Perhaps he had always known to come back. Maybe there had been more to his return than just a feeling. Or, maybe that feeling had been something more than he had initially thought. Whatever the reason for his return had been, it had sent ripples through his entire life. Seemingly all at once, things just... clicked. Faces he thought he could not recognize in dreams suddenly seemed to make sense; golden, cloaked in black. Eyes like leaves after a storm. Voices that he had heard mumbling in the winds of the far south and north suddenly had a timbre to them. All of it seemed to point right to her and yet, who was she? He had felt recognition in the deepest parts of his bones and yet, names drew a blank. Everything about her had been new and yet, so familiar like his very own paws. He had not been able to understand it and so, he had tried to ignore it for several days after his arrival in Spirane.

Of course, his plans had failed more than miserably. Each time he went to explore his home - to relive what memories he had forgotten - he found himself trailing her scent, leading him in loops around the mountain paths. Each time he went to sleep, he found himself contemplating her sheer existence, questioning where she had been, what she had seen. His ignorance had become more of a burden than his unknowing, and it chewed away at him like a stubborn flea. Finally, he had to give in to it, too restless to continue his futile assignment. After all, he supposed he had to get answers eventually. Perhaps it had all just been in his mind, a trick of his uncertainty projected onto a new - or old - face.

The sun had reached its pinnacle, casting a warm glow down onto the lower fields and stone quarries of Spirane's heights. Spring's depth seemed to intensify beneath its glare, bringing more flowers from their resting place and bringing a peculiar sweetness to the breeze. He had spent much of the morning merely gazing out across the fields, thinking back on what little he could remember from his time there. He remembered, at least, the cold imagery of his father lurking above, always perched over the stones like a crow. For whatever reason, they had never grown close. His mother had been closer and yet, she had always been a lost cause, seemingly drifting in the wind like one of the many valley flowers. He had missed that kind of closeness, even with his brother. That distance had seemingly expanded ceaselessly. Now, he could not fathom ever seeing them again. They were too far gone. Or he was, at least.

Finally, a relinquished sigh broke his silence, sending a ripple of life through his stiff joints as he rose. He had been perched - much like his father had been in the past - atop one of the lower boulder's but now, he slid down from its heights and into the grass and pollen of the mountain's feet. Even if her scent had not been in the wind, he had no doubt he'd just know where to go. Still, he had his caution, even if he had begun to follow it, trekking around the mountain's base and towards where she was (hopefully, at least.) He had no idea what to say, or what to do, but he felt... right going there, at least. That had to count for something, surely.

When he had finally found her, he paused immediately. He stood a solid ten or more feet away still, completely caught off guard despite his prior determination. Now, he had come to be half bent around a corner, paws shifting below him and stuck with a most uncertain facial expression. It had become a rather unusual combination of awe, confusion and perhaps a little sheepish. He had no words to say. Any plans he might have had, had all disappeared. Now, the best he could do would be to merely watch and wait, debating on whether or not to back up, up and away.