About an hour later, Kalil fell onto his side, his chest heaving as he panted like crazy. "I... love you, Kelia..." he said between gasps for air, hearing her panting as well. "I... love you too... Kalil..." she replied and curled up next to him. Kalil smiled warmly at her and heard her breathing get heavier, knowing she'd fallen asleep. "Goodnight Kelia..." he whispered and draped a paw over her, cuddling close to his love as he fell into a deep sleep.

Chapter 9: Homeward Bound and Signs Of A Future

Kalil and Najan spent three days with the Crystal Pack. During those three days, Kalil learned some new survival skills, including the medicinal properties of certain herbs. Najan, due to his instinctual puppyish nature, did nothing but play around with other pups in the pack. Kalil also taught Kelia about everything he knew of fighting, survivability, and navigation. The two grew so close to each other, Kalil thought of not returning home at all. Why do we need to go home? Kalil thought one night, I love Kelia and she loves me. Najan likes it here as well. We're welcomed here and if we don't go home, we won't have to face Tychon if he tries to kill us again. Then he heard Najan talking to the other pups of their home and how he missed it and Kalil knew they'd have to go. Kalil savored the last three days he had with Kelia and she did as well. On their last night together, they made love one last time under the star-filled sky. Then, sadly, the day came where Kalil and Najan had to depart.

As the sun rose over the horizon, filling the forest with light, Kalil, Najan, Kelia, and Bacar stood at the northern border of the Crystal Pack's lands. Kalil looked towards the north, the wind tossing his grey and white pelt in the air. He heaved a sigh and looked back at Kelia, who had tears in her eyes. "You shouldn't have to go," she said and nuzzled him, "I love you..." "I love you too..." Kalil replied and closed his eyes, holding back the tears he knew were coming soon. Bacar looked at the two of them and sighed sadly. Bacar, you have a choice to make now, he thought and looked at his paws, Let your little girl go... or risk breaking her heart... Bacar closed his eyes, wishing that his mate, Kelia's mother was still alive. "Let her go, Bacar..." he heard his mate say in his head. He quickly opened his eyes and knew she was right. Kalil kissed her one last time and looked at Najan. "Come on Najan," he said, his voice shaking a bit, tears beginning to run down his face, "Let's go home..."

As Kelia watched Kalil and Najan begin to disappear from sight, she felt like dying. Her first and only love was walking out of her life for good. Kelia began to sob uncontrollably and Bacar looked at her and sighed. He lifted her face up with his paw and licked the tears from her face. "Go Kelia..." he said and smiled warmly at her. Kelia looked up at her father, confusion in her teary eyes. "W-what?" Kelia asked and Bacar nuzzled her fatherly. "Go to him, Kelia. There is nothing left for you here," he said softly, "It's clear you two love each other very much... You belong by his side. Go Kelia... You have my full approval..." Kelia smiled at her father and nuzzled him back. "But who will take over after you?" she asked and Bacar chuckled. "I'm sure Glyan would make a great Alpha... Go now Kelia, before you lose him forever..." Kelia nuzzled her father one last time and beamed at him. "Thanks Daddy... I love you and I'll never forget about what you did for me!" She turned and ran off after Kalil, running towards her new life.

Kalil sighed sadly as he wiped the tears from his eyes, not wanting to seem upset or weak in front of Najan. He missed Kelia dearly, even though he'd only gone five minutes without her. I'll never forget about you Kelia... he thought and kept on walking. Suddenly a voice rang out behind him that made his heart soar. "Kalil!" he heard Kelia cry out and turned around quickly to see her running up to him, a huge smile on her face. "Kelia? What are you-" he started, but was cut off when she tackled him and pinned him to the ground, kissing him passionately. "My Dad said I can go with you, if that's alright," she said after they finally pulled apart. Kalil beamed up at her. "Of course that's alright!" he said happily and kissed her back, "But I think I'll need you to let me get to my feet if we wanna get home!" Kelia climbed off of him and he got to his feet. "Alright," he said, smiling at Kelia and Najan, "Let's go home!"

