Pol slept fitfully. He had spent the last few weeks constantly searching for any sign that his wife might have passed by the places he and Kaya were visiting. So much about this land was similar to the worlds he knew, but despite the familiarity, Kythe was nowhere to be found. And of late, it seemed his restless days had begun to turn into restless nights as well.

He dreamed he was back in the lands of Kythe's birth, the place where his children had been born, wandering through a castle that seemed endless. With each turn, Pol found himself in a new hallway lined with doors or windows or both, none of them familiar to him in the slightest. "Kythe?" his voice called out, even though a part of him knew she was not here. The doors led to another hallway or rooms with no exit. But if he tried to turn back the way he came, he was faced with a new set of doors or windows, completely unfamiliar.

Pol started to run, opening doors and taking turns more frantically, trying to find some way out, trying to find his wife, trying to find anything but another corridor. it slowly began to occur to Pol that he was not really here, that he was dreaming, and yet he could not stamp down the growing sense of panic within him. He screamed silently at himself to stop running, that this wasn't real, and yet he seemed to have no control over his own body. He continued to throw open doors and run-down corridors, until he finally opened a door and was faced with something beside a room or hallway. Riath stood there, and Pol was filled with a sense of dread and love. He reached out to embrace the son he had not seen in some time and missed dearly at every moment. But as his hands pressed firmly into the young man’s back, Pol’s eyes caught sight of a horror. Behind Riath, Kythe lay dead in a pool of her own blood.



As he started awake, Pol was pretty sure that he had no screamed out loud, but he was not entirely positive. He waited a moment for his breathing to level out before and turning to see if he’d woken up Kaya who slept nearby. The sky in the east had not yet started to lighten with the morning sun, but Pol’s lupine eyes did not need that extra light to see his surroundings. As he looked over to the area a few yards away where Kaya had bedded down that evening, he found her bedroll empty.

Pol’s mind raced as he pulled his boots on and fetched his staff. He had checked the area around this lake thoroughly before they’d decide to make it their camp. The area was clearly well traveled by the populous of this world, but there had not seemed to be anything dangerous in the area. Of course, the populous of this world could easily be dangerous in its own right.

He moved over quickly to Kaya’s bed roll and knelt down to look at the scene. No sign of blood, no sign of a struggle. That was good, she had probably left on her own in that case. There were a number of good reasons she might do this, but the few signs he could pick out told him she’d gotten up hours ago and had not returned. And just because she had not left in a struggle did not mean she had not gotten into trouble while away from their small camp. 

On the other hand, she was an adult, if only just barely (strange as that was for him to comprehend). She was not incapable, she could likely take care of herself. Even if it was a damned foolish thing for her to disappear on her own in this new world. 

Pol glanced up to the sky, filled with its unfamiliar constellations and moon. He was still learning the signs of this land, but if he had to guess it was still a couple of hours before the first hints of the sun’s light would appear in the east. Taking a few steps, back and forth, Pol considered his options. He could track her, he had been teaching her to track and keep from being tracked, but he was still far more experience than she. There was little doubt in his mind that he’d be able to follow her if need be. But again, his daughter was a grown woman, a foolish one it seemed, but a grown woman none the less. He had to afford her some measure of trust, even if he was going to give her an ear full when she returned. 

His fingers drummed on the staff of the tree of his homeland, then stopped as he made his decision. He knelt down to examine her tracks by her bedroll once again, making a mental map of what had happened after she’d woken up. Moving with practiced grace, he followed her tracks to the edge of the lakeside wilds, where the vegetation began to change. She’d headed south, and after twenty minutes of following her tracks, she did not appear to have been accosted by anyone or anything. 

Confident that his daughter had left of her own volition, Pol made his way back to the camp and settled down to relight their small campfire. If she did not return by the time the sun was fully over the horizon, he’d follow after her. But until then, he was intent on getting some rest. Unfortunately, he also realized that rest was not going to come in the form of sleep, not when three members of his family were out in this new world, and he had no idea where.

'I've found her, she's here, she's safe. I've found her, she's here, she's safe. I've found her, she's here, she's safe.' 

