Dixie

Dixie was definitely getting up in age. She had been captured by humans again due to her inability to run away as effectively as she once had when she was younger but she had once more been able to escape. She knew that she probably didn't have much time left since her joints ached constantly now and she sometimes even struggled to get up from the ground but she still managed to make it back home. How had it been nearly a whole year since she had last seen her home? A pitiful sounding woof left her muzzle to announce her presence. She was home again.

Argolis & Darkwing

A dark shadow trailed the final stretch of Dixie's return home, then circled away and disappeared into the dilapidated factory that the Lurkers had called home for nearly two decades. By the time Dixie stumbled back onto familiar turf, Darkwing had already spread word to Argolis and was soaring out of the building to alert the rest of the pack that were currently out on patrols.

"It can't be.." Argolis had hoisted himself up from a nest of blankets beneath the staircase. His once dark brindle muzzle was now heavily frosted in white, and it even encroached in little semi-circles about his almond-brown eyes. He didn't seem to feel the pull of his own tired joints when he stepped forward, tail slow to wag as if it were afraid he was imagining things. "Dixie?" His voice caught a little, then sounded again with greater strength and emotion. "You're back!" He stepped forward the rest of the way, by-passing a typical greeting of nose sniff to drape his long muzzle against the side of her neck. "You're back..."

Dixie

The dark shadow passed over her and into the heart of the den but she couldn't bring herself to follow it. She wanted to see her family once again but what if they didn't accept her back or worse what if her beloved mate was no longer there waiting for her? She paused just inside their territory and waited. She didn't know what she waited for but maybe for whoever the maker of that shadow was to announce her presence.

Sure enough, she had only been there for a short while when she heard her name spoken by a familiar voice. Her stub of a tail wagged as she met him halfway when he approached her. All the pain in her joints was forgotten as she greeted her mate. His neck was draped over hers and she nuzzled his shoulder. "I'm sorry I left you again." Even if it wasn't her fault, she had to believe she had been stupid which had led to her being captured. She should have been more careful but she hadn't been.

Argolis & Darkwing

Argolis kept his face pressed against her, his brindled coat blending into the sleeker, white fur of the boxer's. A heavy sigh rattled through his chest, as if releasing all the worry and pain he'd felt at Dixie's disappearance for so many long, agonizing moons.

"You don't have to apologize my love." Argolis defended as he took in a refreshing breath, bringing with it the scents that clung deep into his mate's brindle-patched coat. These scents gave him some clue as to where his mate had been, and one odor in particular made his hackles quiver and threaten to rise. Finally, he pulled away from Dixie so he could meet her eye to eye, "What happened to you? We followed your scent, but.. it had just disappeared in one of the alleys."