Ailith is oblivious to her friend, the key to a past locked away within her mind and a helping paw to lead her out of the endless maze of insanity she had gotten lost within, is so close by. Long ago her memories and the burning hope of escape or rescue had dwindled to nothing, her mind too clouded to think upon anything but the now, of anything other than her new puppies and finding the only constant she could think of in Mars. There always stood the possibility, that when Sleekwing manifested before her like a ghost, her mind may have been broken beyond repair, beyond remembering who he was or anything from before her imprisonment. If that were the case, there would be no hope in saving her, for their was no herb or medicine strong enough to heal the sickness of the mind. And like any mad dog, putting her out of her suffering would be the kindest course of action, release her from the torture of her own mind to find peace in the after life and finally face whatever judgment awaited her for her sins and her repentance.

Her pacing does not cease in it's frantic nature, inaudible, mumbled words spewing quietly from her lips like a broken record over and over again. Every once in a while her head gives a shake, as if trying to shake out the panic and other bad things that plagued her mind. The mother pays little mind to her children's antic's, Eto's almost playful imitation of her mother's pacing and Pilluk's war upon a stray branch that had been carried down by the water. For the pups, this is the only thing they have known, the behavior becoming normal and the impression it left upon them surely warping their young minds. Eto's howl sparks one from her brother, who attempts to imitate his sister with a stick firmly lodged in his mouth. The noise causes a whine to break from Ailith's lips as she stops, forepaw pawing at her head as if she is desperately trying to stop the sound as it echoes within her own mind. It has left her distracted when the grey male slips out of the darkness and breaks the noise in her mind with his soft call. "Ailith."

Surprise at the sudden presence of another has her spinning on her heals to face the stranger, instinct pushing her body between the other and her pups. A snarl ripples from her chest, hackles bristling and ivory daggers exposed as her eyes are filled with an almost feral look, raw agression and emotion created by Mars's torture left behind a damn that was about to break. This was not the Ailith he knew, nor the assassin from the tundra, this was a completely different she wolf. She hears Pilluk snarl behind her and it draws her mind back far enough from the darkness that urges it to act without thought. Her blue eyes blink, clearing slightly as a sudden realization washes over her. It is slow, her mind seeming to scream in pain as it is forced to remember the face standing before her, everything washing back like a flash flood. Her aggression slowly dissipating and being replaced by a look of horror and disbelief. Instead of rushing to him like he might hope, she takes several steps back from her old friend, her head shaking as she stares at him almost in fear. "No. You're not real. You're not him. No," she stutters out, her mind refusing to believe what was right in front of her, refusing to release her. "Stop!" she cries out, trying to paw at her head again, to try and get herself to stop seeing this painful image, for surely he could not be there standing before her.

The sound of small paws charging towards her snaps her attention down to Qallupilluk charging at the older male, stick in his jaws as he growls. Striking quick like a serpent, Ailith clutches him in her jaws, pinning him on his back as her teeth pinch his skin and she releases a low warning growl to the boy. The pup whines and squirms, trying to free himself and only allowed to do so when she is sure he has understood what he had done wrong, his way of learning and understanding far different than any normal pup. He stalks off, grumbling with his stick still in his mouth, flopping down and beginning to naw on it intently. But what he would never realize is that he has offered his mother a moment of clarity, a moment to realize that they saw Sleekwing too, that he wasn't a figment of her imagination, a ghost sent by her mind to torture her more. The moment of realization forcing the most heart wrenching whine from her lips as her head shoots up to look at him again. "Sleekwing," she says quietly. She remembered him. She knew he was real. He had come for her.

She limps over to him quickly, her thick fur unable to hide her protruding ribs from undernourishment: feeding her pups and finding Mars and Geier had taken priority to feeding herself. Somewhere on the way, tears begin to stream down her cheeks. She buries her face into his fur, if she had any of her old strength, she may have knocked him over with the force. Her breathing as increased, and with each exhale a whine is released of overwhelming joy, sadness, and pain. She nuzzles herself into him, as if still not believing he is real, that he might vanish before her very eyes. "I have missed you. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry....." she says into his fur, apologizing repeatedly for everything because everything felt like her fault. If it weren't evident of her mental break before, her change in speech would have given it away, Mars having even managed to take away her unique way of speaking. She pulls away to look at him, blue eyes empty and broken though there is a small smile on her face, for she does not know about the fate of Spirane, or her dear sister Natu. When she does learn of these things, it will more than likely break her into even smaller pieces.