Over and over and over again the words ran through Kaya's mind as she had left the ball and hurried back to the camp she and her father had made by Jasumin Lake that day when they had stopped their search for the night. Something deep in her mind still could not quite believe her luck - the fact that she had run into Kiba had been joyous enough (the man was good company both in looks and personality and she had very much enjoyed spending her evening with him) but for him to then tell her that he was her own mother's adopted son… Even now that thought brought tears of relief and joy to Kaya's jade coloured eyes, even now her heart raced within her chest at the thought that they were now within arms reach of completing their mission and finding her mother… 
Though there was one thing that remained a sticking point; one niggling thing that Kiba had said that had stabbed Kaya in her heart and twisted like a knife… Kythe had not been in Revaliir for long… she had arrived only recently, a few months at maximum if that. She had arrived half dead, as Kaya and Pol had expected given their own Gods had been involved in her exile from Myna…. but she had been gone for only a short while. They had all aged; Kaya and her siblings had only been small children when Kythe had been ripped away from them and for her mother it had only been a short time since she had lost them… for them it had been almost two centuries - two hundred years without her in their lives, two hundred years of growing up with only the memory of her… and now they had come to find her and there was no way that she would ever recognise her daughter and possibly not even her husband… 
And there lay another disturbing thought for Kaya - if so little time had passed for Kythe but so much had passed for them then the woman would never recognise her son; here Raith had an advantage over his mother for Kythe would not be expecting a man even if she were expecting him at all, she would still believe her children to be little more than toddlers just as she had left them. Kiba had said that Kythe was safe but for how long? How long would it be before Raith found her and hurt her just as he had always planned? 

* * *

 

As Pol woke roughly from his sleep he did not wake his daughter but roused the Dragon who was Bonded to his missing wife. Valandil opened one black eyes slowly, raising his colossal head from his forelegs to watch the wolf for a moment as he tracked Kaya's footprints away from the camp, returning after a some time while Valandil's mind pulled itself from its slumber. "She's safe Pol, I told her to go when the strange invite arrived, there was one for you and I also but you were already asleep and that child has never been a child since Kythe was sent away." The Dragon spoke softly. "Though I had hoped she would return before you woke." The Dragon admitted as he sat up and turned his gaze towards Pol properly now that he was fully awake. 
He really hadn't meant to worry the man but he had been fast asleep when the invitation had arrived and Kaya had seemed so excited at the prospect of mingling with the people of this world and potentially finding her mother amongst them. Of the triplets it was Kaya who had stepped up the most to help her father; Raith had been too busy learning how to fight despite his afflictions and channeling his hatred towards the rest of the family to want to lend a hand and Luna, Gods love her, had turned as far from matters involving her mother as she could - yes Kaya was the eldest but it had pained Valandil (as he knew it would pain Kythe) to see her miss out on her childhood as she had. 
The Dragon was about to speak again when he caught Kaya's scent upon the breeze. "She returns." He stated simply, relaxing his body a little as he realised just how tense he had been at finding she had still not returned.

"Father! Father! Valandil!" Kaya called out to them both, her skirts clutched in one hand, her mask long since discarded on her return to the camp. Skidding to a halt in front of her father, her hair now ragged and sweaty and out of place from her carefully plaited braid she grinned at him as she collapsed to her knees beside her father and placed a hand on his shoulder. "I know where she is Da. I've found her. I've found Mama. She's alive and she's safe and she's close." She laughed, weeping with joy once more as she threw her arms around her father's neck. "She's close Da, I know where to go." She whispered. 

