there was plenty of space, and more. It wasn't home, not in the slightest, but it was a good temporary refuge until the time came for them to try and retake their home.

Saint dipped his head in respect as he saw Cayde and Anise standing beside one another, clearly being the ones who had led this group of wolves here.

"Cayde, it's great to see you again. Anise, it's great to see you too!" He told them.

Anise was the first to reply, "Happy to be here, Saint."

"Thank you again, Saint, for willing to help our packmates find refuge and safety here." Cayde added.

Saint laughed, "Oh, I don't deserve all the credit, fuzzball. Everybody pitched in here, so we're all to thank."

Cayde nodded his head once, "Good to hear that you aren't taking all the credit then!" He joked.

Saint laughed again, then gazed upon the many, many new arrivals that stood before him, unsure of what Cayde had done to get ALL of them here.

"So, uh... what brings all of you here?" Saint asked with genuine curiosity, "Cayde, are they here to join our cause?"

Cayde nodded, "Indeed they are. Not because of what I chose to do, but because it was what each and every one of them wanted to do. That's truly inspiring to see." He looked back at the group he helped lead here with a smile.

If Saint could clap, he absolutely would, but for obvious reasons he was unable to. Instead, he settled for a howl-like "Woohoo!!" which admittedly wasn't too surprising to hear from a wolf like Saint.

"Well, all of you can make yourselves at home here. We'll all do our best to keep you all safe and happy here until the time comes when we go home." Saint told them.

Cayde glanced back at the wolves once more, then gestured for them to go ahead and move on to explore the new refuge that would be their temporary home.

And so, as expected, the group made their way into the refuge, soon fitting right in with those who already had stayed there for a few days. It was quite a welcoming sight, seeing all of the wolves together, reuniting with friends and family.

"The Kimlascan Pack is finally getting back together." Cayde said softly as he watched.

"It's a work in progress, bud, but we're getting there." Saint added.

"Cayde!" The familiar voice of Pahanin rung out amongst the crowd of happy voices.

Cayde looked to see her running towards him, just barely being able to move out of the way before she collided with him.

"I'm so glad to see you, Cayde! You scared me half to death running off like that the other day!" She exclaimed, nuzzling the Wolf of Harmony.

Cayde nuzzled her in return, just as happy to see her. While their conversation was brief, their happiness to see one another was clear. Once Saint had calmed Pahanin down, she politely stepped away to go and tend to the new wolves who had arrived, leaving only Saint, Anise, and Cayde standing around one another.

Cayde smiled as she ran off, seeing her dissapear into the crowd of equally happy wolves.

"Enjoy this moment... while it lasts," Cayde said with a bright smile, "We may never know what tomorrow will bring. What they're willing to do is dangerous, and fighting to take back our home just because it's the right thing to do will not guarantee our success, let alone our survival. So... let's enjoy this time of peace and happiness while it lasts. We have quite the battle ahead of us."

Cayde saw Pahanin appear in the crowd again, who playfully leapt up into the air to try and make Cayde laugh from afar. It worked, and she retreated back into the crowd as if nothing had happened.

"Yeah," Saint replied, "It's gonna get tough, but just think... if we pull this off, we'll be able to bring peace to our land, our pack... for years to come! I'm sure of it!"

Cayde nodded, "I certainly hope so. Though... I'm sure that this battle, should we succeed, will not be the end. One way or another."

Saint nodded back, "True. Especially for you, Cayde. You've got one heck of a journey ahead, I doubt retaking our home is the end of it."

Anise cut in, "If we want to retake our home, we need a good plan. We can't just run in there with nothing but our wits and hope, we need a plan."

"Indeed we do." Cayde agreed.

"Dah, now you're speaking my language," Saint grinned, "I've got a bit of an idea on where to start."

"Go on." Anise listened closely.

"For starters, we give it another few days to rally more of the pack together. With this big of a group now, we can send out larger parties to find wolves and lead them here if they so desire. Once we've given it a few days, everyone will be rested up, and by then they should be well aware of what's to come regarding the plan."

Anise had a perplexed expression as she tilted her head in confusion at the sight of Saint drawing out his plan idea in the dirt with one of his nails.

"So! I say we split into two primary groups. Those who are on the offense, and those on the defense. Those on the offense will be in the first primary group, and the ones leading the charge, pushing into the territory and fighting those shadows that the Wolf of Chaos has as his army. Cayde and I can lead this group. This group will push in and attack those mindless shadows, so we can all push forward."

Anise and Cayde nodded, liking this idea so far.

"The second primary group won't be far behind. This group will focus on defense, and they'll have three priorities: preventing any shadows from flanking the group on the offense, keeping an eye out on the sides and the back of the first group since they'll be focusing on pushing forward, and aiding and assisting wolves that may get injured in the first primary group, to help them recover or to take them to a safe place to avoid further injury. Anise, you up to the task of leading this group?"

Anise nodded, "You've got me convinced."

"Great! So, if all goes well, the group on the offense will push through the army of shadows and cast out the Chaos in our home. Wherever the Wolf of Chaos may be, we'll find a way to--"

"I'll face him." Cayde interrupted.

Saint looked at him worriedly, "Cayde, last time you went to face him, you--"

"I know what happened, Saint. I'll be okay this time, don't worry. I have to do this, I have to face the Wolf of Chaos... I have to face Uldrich. He brought his army of shadows to our land and cast us out, casting our land into Chaos... it's up to me to face him. He's the Wolf of Chaos, he can make the power of Chaos physical... and if there's anybody that can hope to face him, it would be me. I have to try. For Vande, for the Kimlascan Pack. For everyone." Cayde said confidently.

"Are you sure?" Saint asked.

Cayde nodded.

"Alright. In that case, the group on the offense will lead the charge, defeating the army of shadows that plagues our home, and once we find the Wolf of Chaos, Cayde will branch off from the group and face him. With the second group being the defensive wolves, we'll be able to keep the first group safe and sound... and if all goes well..."

"We'll take our home back." Anise smiled.

"What do you think, you two? Think you're up to the task?" Saint asked.

"There will be no coming back from this... it's worth it. I'm up for this task." Anise replied.

"I am as well. I believe in the Kimlascan Pack. We can do this."

Saint smiled confidently, "This is just great, anyone want a hug? Hugs?" He asked, looking at Anise and Cayde, who looked back at him with a confused expression.

"No hugs," Saint looked down for a moment before he laughed, "But if we take our home back, you two both owe me one."

Cayde smiled at him and nodded, "Sure thing."

"Well then, we can inform everyone else of the plan tomorrow. For those who come to our refuge in the next few days before we leave will also be given the details of the plan. Today, we let them rest and celebrate this reunion with so many packmates. It's the least we can do after all we've been through." Anise told them, to which both Cayde and Saint nodded in agreement to.

"Alright, then it's settled! Let's enjoy the rest of the day. All of us." Saint replied, before making his way into the large group of wolves. Anise soon followed, giving Cayde a polite smile before she went.

Cayde gazed upon the group of wolves, and once again a hopeful smile appeared on him.

He was glad to see everyone in such good spirits.

It made him feel like perhaps, with everyone reunited and working together, taking back their home was truly possible.

Because of that, Cayde's smile did not fade.

As the setting sun gleamed onto his pelt, and illuminated the refuge, Cayde was overjoyed at all the happiness that he thought he'd never see again.

And with that hopeful smile, he spoke to himself:

"We can do this."