A few days had gone by, giving the ever-growing remnant of the Kimlascan Pack more and more strength, energy, and morale. New arrivals reached the group each day, further rebuilding the once broken and scattered Kimlascan Pack once again.

By now, all wolves who were a part of this large group now were aware of the plan on how to attack Uldrich and his army of shadows. The new arrivals were briefed of the plan each and every time, and they were reminded numerous times that they did not have to fight, or even partake in this plan in the slightest if they truly did not want to. Yet, despite this, each and every wolf who reunited with the Kimlascan Pack willingly wished to join the growing cause to take back their home.

Perhaps it was because of their strength in numbers, perhaps they didn't want to be an outlier, yet even after being reminded that each and every wolf was entitled to their own choice, each and every wolf was willing to fight for their home.

It had been a few days since Cayde reunited with Anise, and in doing so, helped her group reunite with Saint's group, and since then Cayde had spent lots of time doing all sorts of things. Self reflecting, reflecting on all that had happened, reflecting on what was going to happen next, mourning the loss of Vande and other wolves who perished on the night that their home was attacked... and reflecting on what it meant to be the Wolf of Harmony.

It was easy to be overwhelmed with all the bad things that had happened in recent times, and even easier to want to give up and leave things behind... but Cayde wasn't one to give up. He knew that he was fighting for the right cause, not because of hope alone, but because of his own beliefs, his own purpose, and so much more.

He truly believed that he was fighting for the right cause. He was taking steps to truly become the best Wolf of Harmony he could possibly be.

And if he died fighting for what he believed in, then so be it.

But Cayde knew that if he did die at the paws of Chaos, there would be no coming back. His death would be final, and if the Kimlascan Pack failed to defeat Uldrich as well, the balance of Harmony and Chaos would greatly shift in favor of Chaos... and throw the world into disaster. Unfathomable disaster.

Indeed, Cayde was not fighting for vengeance, he was not fighting because he had to, he was fighting because he wanted to... and because he knew he was fighting for what was right.

Now that a few days had passed since Cayde's reunion, and the wolves of the Kimlascan Pack were reunited, it was time to put the plan in action. It was time to take back their home... or at least try to.

The pack agreed that they would depart to their former territory tomorrow, in the late afternoon. They were confident that they would arrive at their home by late evening, and under the cover of the moonlit night they would face the Wolf of Chaos and his dark army.

And so, the night before, Cayde sat from afar, watching the pack converse amongst one another. The pack decided to throw a small celebration to commemorate their bravery, their unity, and their hope. It wasn't much, but Cayde smiled at the sight. The pack was happy, and that was something that seemed to have been gone for a long time. Too long.

"Enjoying the night?" Saint's voice broke Cayde's concentration, causing him to turn around to look. Saint didn't hesitate to stand beside Cayde, glancing at him before looking out upon the pack as well.

"Lately the Kimlascan Pack has been through... too much." Cayde noted.

"You ain't kidding."

"The loss of our home, our leader, friends, family... we lost everything we as a pack knew. And now, we're going to take it back."

"Everyone knows what they signed up for. They're ready." Saint assured.

There was a brief period of silence between the two, before Saint looked over at Cayde again.

"We're ready." He added, causing Cayde to look at him in return. Saint gave a short, but confident nod.

"I believe in all of us. We are ready." Cayde smiled, nodding in return.

"But... enjoy this while it lasts. If we fail... there won't be any coming back from our failure. I want to see our pack happy again, I want our home back, we all do. There will be time for celebrating if we take our home back. For now, enjoy this while it lasts." Saint told him.

"It's easy to forget all of the good things when there's nothing but bad stuff on our shoulders. Remember that. I know you're the Wolf of Harmony and all, but remember the good things even in the toughest of times. It's what keeps me goin'." Saint added.

Cayde nodded again, "I'll remember that."

Silence again, but this time Cayde broke the silence.