Pol sniffed with annoyance as his wife’s dragon explained the situation. He would have thought that a creature that had lived as many years as Valandil had would know better. Hells! Pol had probably spent more time with Val than he had with Kythe, since her disappearance. But the dragon did not guess the wolf’s mind and worries correctly.“She is either a child, or she is an adult. To treat her as both when it is convenient and suits us, does her a disservice.” Knowing where she’d gone had completely erased Pol’s worry over his daughter’s safety. But that worry was now replaced with annoyance over Val and Kaya’s treatment of the situation. “I know her childhood was…truncated. I was with her, and her siblings. And I mourn that loss every day, Valandil. So do I allow her to be a child? Do I hold her hand and never allow her from my sight? Or is she an adult, capable of making her own decisions and choices and finding her own joy? But if she is an adult, then she has adult responsibilities. If she wishes to attend a ball or go to a tavern or just explore the world, that is well within her rights. But we three are here in this strange world together. She did well to tell you where she was going…”Pol’s voice trailed off for a moment as he realized he was more annoyed at the dragon than at his daughter. The thought brought a smile to his face, he did hate to feel disappointed in his children, and it seemed he did not need to be disappointed today. “But you should have told me, and were you absent, she should have told me herself. You speak as if I will be mad that she left, and I am not. I am, was, mad that I was not told and left to discover her missing. If the three of us are to be traveling together, then the three of us owe each other respect. And the simplest way to show that is to keep each other informed as to our plans. I would not have objected to her following this invitation.”The wolf shook his head, clearing the annoyance that was threatening to boil into anger. Perhaps he should have spent more time with Kaya, Riath, and Luna out in the wilds, teaching them how to rely on each other and him, and whoever they might be traveling with. But without Kythe, he was not….it was all he could do to raise them alone. Teaching them his old trade had been something that had fallen by the wayside. And now it seemed like that was a mistake. “While we are traveling in this new world, we have to be able to rely on each other should one of us fall or be otherwise unavailable. And if you gone before I woke, Val, how would I find Kaya if I needed to? I am not your keeper, Valandil, but we are to travel together, we three must share all the information we have.”Pol settled back down into his bedroll, though he did not lay down or attempt to fall back to sleep. He might get an hour or two of sleep, but it would not be restful while his blood was still trying to calm down. Instead he reached into his pack and pulled out the notebook he’d been writing in. It had started as a journal, but quickly became a place for his notes on this new world and how it was the same and different than the ones he’d come from. For the next few moments he sat, reading over what he’d already learned.“I smell her,” he replied to Valandil, his voice calmer now that he’d let most of his annoyance go. Though his words were still clipped. He’d let most of his annoyance go, not all of it. He might have a couple things to say to his daughter when she returned.But all thoughts of what he wanted to say, and how he’d say it, fled his mind as he heard his daughter call out to him. He almost rose to his feet, ready to act, but she reached him first. Were it not for the grin on her face, Pol might have looked at his daughter and seen her disheveled appearance and heard her frantic voice and thought she was in trouble. But the grin changed all that, and calmed him immediately. It was the same grin she’d have when she found something amazing as a child; moments that were too few and far between as Valandil had said.The former ranger listened to his daughter and tried to process it all. They’d heard so little, and now…now this! Pol wrapped his arms around his daughter and held her tightly for a long time before letting her go. He wiped the tears from his daughter’s eyes, ignoring his own, “Breath, Kaya, breath. This is so wonderful, but breath.” Pol took a couple of breaths himself, ostensibly to get her to breath too, but also to keep himself calm. If he let go of his own heart for even a moment, it would take a long time to get it back under control. As it was, it hammered against the inside of his chest like it was trying to break his sternum. And they weren’t with their missing, beloved Kythe yet. “You said she’s near, where is she?” But if Kaya was right, they’d be with her soon. It was good he already had his boots on.

Pol had ever right to be angry and Valandil faced it without any resentment or anger; in truth he deserved the words but he did not regret his decision. "She will always be both Pol whether we like it or not - the girl is an adult who never had her chance to be a child as we know too well but she will always be YOUR child and Kythe's and she will always be Little One to me regardless of how old she is or what she faces in her future. I was wrong in this instance and I apologise, I have never had children of my own to raise other than the triplets and my grief at my separation from Kythe clouded my mind too much to offer you much aid even with them. Your wife would tell you that me and mine are little more than petulant children ourselves." The Dragon snorted as he turned his gaze to the horizon. "I promise to do better, by all of you." He replied for the wolf was right - had Valandil left the camp for whatever reason Pol would have been none the wiser to the location of his daughter and what kind of panic would have set in then? 
Relief filled the Dragon's heart as he noted the youngster's return and he crooned to her as she hurried back to them. For a moment he thought that she had got into some trouble given her disheveled appearance - when she had left the camp she had looked stunning; almost glowing in her excitement and anticipation of getting to join in the festivities of this world and mingling with the others who occupied these lands. Now however she looked worse for ware - her dress was awry, her hair falling out of the braid and sticking to her skin from the sweat and she was utterly out of breath. He would have been more worried about her well being if it hadn't been for the large smile upon the young woman's face. 

"I'm fine father." Kaya snapped dismissively, not out of anger but impatience given the news that she had brought to them all, secretly taking her father's advise to calm herself as she inhaled through her nose and out through her mouth to calm her beating heart before it beat clean out of her chest. "Nearby from what I can tell. A place called Scarwood Fort; she has been living their with her adopted son Kiba. You remember Kiba don't you da? He was the nephew to the Goddess Liara I think? Mama took him in as a student and then ended up basically adopting him as a son? Well he's here." She said excitedly. 
"Kiba? I remember the lad but how is he here? He was on DaeLuin when we left for Myna; what Gods have drawn his Path to ours once more?" Valandil asked, amused at the thought of their paths crossing like this once more.
"I do not know but it is he; I recognised his scent though I did not realise who he was at first. He found her here apparently, she was injured badly but we thought she might be, he says the Goddess of Life from this world healed the wound that that wretched Father gave her in Myna when they fought. He did not mention Raith so I can only assume that he and mother have yet to cross paths but she's here and we're so close to being back with her again…" Kaya added. "I know name of the place but not where it is but it sounds like somewhere well known enough for us to reach. I just need to get out of this dress and we can go." 

