There were sounds of stirring from within the den that pricked the dark wolf's ears forward, and it took a bit of effort took keep the grin on her face from seeming too eager. There he was, then, all aflutter with his dark, worried violet eyes at the mouth of the den: Sen. He seemed to recognize her immediately despite three years of growth and maturity. But, then again, Suomi was still Suomi. She was still that little spitfire he would remember, and even the amused, nearly smug expression on her face was just the same as the one she'd worn so often in her adolescence. How could he possibly mistake her -- the greatest pain in the ass niece in the world -- for anyone else?

Suomi greeted him with a growing grin -- careful not to make it too eager -- and a couple, short waves of her black banner high in the air behind her. Her dark gaze lingered over his own for only a moment before he quickly closed the small distance between. She gave a dramatic, embarrassed wince as Sen's tongue grazed her cheek, but she did not retreat as she might have three years ago. Instead, she wondered on those eyes she had just caught a moment before -- violet eyes that had been initially so dull and blank before realizing who was standing at his threshold. They were so unlike the warm, gentle gaze she remembered. Something was off. Something was wrong.

There was a moment of acute sharpness about the way she locked onto Sen's face as he pulled away to look her over. Her dark red cores with their hot flecks of gold all but burned through the surface as she tried to look deeper. But, as quickly as the look had come over her, it vanished when his violet eyes gave a professional scan over her scabbed face. She only gave a mischievous smirk at his narrowed brow. "You should see the other guy," she said unashamedly as Sen whisked back into his den, undoubtedly retrieving his medical kit.

Just as she had predicted earlier in the day, Suomi found her face being smothered in some fragrant plant mud of sorts. It was strong in her sensitive nose, especially so close on her muzzle, and she couldn't help the onslaught of a powerful sneezing fit. She suddenly remember why she hated being dragged off to the healers by Coza after a scuffle or accident. The fumes alone burned her sinuses and made her dizzy, though she never remembered it being quite so strong before. "Ugh!" the dark wolf protested, wrinkling her nose and doing everything in her power to stop herself from scraping it off with a paw. That didn't work; he'd just put more on, anyway.

Face still contorted in discomfort and disgust, Suzy steeled herself against the involuntary shiver of protest that ran down her spine and looked back up to Sen. She was about to make some casual greeting of her own, but Sen's voice broke the silence first -- oddly chipped and gravely. She didn't like the feeling she was getting from him -- not one bit. It was like... Like she had come home to a funeral, or something.

"Well, it is home," Suomi answered his question like it was the most obvious thing ever. "Not like I planned to be gone forever."

Truth be told, the girl had left without any plans whatsoever. It was a spur of the moment thing, happening in the middle of the night while she had been pacing around in a mild anxiety attack. But, Sen didn't need to know that. Nobody did. Far as they were all concerned, she'd just up and gone on an adventure for shits and giggles -- and she was more than okay with that. Nobody needed to worry about all the crap that went on inside her head but her.

"And what's up with you?" She asked with a sudden accusation in her voice. "You sound like you swallowed a mouthful of sand, and, let's face it, you don't look too great, either." There. No more waiting. Time to get right to the point and figure out what had Sen being so... not Sen.