"And... thank you, Saint. For being my friend. For being here to help our pack, for saving me from a similar fate to Vande's death. It's easy to be caught up in our own problems, and sometimes it's easy to forget to thank those who truly deserve to be thanked. Like you. Thank you, Saint."

"Heh, no problem." Saint smiled genuinely.

The sound of someone else cut off their conversation further.

"Saint, could you give Cayde and I a moment?" Pahanin requested as she stopped beside Cayde.

"He's all yours." With that, Saint went off to join the pack in their celebration.

Pahanin sat down beside Cayde and looked at him with a caring expression, "How are you feeling?" She asked curiously.

"I'm doing well, thank you, and what about you?" Cayde asked with equal curiosity.

"I'm managing." She chuckled softly.

"I suppose we all are."

Pahanin sighed, "I'll admit... I miss the old days. I miss being able to run to your den in the morning and wake you up with my loud and obnoxious yelling. I miss being able to help train you for the Trial of the Mountain. I miss being able to hear about your dreams... I miss... so much." She whined.

Cayde glanced down at the ground, nodding in understanding.

"So much has changed in such short time. One day I was calling your name to wake you up, one day I was seeing your smile that never faded even though you had to tolerate me... and now we're here. You sacrificed yourself once... then we lost our home after a brief moment of happiness, we lost Vande and... I just wish we could to back. Who would ask for this?" Pahanin asked solemnly.

"Nobody should have to go through this. Nobody. We've all been through so much. I wish we could all go back to the carefree days too, where all we had to worry about was what long speech Vande was going to give each day." Cayde told her.

"But once this is all over... we'll all rebuild together. Those days can still come back, and we can all come back from this dark time. Together. I know we can." Cayde nuzzled her reassuringly, then pulled away and sat in silence, letting Pahanin process what he said.

"I'm going to be facing the Wolf of Chaos head on. Alone. One of us will either retreat or die... and I doubt he'll let me escape with my life again..." Cayde told her.

"So, Pahanin... if I die tomorrow..."

"No." She stopped him.

"Huh?"

"Not again. I won't lose you again."

"Pahanin, I... I can't guarantee that. I have a responsibility, to try. I must try, to protect all of you. You all come first, and if I die fighting for what I believe in, please know that I will die an honorable death."

"I can't live without you. If there's anyone dying, it's me." Pahanin countered.

"What?"

"I'll fight for our home, but if I see you on the verge of losing against the Wolf of Chaos... I'm fighting for you. I'll face him too, if I have to."

"Pahanin, you can't--"

"I won't be there when you fight him, but if you're about to lose, if you're about to... die... I'll come and fight by your side. For you."

"He's the Wolf of Chaos, he's powerful, he'll kill you--"

"I know," Pahanin nodded softly, "I wouldn't be fighting him to beat him. I would be fighting him to give you time to recover. To save you, like you've done for all of us."

Cayde had a shocked expression, unable to say anything, overflowing with all sorts of emotions.

"So, Cayde... if I die tomorrow... know that MY death will be an honorable one." She told him.

He shook his head, "I won't let it come to that. I'll face him, I'll defeat him... I won't let it come to that."

"I know you'll try, Cayde, and I truly hope it doesn't come to that either... but if it does, just know that I will fight him. And I'd die for you." She smiled at him, yet her expression showed sadness.

"Because I know... that even if I die... we'll see each other again. One day."

Cayde nuzzled her again, this time not pulling away for a while, "You're going to be okay... you won't have to worry about that. We're all going to be alright."

Pahanin nuzzled him back, smiling a bit more, her negative emotions fading as she was reassured by the one she always admired.

"I missed your comfort." She added.

Cayde merely smiled, feeling warm and fuzzy inside at her kindness.

"Hehe, well, I think it's time for me to hit the hay. See you tomorrow, Cayde, okay?" She told him, pulling away to stare into his eyes for a moment.

"See you tomorrow, Pahanin." He replied, smiling brightly at her. She returned the smile, and turned to find a place to rest for the night.