When Kiba had returned to the Fort and told his adopted mother that he had met and danced with her daughter Kythe had laughed at him and asked how much he had had to drink at the Ball - her daughter was in Myna and the child she had left behind had hated dancing, he must have been mistaken… but Kiba was stone cold sober; more so given the news he had to give to her and when Kythe had realised that he was being serious she had almost passed out from the shock of it. Her breath catching in her throat everything suddenly became fuzzy as her vision blurred and she had begun to hyperventilate.
How?! How could her daughter be in Revaliir and how could she be old enough to be described as a young woman? Kaya had been a child, little more than a toddler when Kythe had been cast out of her homeworld and tossed aside into this realm and yet Kiba was adamant that he had spoken to a woman. Kythe had no reason to argue with her son or disbelieve his words; now that she was truly listening to him she could hear the sincerity in every syllable that he spoke and when he informed her that even Pol was here she had wept. 

Kythe had not been in Revaliir overly long but it had been long enough that she had come to the conclusion that she would never see her family again - that she would be raising her son's in this world without their father or siblings beside her. She knew that Kiba would support her, of course he would, but she had never believed that Pol would get to meet them. Her hand had found it's way to her steadily growing stomach at this thought; she had begun to show now - not by much but it was clear that Kythe was either pregnant or had started to let herself go and anyone that knew the proud warrior woman enough would know that there was no way that it was the latter.
Her son had been grinning at her like some madman when he had told her where to find them; he worried about her getting too worked up given she was carrying the twins but he also knew that now she was aware that her family was also in Revaliir that nothing in this world, not even the Gods, could have stopped Kythe from going to them, not now not ever. He had embraced his mother, kissed her on the cheek and sent her on her way to reunite with her family - he would give them some time  together, he would be at the Fort when she returned with them. 

She had taken her personal airship to get her to Jasumin Lake; bringing Mordekai with her to keep Kiba as at ease with her decision to run off as was possible - if her Cleric Attendant was lingering in the background to watch over her he could hardly complain could he? As soon as the lake came into view her eyes had searched the horizon for her family and it had not taken her very long to spot the campfire with two people and a Dragon she knew all too well around it. Her breath caught in her throat as she let out a small sob of happiness at the sight of them all and she saw Valandil's eyes turn from her husband and daughter (she could not believe that that beautiful girl below was her Kaya) to the airship above and now that they were close by one another she felt his mind in her's and it almost knocked her out with the intensity of his emotions. 
"Kythe!" He called up to her excitedly as he scrambled to his feet, flared his wings and gave a joyous call up to the airship, taking off from the ground to meet them in the air for he could wait no longer to be reunited with his Bondmate. 
All thoughts of her own safety gone Kythe threw herself over the side of the airship, Mordekai's worried call lost as the air whipped around her ears and stole them away from her. Wings flaring to slow her decent Kythe found herself in Valandil's embrace, her arms not even remotely reaching round his neck as his paws closed gently around her to hold her close to his chest as he bugled once more, looping over himself as he began his descent back to the ground with Kythe nestled against him. 

Landing gently Valandil hummed happily as he lowered his forelegs and gently released the woman from his grasp; his heart filled with happiness as he felt her presence fully in his mind once more. Slowly Kythe turned to face her husband and the daughter she did not know; the tears already cascading from her emerald eyes at the sight of them both. Never in all of her days had she expected to see them again and yet here they were. Slowly she stepped towards them; as though they might disappear if she dared to rush at them. Her lip trembled, in fact her whole body did as Kaya hurried to her feet and stepped towards her mother, hesitating herself since neither woman knew the other anymore. Kythe reached out a hand to her daughter and Kaya took it, smiling weakly at her mother as both squeezed the hand of the other - reassuring one another that yes they both did in fact exist… they would make up for lost time, for the moment they were strangers to one another and Kythe did not quite understand what had happened since the girl before her must have been a young adult and she had left behind a child. 
Kaya stepped towards Valandil as her parents faced one another; Kythe's hand reaching out tentatively to touch Pol's face as she let out a loud sob at the fact that he was there. Her entire body was quaking by this point and her strength was threatening to leave her for she still could not quite believe that they were there…

Pol smiled as he watched his daughter take in a few deep breaths, following his instructions despite snapping at him. She was always the type to want to go her own way, which is why going off after receiving some strange magical invitation had not surprised him once the situation had been explained. But Kaya was not one to ignore good advice, even when it annoyed her.

He all but inhaled his daughter’s words as she explained what she knew. It was interesting that Kiba was here, a man from his homelands. Pol had heard some talk during their search that peoples from many other worlds had found themselves in this world in the recent past. But he had never thought to interrogate whether others from DaeLuin or even Myna had made it over to this place. But of course, of all the things is daughter was saying, this was perhaps the least exciting.