50 miles to go! Kalil thought happily as he set up a pile of soft brush in the corner of a den he'd found. It had grown dark out by now and the three were settling down for the night. Kalil had already made a small bed out of brush for Najan and his little brother was fast asleep. "Done!" Kalil said proudly as he finished setting up the bed for Kelia and himself. Kelia lay down on the bed and sighed contently. "It's perfect. Thanks Kalil, but I would have helped you," she said and smiled at him. Kalil smiled back and lay down next to her, curling his body around hers. "Thanks for your offer, but I'm capable," he said and licked her cheek. She lay her head down on their bedding and looked up at him. "How much further until we reach your home now?" "About 50 miles," Kalil answered and lay his head down as well, "Goodnight Kelia." "Goodnight Kalil. I love you..." "I love you too..." Soon, they were all asleep.

In her dream, Kelia was sitting next to Kalil, watching the stars in the nighttime sky. "I love you Kelia..." he whispered and kissed her cheek. "I love you Kalil..." she whispered back, then felt a sharp pain run through her stomach and a wave of nausea overtook her. The next thing she knew, everything went black. Kelia awoke, huffing and puffing. Outside, the sun had just begun to rise. Kalil was gone, but Najan continued t sleep peacefully. He probably went to go get some food, she thought, then suddenly felt dizzy. She lay back down and closed her eyes, trying to get back to sleep. Then Kelia felt a sharp pain in her stomach and supressed a groan. What was that? she thought, suddenly feeling violently ill, Was it something I ate yesterday? Suddenly Kalil came back in, dragging in a deer corpse. "Breakfast!" he announced happily and noticed Kelia had an expression of pain on her face, "Kelia, what's wrong?" "Nothing to worry about Kalil," she said, still feeling like she was going to throw up, "Just a stomach ache. I don't think I can eat though... I'm sorry..." Kalil walked over to her and nuzzled her gently. "It's alright, we'll wait until you feel better to keep moving... Just feel better soon, alright Kelia?" Kelia just nodded, hoping the pain would subside eventually.

By noon, Kelia was feeling much better and had managed to eat something, despite her earlier objections. They managed to cover half their remaining distance to the Sanarin lands before night fell onto the world. However, all the way, Kalil worried about Kelia and wondered what had been ailing her that morning, but put it aside, assuring himself that she was right and it was just something she'd eaten. Once more, they set up dens for the night and Najan was the first asleep. Kelia lay down beside Kalil and licked his nose, smiling up at him. "Sleep well Kalil," she whispered and lay her head down. "You're alright now Kelia?" Kalil asked her before he lay his head down. Kelia sighed and smiled to herself. "Yes Kalil, for the thirtieth time today, I'm fine now. Let's go to sleep so we can reach your home by tomorrow," she answered and fell asleep. Kalil knew she was right, as usual, and fell asleep, but not before hoping that she'd be fine throughout the night.

Kelia woke up the next morning to another wave of sickness and nausea. What's wrong with me? she thought and looked over at Kalil, who was still sound asleep. She tried to just forget about the sickness in her stomach, but was reminded when another wave of nausea hit and a sharp pain shot through her belly. She cried out in pain and winced when she'd realized she had woken Kalil. Kalil, immediately fearing an attack, leapt to his feet and scanned the den for any signs of trouble, but lay back down when he saw no one but them. "Kelia, are you alright?" he asked, more worried about his mate now than ever, "This is the second day in a row you've felt sick. I'm worried about you..." Kelia winced again, this time in pain and nodded at Kalil. "I-I'm fine..." she lied, not wanting to worry him, "I think I just pulled a muscle or something..."Kalil nodded and licked her muzzle. "I'm gonna go get some breakfast. Be right back," he said and walked off to go hunting.

As were the other day's events, Kelia refused to eat anything until around noon, when her sickness mysteriously passed completely. They traveled another 25