It was a momentous day for Alena as she was being reunited with loved ones she hadn't seen for many moons. When Sheila opened her arms, Alena left the twins and lept forth into another embrace.
"I haven't seen you all in forever!" Alena squealed ecstatically, as she began giggling with joy.
"It really has been a long time hasn't it?" Sheila giggled, "Look how much you've grown!"
The twins gave a joyfully synchronized, "Mm-hmm!" in agreement.
"She's so much taller!" Ania expressed, "But just as cute!" Yonka added.
Alena felt very close to the members of her father's troop as they had spent much time together in recent years. Sheila was like that of a much older sister to Alena, and she couldn't help but to nuzzle her face into uncontrollably.
"Shea-Shea~!"
Alena was over the moon, but it wasn't the end for her reunion, as Ulva too had made an appearance.
"Hiya squirt, remember me?" she greeted.
When Alena stopped nuzzling to get a good view, she giggled. "Hi miss Ulva!" Alena greeted back from Sheila's embrace.
Ulva put on a bold smile, and ruffled Alena's hair, while Alena gave humming giggle of appreciation. Now she had been reunited with everyone from her earlier years.
As Karra walked away from the dojo, she tried to maintain a casual, outward appearance in case she were to be noticed by anyone as she made her way around the corner to the rear training grounds where it would be a bit more quiet. There, behind the dojo, were multiple training dummies where the students were free to practice. Karra was deep in her thoughts as she approached one of the dummies. It was well beaten, showing off quite a bit more use than the others. Karra readied her stance, and took a deep breath as she went in to strike, as a fit of anger sprang from her lips.
Meanwhile, Alena and the others were catching up, rejoicing being united once again. Amongst all the shared smiles and laughter, it was a wholesome site to behold.
Coming out of the dojo, Sem and Kenrir were making their way towards the group, while Elijah remained on the fenceline, flicking his tail contentedly behind them.
"What are you all doing here?" Alena asked with ecstatic curiosity, as she turned her gaze over each of them.
Sheila was the first to give an answer.
"We had some business to attend to near the village, and we all wanted to see you while we were here," she answered.
"That's right, what kind of family friends would we be if we didn't check in on our girl?" Ulva followed up charismatically.
Ania hummed in agreement, "Yeah! We also wanted our sissy time!" she exclaimed joyfully.
"We can't just not come see our baby sis. We would be so heart broken," Yonka added as she wiggled her hips, fawning over Alena with her eyes closed while cupping her hands on her cheeks.
Alena giggled happily. She had such appreciation for everyone as she became filled with a sense of praise.
"Aww! You guys!" she cried with awe.
Alena let go of Sheila, and turned to face the general group.
"I need more hugs!" she joyfully exclaimed.
Hearing her request, Ania, Yonka, Sheila and Ulva all closed in and smothered Alena in their collective embrace. The constant smiles and shared laughter exchanged between them all was pure.
"Sheila, we're about to head out," Sem began to explain.
Sheila rose to her feet, standing at attention. Before she could speak, Sem continued on.
"But," he paused, "after discussing matters with Kenrir, we've decided it's best you stay here with Alena. Someone needs to fill in for Vari while we're away," he explained.
There was a hesitation that came from Sheila, and hearing those words, Alena was thrilled with relief — she would have more time to reconnect with her Shea-Shea, as her face lit up again.
"I understand," Sheila replied, "I'll take care of everything here."
"Good. We're counting on you should anything happen," Sem followed.
Sheila nodded in reassurance, then with that, Malin, Variann, and Ulva turned to attention."
"Alright then, are we all ready?" Sem asked everyone.
The three of them nodded, and as they began to set off, Alena came running along, glomping into her father's side.
"Be careful while you're away," she said to him with a smile so pure. As she hugged him, her eyes had met with his, "And come back soon. We'll be waiting."
Sem grazed his hand across Alena's head, giving her a soft smile with his gentle, fatherly eyes — then set off.
As Alena and the others watched the group leave, Sheila, Ania and Yonka approached her, as they stood by her side.
"Variann, up front!" Kenrir called back toher.
"Yes sir!" she responded, as she joined Kenrir at his side.
The three including Sem were leading the pack.
Ania and Yonka flooded close to Alena, hooking their hand and paw over her shoulders, each with a smile on theirface.
"So now that we've got some time together, what would you like to do?" Ania asked Alena.
"Whatever it is, we're ready," Yonka added, putting on a wink to Alena, as she drew up her index finger next to her winking face, "but let's try to make it something fun!"
Alena felt so blessed to have her extended family by her side.
"Say! I've got an idea," Sheila exclaimed thoughtfully.
Alena and the twins turned to her, curious as to what she had in mind.
In the rear courtyard library, there were three girls rummaging through the shelves. It was quiet in this part of the grounds, as most students had chosen to spend their sudden free day elsewhere. Tika and Maulana however, were more than happy to have the extra time to engross themselves into some musty old books, as they pulled various literatures from the shelves.The other girl in the library was at the opposite side of the room, where she was organizing books and adding others to the collection.
"Oh wow! Look at this Maulana— a fantasy book! Can you even imagine finding such a rare gem such as this here?" Tika exclaimed ecstatically.
"'Fantasy?'" Maulana repeated as she rushed over to see. "But isn't this supposed to be a subject only written by humans?" she looked at the book intently, completely surprised, "How did something like this end up here?" she questioned.
"So you two like those sorts of subjects do you?" the other girl asked from across the room as she worked away, "My family received some of those as symbols of appreciation when completing our initiations. They've been in our family for generations."
"Oh wow! You mean there could still be some human artists out there? That'd be amazing!" Tika exclaimed. Although Tika and Maulana couldn't see her from where they were presently, the young woman shrugged.
"Who knows? Maybe they've been all but wiped out by now. They say the humans appeared on Alosa by chance centuries ago, and it's only by chance that their settlements have lasted for as long as they have," she replied.
Maulana became intrigued, and walked around the aisle over to where the young woman stood. Tika of course, followed Maulana instinctively.
"What do you mean 'by chance?'" Maulana asked.
"Right, would that chance have something to do with us?" Tika asked curiously.
The young woman sharply nodded without looking at them, continuing to stock theshelves.
"That's right, for you see, outside our village, there are those like us who seek to hurt the humans. They commit ghoulish acts, doing terrible things to the humans of our world. In the human realm, however, the beings from our own realm are referred to as 'yokai— beings not of their plane," she explained.
"'Realms?' 'Planes?' What are you talking about?" Maulana inquired.
"More importantly, what do you mean by, 'those like us?' Do you mean—" Tika began to ask.
"It's in our nature. That's what I've heard through my family," she explained.
The two girls were a bit shocked, yet they felt uncertain of the implications— but what else could this young woman mean otherwise? This was a mystery they just had to discover for themselves.