Just as he had supposed, Kythe had quickly found her way to powerful allies upon arriving in this world. Healed by this world’s Goddess of Life herself, and growing close with the nephew of the Goddess of another world. And that was not to mention the God in whose Fort she was currently living it would seem. Like Kaya, he had heard of the Scarwood Fort before this, though he did not know where it was located exactly. But unlike Kaya, Pol had heard a familiar reverence when the place was discussed. No one said this was the home of a God or Goddess, but Pol would stake his life on it, especially now that he knew his wife had already befriended the Goddess of Life. 

Something inside of Pol loosened when Kaya mentioned that Raith had not yet caught up to his mother. His shoulders sagged, and he let loose a breath he had not realized he was holding. Pol loved his son, but the boy was dangerous and confused, his whole reason for coming to this world had been to hurt Kythe. That was not a fight he wanted to see. Knowing they still had time was a burden he no longer needed to carry. They would get to her first.
They were going to get to her first. They’d found Kythe.

He wrapped his daughter in a tight embrace, the joy he was feeling so great that he had to share it with his beloved daughter. The edges of new worries began to creep into his mind, but he squeezed his eyes shut as he hugged Kaya and banished the concerns. It was not that they weren't legitimate concerns, but they were concerns that could wait. Gently releasing Kaya from their embrace, he was prepared to tell her to change, when the sound, and then sight, of an airship interrupted any would be words.

Before he could wonder at the strangeness of this ship appearing at this moment, he caught sight of a familiar silhouette in the ship’s doorway. He did not need Valandil’s joyful cry of ‘Kythe!’ to know he was looking at his wife.

In that moment, a panther could have snuck up behind Pol and pounced upon him, and he would not have noticed in the slightest. He watched, through tear blurred vision, as his wife and her dragon were reunited. He watched them fly to each other and embrace and his heart burst with joy. She was far enough away that even Pol’s lupine night sight couldn’t make out the details, but he recognized the excitement in the body language of the woman he loved.

He watched as Kythe and her bonded dragon reunited, falling together and embracing as they returned to the earth. 

Cutting through the thick earthy smell of the vegetation that surrounded and permeated the lake, was Kythe’s scent. It was exactly as Pol remembered it, though it was not the scent he had expected.  It was her scent, he had no doubt about that. It was crisp and cool, like a breeze caressing the grass and flowers of a meadow. It was sharp and jagged, like the wiping winds that preceded a thunderstorm. It filled him with warmth and comfort, like a gently rolling hearth fire. And it slammed into him, hot and wild, like a raging inferno.
And threaded throughout was something else, something he had only smelled once before. He had not known what it meant then, but the memory and emotions of those days were so strong and clear, there was no doubt in the wolf’s mind what it meant. The last time Pol had detected this slight change to his wife’s scent had been in the days leading up to her informing him that he would be a father.

Kythe was pregnant.

The smile of pure joy at seeing his wife did not slip from his face. He had avoided thinking about it as best as he could, but Pol could not completely ignore the facts once he and Kaya had figured out how to follow after Kythe and Raith. Two hundred and an entire world had separated the couple, to imagine that she would remain alone for that entire time was irrational. While Pol himself had never taken another lover, neither had he ever been alone. His heart was filled with the joy of his children as he watched them grow into adulthood. He could not begin to understand the emotions and needs Kythe would have had, knowing her entire life was gone to her, that she would never get to watch her children grow, or hold her grandchildren in her arms.

Tears fell from his gold eyes as Kythe separated from Valandil and reunited with their daughter. He wiped away the tears watching his daughter meet the mother she had so missed growing up, but they only fell again a moment later. As Kythe parted with Kaya and began to walk over towards him, Pol had given up any hope of keeping the tears from running down his face. Even if the distance between them could never be closed, if two hundred years was too much for them to overcome, that would not even slightly tarnish the perfect joy of this moment. Even if this was the end to their romantic story, Pol was glad that they would get this moment to close it out together.

Pol watched her as she walked to him, her tears mirroring his own. He could not believe that after two hundred years she was standing her in front of him, just like he remembered. It took every effort not to reach up and straighten his hair, having just woken up he was sure it was a mess. Not to mention, when they last saw each other it had been pure black and now it was speckled with grey. Even with a magically elongated life, three hundred years had begun to catch up with him.

