A single ear tilted towards one of the piles off to the side, catching the barest sound of shifting leaves even as garnet eyes scanned over the area. Steadily does he survey his surroundings, though his tail picks up pace in its waving, and he can feel the trembling excitement with which his favorite companion always greeted the world building within himself. It threatened to take hold of his own immense body if he were not to come in contact with her delighted wiggles soon. For he knows she is close at hand, that mere moments separate him from their reunion. And then he hears it, her laughter, and it is music to his ears. He is drawn in, his head lowering slightly as he seeks her, moving towards a rather suspicious pile of leaves that rustles once more. The barest lines of a smile hint at the edges of his muzzle, and any who know him well would know this is a certain sign of his happiness. Ever closer he moves, deft paws carrying him slower so as to refrain from thrusting himself headlong into the pile of leaves that he is certain conceals his favorite companion. Finally he reaches the haphazard, trembling pile of leaves, and his nose hangs just above her as he seeks those pale green eyes amongst the deadened browns of autumn. The scent of her floods his nostrils, and at the last moment their eyes meet, hers cloaked in leaves, but as brilliant as ever.

Suddenly leaves explode in every direction, flying up above his head and then raining back down upon him as her petite form launches directly towards him. In this moment he does not feel the need to contain himself, infected with her joy and laughter, and perhaps the widest grin he has ever worn breaks his maw. It is an expression that perhaps looks strange upon his darkened features, as the stark contrast of brilliant white teeth is given way to. As her forelegs come to enfold themselves around his neck he takes a step back and tumbles beneath the force of her excitement. Quickly he collapses onto his side, allowing her to push him down without so much as a second thought. Her limbs are still wrapped around his neck and she is strewn across his shoulder and side as he rolls so that he can better see her face. And then a sound erupts from him, one that he does not make often and surely never so robustly as he does now. Laughter, a deep and thunderous roar of amusement and joyfulness. For never before had he so willingly taken a hit, gone down without a fight - but with her it is different. It is special in a way he cannot hope to ever give words to.

"Yes, you did," he chuckled as the laughter eased from his voice. From this vantage he is unable to press his nose to the top of her head, as so oft he'd done before, and so instead he reached up to her and touched his nose to the soft cream fur under her jaw, before withdrawing to seek eyes of pale green filled with mirth. Reaching out with his free foreleg, he scraped at the nearby collection of leaves and thrust them towards the sky, joining in the play that she had arranged, but unwilling to remove her from her position of power over him. As the leaves rained down over them both he smiled up at her. "I have missed you," he confessed, though it went so much deeper than that. He felt complete again with her in his company once more, and he never wanted that to change.