Once again, Cayde was left to watch the pack nearby, but slowly those numbers began to dwindle as more and more wolves went to rest for the night.

Soon, the drowsiness hit Cayde, and he too, found a place to rest nearby, falling asleep peacefully to the sound of soft wind, and the nearby sound of packmates talking and celebrating.

Cayde had an uneventful slumber, sleeping peacefully throughout the night, and into the late morning. When he awoke, he was once again greeted by the sound of soft wind blowing in the trees. Only now, there was no chatter, as most of the pack was still asleep.

Today was the day, and in a few hours, the Kimlascan Pack would depart from this area to attempt to take back their home. There was still plenty of preparation left to do, but despite the dark times and the rough battle ahead, Cayde was in good spirits, and so was the rest of the pack as more and more of them began to wake up.

Throughout the late morning and early afternoon, the pack woke up and all assembled together, chatting amongst one another and going about their day, knowing of the battle that lay ahead.

Time seemed to fly by, and before Cayde knew it, he looked up at the sky and saw the sun, high up in the sky. It had risen to its peak for the day, and was now beginning to ever-so-slowly set, and slowly starting to signal the start of the late afternoon.

Once Saint had gone around and discussed the plan once more, Cayde helped him assemble the pack into one huge group so they could hear one final set of announcements before they set out to return to their territory.

"Everyone, listen up!" Saint shouted, standing atop a tall rock to help himself scan over the majority of the pack.

"We have a very, very tough battle ahead of us. These next few hours will determine the fate of not only ourselves, but the history and future of the Kimlascan Pack as we know it. Everything is going to change tonight, for better or worse. I hope with all my heart that it's for the better." Saint spoke confidently and loudly.

"If we succeed, we'll get our home back, we'll rebuild, and we'll enter an era of peace without a doubt. If we fail, our pack as we know it is lost."

"Everybody know what they're doing?" He called out.

Many nods were seen across the pack.

"Good! Before we set out, I'd like Cayde to come up here and give us some final words of encouragement." Saint announced.

Cayde's eyes widened, not being told that he was going to be going up there to speak to the pack, but he knew there was no stopping it now. Besides, after the initial shock, he wanted to do this.

So, Cayde padded to the front, replacing Saint at the top of the tall rock. Now, he too, stood and scanned the pack all around him. They all watched eagerly, waiting expectantly.

And so, Cayde spoke:

"Today, we face off against one of the greatest threats our pack has ever faced. Today, we stand against the Wolf of Chaos and his army of shadows. Today, we take back our home. Together." Cayde began.

"No more will we live in fear, uncertain of our future. No more will we have to run away, lost and alone. No more will we stand for this darkness unleashed upon our home. No. More."

This boosted the morale of the pack tremendously already, but they continued to listen.

"This evil threat is strong, but we are stronger. We will stand together as one, we will purge this evil from our home, and we will take back what they stole. Not for hope alone, but because we as a pack, and individually, wish to fight for what is right. And so we will!"

Cheers began to erupt from the pack.

"We will take a stand!"

More cheers erupted.

"We will fight!"

Even more cheers.

"We will stand, and we will fight... together, as one!"

Cayde looked out upon the pack, seeing each and every one of them cheering, all confident in themselves, all knowing that they were fighting for what was right.

And Cayde's expression showed true confidence as he spoke:

"So I ask you: are you ready?" He called out.

The cheers proved to be more than enough to show that they were ready. Everyone was ready.

This was it.

It was time to depart.

Cayde smiled with confidence, happy to be able to help lead such a bright, brave, hopeful pack.

Looking out at everyone once more, his smile widened. He saw his mother, he saw Saint, Anise, Pahanin, and so many others.

He saw hope, happiness, confidence, and inspiration.

He saw Harmony, prepared to stand up against Chaos.

He saw the Kimlascan Pack, in all its glory, and at long last:

It was time to go home.