The familiar fire raced through Pol’s body at her touch. His tears stained her hand as she placed her hand on his face, and he placed his hand on her own. They held there a moment before a sob wracked Kythe’s body and Pol quickly, instinctively, pulled her into a tight embrace. With his arms wrapped around her, they stood close, not a gap between their bodies. They stood silently for a moment, and as they did Pol could feel the soft swell of her belly, which confirmed what his wolf’s nose already knew. But that discussion could wait.

This moment was all that mattered. This moment was a turning point in their story. It may be the end of their story together. Or the last page of a chapter, or the close of one book and the start of another. Pol did not know what this moment was. But what this moment was did not matter. It only mattered that this moment was. 

Kaya had seen her father visibly relax when she had mentioned that Raith had yet to catch up to her mother and she wondered if he had known how tense he had truly been over that – while they had continued to look for a way to locate Kythe when she vanished from Myna, it had been Raith’s sudden disappearance that had made their search all the more important and had driven their desperation to plead with the Gods to send them after their missing family members in the first place. The fear that Raith might find and hurt Kythe had made forced their hands in terms of cutting ties to the only world Kaya had ever really known – too young to really remember her time in DaeLuin after all.

As her father embraced her Kaya buried her face into his chest as she had done when she was a child; breathing in his scent deeply and taking solace in the sound of his heartbeat. It finally felt as though things were beginning to fall into place and she was glad of that. As he pulled away from her Kaya scowled slightly, confused as she felt his attention drawn elsewhere. Jade coloured eyes flickered to the airship and there at the edge was a familiar figure… her mother….
Kythe had not aged a day; she was exactly as Kaya remembered her… would her mother recognise her? Of course she wouldn’t – when Kythe had vanished she had been a child not a full grown woman!

Kaya could not help but smile as she heard Valandil’s cry of elation; he had missed her mother dearly and she could feel how happy he was to be so close to her again. She watched the pair reunite and felt tears form in her eyes at the sight of it; Kaya had played this scenario in her head a thousand times but to actually be at this point was… more than she could ever have prepared herself for. Standing up beside her father she watched the pair descend; Valandil looking almost reluctant to release his grip of her mother (not that she blamed him) as she made her move towards them.
Instinctively Kaya moved towards her mother; hesitating for a moment as she did not know what to do, she wanted to embrace the woman but she did not know her anymore… they were strangers… Kythe reached out a hand to her and Kaya immediately took it, smiling at her mother as she returned the squeeze that was given – this was enough for now, it was a good start until Kaya could process everything and get used to the fact that after all of this time she had her mother back.

Having let go of Kythe’s hand Kaya moved to stand beside Valandil, one hand upon his side as much for reassurance as to ground herself in that moment. As she looked at her mother more closely she scowled; from what she remembered and from the tales that her father and Valandil had told of the woman there was only one reason for the swell of her stomach… she wasn’t angry, she had no right to be – Kythe had no reason to believe that she would ever see her family again after all… but to find her like this would be hard on her father and that broke the young woman’s heart.
Watching her parents reunite made her feel somewhat awkward – like she was intruding in their extremely private moment. Looking sheepishly at the ground she smiled slightly as neither her mother nor father spoke a word, causing her to cough slightly. ”Well somebody say something! Oh by the Gods the silence!” The girl cried; it was unbearable! Valandil threw back his head and laughed, nuzzling the young woman who now stood grinning widely – maybe that would move things on somewhat.

As Pol held Kythe in his arms, the whole world seemed to fall away from him. He could have stayed like this forever, ignoring the important things that needed to be dealt with and living in this moment. He knew that wouldn't work for anyone, but he let himself be lied to for a moment and enjoyed the simplicity of his beloved wife nestled in his arms, their bodies pressed together. 

The wolf knew the moment would not last, but he had not expected it end with laughter. But as Kaya called out to her parents, that was exactly how it ended. Pol's eldest often claimed to take after himself, but he could see just as much, if not more, of her mother in her. Yelling out to them to "say something" was certainly something she'd inherited from Kythe. Pol laughed and smiled as he let Kythe free from the circle of his arms, pulling back slightly, putting back some of the space that existed between the couple.

"Hi Kythe," he said in a near whisper as he wiped away a tear that had begun to trickle down his cheek. "I can't believe it, I can't believe you're here, that we found you…Or I suppose I can't believe you found us." He could not keep the grin from his face, even as he studied her own. She had not aged a day, but that did not surprise him. Kythe had been hundreds of years old when they'd first met on DaeLuin and had looked his own age. Every inch of her face was just as he remembered, and as wonderful as it was to see once again, he could not help but feel a little self conscious, something he'd not felt since he first had met this wonderful woman. Had Pol still aged like a normal mortal, he'd say he looked and felt like he was in his mid thirties, instead of the mid twenties he had been when she had vanished. His hair speckled with grey, lines beginning to form on his face. 

