The rumble of a truck grew louder as it approached the house. A haze of gravel dust billowed up above the trees, signaling the approach of a vehicle; once which Timber knew by heart. He sprung down from the porch with his ears perked up and tail quivering with aprehensive excitement.

Sure enough, it was his masters' truck, bumping down the long driveway before it came to a stop in front of the house. John was the first to get out, sporting a brace on one ankle that hardly hindered his mobility. Although his face was solemn and troubled, there was an instant smile when he saw Timber race his way. The collie whimpered plantively, swishing his tail madly and pawing at the ground as he licked at John's face, which had been brought down to the dog's level.

Next Martha eased out of the passenger side, wearing a cast one one ankle and a brace on the other. Manuevering her crutches, she began to head for the house, but paused once to greet Timber and give him a pat on the head.

Timber followed after his masters, tail still going a mile a minute. He stopped at the door as they entered the house, then turned and gave a short bark, calling to the others.

Rihanne heard the familiar sound of the truck, and almost didn't believe it. Heaving herself up from the little bed Martha had given her, she trotted slowly out onto the porch, determined to show herself that she was just wishing. But shapes came out of the car and the wind shifted, bringing a beloved, well-known scent to her. MARTHA!

She leapt off the porch and came barrelling toward Martha, stopping short. The way her weight had dropped, she probably couldn't have knocked Martha over, but she didn't want to hurt her. She followed them into the house, smiling a huge puppy smile and tail wagging like mad, she hopped back and forth from John to Martha and back, ecstatic.

Tahmores heard the call for gathering and came onto the porch slowly and stood in the doorway, the large bulk that was Elder Brother on his left side. His smile was quiet but his eyes were bright as he spoke. Ah now. They've not been half so cheerful as long as you've been gone. Welcome home.

The silver huntress had left for her once home only a few days before hand. Being that the pack was so close to the ranch, she was sometimes able to pick up scents if the wind was in favor of her for the day. On the first visit since her departure, she had discovered a few strange occurances, coming all from a strange brute her father seemed to know. There had been an exchange of furious words, started by her mother. And of course, there was taunting from the brute whom she did not know. It would seem Bane knew him somewhat although she was not quite sure. Her mind wandere on such thoughts as this while she pdede back to the ranch, her current home. It had been incredibly lonely latly, for the absense of the humans was brining moral down for all. However today the sounds that came were cheerful, and Timbers barks seemed to bring on a joyous occasion. the huntress had expected to come back to a humanless home, but to her surprise the scent of Martha and John flooded her nostrils and her pace quickened increadibly. Soon she found her gate strong and her barks back to Timber loud as well. The scent of gasoline was on the air from the truck, and with that mixed with the sweet scent of the humans. A smile formed after each bark, and as she stopped a cloud of dust seemed to flood about her from her abrupt change in speed. Her harks were perked, and her orbs were wide and excited. Salmon tongue hung from her jaws as she looked up at Timber, not saying a word for her expression would say enough.

Martha greeted Rihanne with a bright smile and a vigorous scratch behind her ears, "Oh, Rihanne, I was so worried for you!" The woman crooned, balancing with her crutches as she stooped to pet the dog. She and John had both feared for their surviving pets, and wondered if a retaliation would happen before they got home. But it seemed that that had not happened, thankfully.

John's smile grew a bit wider, but was still faultered by the knowledge that his father would never be coming home. Still, like his mother, he was relieved to see that many of the pets were still here. "You all deserve something for your heroism. Mom, lets grill out tonight... steaks for the dogs. Maybe some wild mushrooms for us."

Martha laughed lightly, the enthusiastic greetings elating her attitude which would have other wise crumpled with despair and heartache. She looked to Tahmores and her smile widened, "I can't thank you enough for looking after them."

John looked to Tahmores as well and gave a nod, "You wanna come mushroom hunting with me? There ought to be gobs of them out there with this warm weather. They'd make a great dinner tonight, too." Apart from wanting to distract himself from the sorrow of his father's death, John wanted to do something for Tahmores; though he wasn't sure if he liked to hunt mushrooms or not.

Timber's tail was still going as he looked from Rihanne to Artemis, "Today is a good day! And it sounds like John is going out to look for mushrooms!" The collie said with excitement. He knew that spring was the time when his youngest master went out searching for a particular type of mushroom, and he had learned to assosciate the human's words 'mushroom' and 'hunting' for this activity. "I'm not sure why he finds them good to eat, but it's always fun to tag along. Want to come?" He asked, looking from Artemis, then to Rihanne and Elder Brother.

Hearing the commotion, the hybrid sauntered from the nearby woods, looking curiously to the gathering. For a moment he stood, until he recognized it was Martha and John who had returned. Then he sprinted into the yard and sprun onto the deck in one swift leap. "A good day indeed." Aidan replied, arriving in time to hear Timber's words.

Rihanne panted up at Martha, and hopped over to John, nuzzling the uninjured leg to let him know that she was glad that he was home, too. Then she settled at Martha's feet, tail all a-twitter.

Tahmores smiled softly, waving Martha's words away with a hand. I have done what I had to do, Martha. You helped me once, and saved my life. I have not begun to repay that debt. And he turned to John. Oh yes. I am quite fond of mushrooms. If we are lucky, I can find some rosemary and early strawberry, and I will show you how we made them back home. Then you can show me how you make them. I do not know if I have ever told you, but my father had a marvelous cook, Berta. She taught me all I know. I like to learn new things to cook.

Elder Brother smiled at Timber, glad to see everyone better. That sounds like fun. I haven't been hunting for mushrooms in ages.

The silver fairy let her smile stick to her features without much effort at all. It was a marvolous day now that Martha and John had returned, and the earth was growing green with new life. It was lovely, absolutly beautiful. Timbers words allowed her ears to twitch, and her dial cocked to the side. "I don't believe I know what a mushroom is...is it meat?" She was about 2 years old, but she retained the pup like innocece and naive nature.

"Ah, strawberries! I almost forgot about them; they'll make an excellent addition to the mushrooms." John added thoughtfully, knowing about most of the edible berries around their land. Still, it was probably scant information to what Tahmores knew. "We can start out by the Cow Pasture, and work out towards the woods from there. I know a few good spots." John offered before headed out that way, moving rather fast for having a brace on.

Timber gave a little grimace, "No, not meat. I guess they're some sort of plant... but yuck!" He exclaimed with a shake of his head, "They taste alright when the Masters cook them, but raw... I wouldn't suggest trying that!" Seeing John leave, Timber turned and sprung after, his head and tail lofted higher than usual in joy.

Martha watched as they began to go, "I'll have supper waiting when you return... oh, wait a minute!" She said, hurrying towards a drawer near the refridgerator and pulled out a few bags, "You'll have a hard time bringing many back without these!"

John spun around and hurried back, a bit embarrassed for forgetting such a simple thing. "Thanks, Mom." He stuffed one in his pocket, then handed one to Tahmores. Once again, he headed for the Cow Pasture.

Tahmores smiled and took a bag from Martha, trotting off behind John with Brother at his heels.

The faes dial cocked to the side, following after the group willingly. Although she was clueless to why one would want to search for something that tasted bitter, it would bring the family back together once more. A smile formed at this thought, and she followed after, orbs constantly looking up to John as she took a springy, trot like pace.