It was silly, and childish, especially if Kythe had her own new life in this world, but Pol could not help but care what she thought of him. His actions and beliefs most importantly, but his appearance as well. "You're here," he said, as he forced himself to continue to talk. "Two hundred years, and you're finally here…we're finally here. I can't…"  Pol took a deep breath and tried to collect himself. They needed to get it out of the way before anything else could happen, so they could decide what they were now.

"I know you must be worrying how to tell me, so I'll save you the trouble. I know Kythe." There, he said it, it was out. "I hope you don't feel guilty. I could not imagine what it must have been like to be alone in this world, away from your family for two hundred years." Pol wiped way another tear, a tear of true sadness for the first time as he worried what would become of them. "It was something I had long ago acknowledge was a possibility. I'm just happy you found some joy in this world, Kythe." He smiled and then gestured over to Kaya, "And your child will be lucky to have their half sister to watch over and teach them."

Suddenly all worry about what his relationship with Kythe would become evaporated as his mention of Kaya brought his mind to Raith. A look of serious concern came over his face, "Kythe, shit, we need to talk about Raith. He's here in this world, he came after you. We will need to find our son before he finds you."

His scent was almost overwhelming as he held her in his arms. She could feel his heart beating in his chest against her own and it hurt to think that she had missed even one of those heart beats. Fingers clasping at his shirt she buried her face into his shoulder and breathed deeply; holding him desperately as though relinquishing him even slightly might cause them to vanish from her sight again… and she could not risk that, not now that she had them back in her life - she literally would not survive that loss again. 
There were more grey hairs than she remembered and had aged; while he would not die as such given the exchange they had made years ago he still aged more than she did… though at this point Kythe felt that her husband was closer to her look of tiredness than he had been when she had left. His touch to her skin still sent that electrifying fire flickering through her entire body and she was glad to know that that spark had not dissipated despite the time that had clearly been lost to them both… she wondered if he had ever opened his heart to someone during her disappearance. The thought of that broke her heart but she could not have blamed him - she had vanished so suddenly and they had been without her for far longer, she could not have expected him to live without someone in his life after all. 

When Kaya called out to them to speak Kythe let out a laugh; her daughter's voice was beautiful and the chiding tone told the woman that the child was most definitely her own. As Pol relinquished his embrace of her and Kythe immediately regretted the space that was now between them. "Kiba told me you were here; he told me he had seen Kaya at the ball but I did not quite believe him at first… but here you are." She whispered, her voice cracking slightly as she fought back a sob. She smiled softly as she reached out and brushed her fingers through his hair, inspecting the grey more carefully. "They suit you." She said quietly, not quite trusting her voice to be any louder than it was for the moment. 

As Pol mentioned that two centuries had passed for him and the children Kythe visibly flinched as though she had been punched in the gut. Two hundred years had been stolen from them when only a few months had passed her by here on Revaliir - some trick of the Gods she was almost certain but that did not make it any easier to bear… she had lost so much… She had been about to reach out to him when she stopped short, cocking her head to one side in confusion as Pol spoke. It took Kythe a moment to process the words and realise what Pol was actually referring to. A small laugh left her throat as she closed the distance between them; throwing her arms around the man's neck as she kissed him passionately, her heart skipping a beat just as it had the first time they had kissed. She heard a gagging sound from behind and grinned slightly at the image of her daughter pretending to be disgusted at the sight of her parents kissing (courtesy of Valandil) though it was clear the girl was happy to see the reunion. 
Taking Pol's hand she put it to her stomach and smiled at him. "Oh my heart… I have lost two centuries with you but for me it has only been a few months… they're yours my love, twin boys in fact. Happy and healthy so far thanks to the Goddess of Love and Life checking and Kiba fussing over me so much." She smiled. "Pol there is no one in all the known worlds that could replace you; I was fully prepared to raise these boys myself but I'm glad that you are here." She said as she kissed him again. 

Talk became more serious as he spoke of Raith and her eyes widened. "Raith is here as well? How long has he been here?" She asked, looking back at Valandil and Kaya before turning back to Pol. "What in Fate's name has that boy got into his head to do?" 

“Here we are,” Pol agreed with a smile as Kythe reached up and ran her fingers through his hair. He held still, watching her face intently as she inspected the changes that he’d undergone since they’d last seen each other. The blood rushed to his face like he was a teenager again, but he just smiled at her and chuckled. “Well that’s good,” he replied to her comment about the grey suiting him. “Seems like too much work to try and dye it. Who am I trying to impress anyways?” He laughed, but the answer hung out between them. You.

As he spoke, saying what needed to be said, he studied Kythe’s face, trying to gather any hint of what she was feeling. Pol had expected relief or sadness or something like that. He was telling her he knew she was pregnant, that he knew she’d moved on and was happy for her. But he did not see anything related to those emotions at play on her face. What he saw was confusion, and then amusement. She laughed, and it was Pol’s turn to be confused as she wrapped him in her arms and kissed him.

The confusion lasted only a second before it, and everything besides his wife’s body against his own, dropped away. Pol was immediately back in DaeLuin, sharing his first kiss with the woman he’d eventually marry. He was back in his Oak Tree, kissing Kythe after learning he was to be a father. He was back in Myna, kissing Kythe as their toddler children play after having discussed the idea of more. He was kissing her as they made up from one fight or another. He was kissing her while two empty glasses of wine sat between them. He was kissing her on a battlefield, in their kitchen, in the forest, on an airship. He was kissing her in a hundred places and times, and he was kissing her here. Standing by a lake he didn’t know, in an unfamiliar world, Kythe was in his arms and kissing him again, just as if no time at all had passed. There was no room for confusion in his mind, love had removed anything else.

The sound of mocking came from his daughter as he and Kythe separated, and Pol could only roll his eyes at her even as flashed her a smile. But Kaya’s joking was forgotten as the Minadrias woman Pol loved with all his heart grabbed his hand and pulled it to her belly where her child was growing, and confusion rushed back into the former Guardian’s heart and mind. He listened to her words and tried to process what she was saying. Pol’s eyes went wide as she explained that the time he’d experienced was not the same as the time she experienced. Of all the possibilities he had tried to anticipate in advance of this reunion. He had expected so many possibilities, but the idea that time on Myna and time in Revaliir did not flow together had not been something he’d expected.

This revelation was so unexpected that it wasn’t until Kythe mentioned that she’d expected to raise these boys (boys, plural, twins!) alone, that his mind finally caught up on everything she had been saying. The children in her belly weren’t indication of her having moved on, they were his children, conceived before they had been separated. While his eyes had been wide before, they went even wider now, so wide that the whites around his golden irises were clearly visible, and tears welled up in the corners.

“They’re mine?” he whispered excitedly. “They? Twins.” He smiled brightly at his wife and pulled her into his arms once again and lifted her off the ground entirely and spun the both of them around. He laughed and kissed her and smiled. “Of all the things I tried to imagine, this was not on the list of things I could have expected. Gods above, Kythe!” he kissed her quickly again.

As the conversation turned to their son, Pol’s joy faded somewhat. “Here, come with me, we have a lot to talk about,” he said as he took his wife’s hand and guided her to a place on the shore of the lake where they could sit. Once they’d both found a place to sit, Pol took a breath while he tried to figure out how to start. “So…Raith has never taken….his limitations well.” Pol did not like to think of his son’s blindness as a deformation or illness. It was a limitation, but one he could overcome, and frankly one he had overcome in many ways. “I don’t know how, and despite all of my and Valandil’s attempts to convince him otherwise, Raith somehow got it into his head that he and you were meant to die during his birthing.” Pol tried not to let the memories of that part of the night flood back into his mind. Kythe and his son had lived. That had been the important part, not the danger they’d been in. “And he seems set on correcting that ‘mistake.’ It’s why he came here. He’s trying to kill you Kythe.”

Pol took a few breaths and tried to figure out what to do next. “We need to find him. I’ve tried to reach out to him for near two centuries, but I failed him, Kythe. We need to find him and help him, and keep him from doing anything he will regret. I don’t know what more I can do, but maybe now that we’re both here, maybe we can reach him together.” Raith was Pol’s greatest shame as a father. He loved his son with a burning fire, just like he loved his daughters and grandchildren, but he had failed the poor boy. He was not ashamed of Raith. No matter what he’d done, he could never reach Raith, he could never find the right words or actions to bring his son back to rationality. There had to be a way to save him from himself, but Pol had never been able to find it. Pol was ashamed of himself.

Pol reached out and grasped his wife’s hand. “Two hundred years and I’ve never given up on him. But I have to admit I’m at a loss for what we can do. If we cannot turn him from this path…it doesn’t end well.” With Kaya and himself here, there was no doubt that any attempt by Raith to take his mother’s life would be a failure. Even if they weren’t here, it was unlikely Raith could beat Kythe in combat of any kind. But if it came to that, the fight would break a piece of his family apart for good. And once that happened, Pol feared there would be no way to fix it. They had to get him to stop this before he tried to kill his mother. But he had no idea how to do that.

He hated that their reunion was consumed in this dour discussion, but it needed to be done. And once it was done, then Pol could tell Kythe about her grandchildren.