Reunion

(Cedar Woods)

Ryu didn't know how long it had been since he had been to the Cedar Woods, but it brought a small smile to his face when the gentle breeze and rustling of leaves greeted him like an old friend. The young dragon's gaze lowered and he frowned; he wished that this was just a nostalgic visit, but that weretiger on Ogre Road was something he couldn't ignore.

'His eyes… that tail…' The dragon frowned in thought. 'It has to be… but…'

When Ryu and Garr reached the path that led to his old home, a gentle growl stopped them in their tracks.

"You want to go alone?" Garr sensed Ryu's hesitation.

The dragon nodded wordlessly.

"Hmm…" The guardian frowned. "It's my guess that you know something about that tiger…"

"Yeah." Ryu breathed quietly.

"In that case, I'll wait for you here." Garr frowned in thought. "I don't think you'll have any problems, but watch yourself."

Ryu nodded again and nervously walked up the narrow path leading up to his charred home. He was getting close; he felt it. He's here; he has to be. With his resolve growing stronger the louder the distant growls became, the dragon walked up the top of the path and just as he turned the corner a furry figure appeared in his peripheral vision. Ryu's breath caught in his throat.

"Nii-san?"

The woren looked a little different; he was taller, his spiky blond locks were held back by a bandana and his body was thicker – more muscular than Ryu remembered.

"…Ryu? Is that you?" Rei's familiar voice was soothing to the dragon.

"Nii-san…" Ryu felt himself tremble slightly.

"Was that you on …Ogre Road?"

The younger man nodded; his voice not quite functioning.

"Ha… ha ha ha ha! So that was you!? Ha ha ha ha ha!" The woren doubled over with laughter.

Ryu's cheeks warmed lightly.

"Doesn't that beat all? I never imagined I'd get beat by you, Ryu!" Amusement and pride shined in his eyes. "I wasn't holding back at all!"

The dragon just barely absorbed everything that Rei was telling him. He couldn't believe that his big brother was standing right in front of him after all of these years. He had been so distracted with learning about the Brood and with what happened at Angel Tower that he had almost forgotten to miss Rei and Teepo. But now everything was rushing back to him and his emotions paralyzed him.

He only snapped back to reality when he realized that Rei was going to leave.

"But I can't stop! Not until I teach those guys not to mess with me… or my family!" Rei growled angrily and leapt into the foliage.

"Nii-san!" Ryu called after him. "Wait!"

(Dauna Region)

Ryu couldn't help but smile when he thought of traveling with Rei. It was still difficult to wrap his mind around the fact that he had finally found his big brother and he knew that with the current situation that it was inappropriate to be overjoyed, but he had a hard time hiding it. After all, he had been searching for the woren for so long, and now he just had to find Teepo.

He found Rei sitting against the interior of the tent, sharpening his blades, and went to greet him.

"Hey." Ryu started.

"For years, I kept investigating the organization… But I never heard nothing about Teepo…I guess… I guess that means…" Rei's eyes lowered.

"He's not…" The younger man shook his head. "He can't be…"

"I wish…" The woren lowered his knives. "…I could be that optimistic."

Ryu knelt down and grabbed his brother's shoulders. "I never thought, for even a second, that you were dead, and look where we are now."

Their eyes met and Rei smiled gently; maybe he could be an optimist.

"I won't believe it until I find a body or a witness."

"I guess…. we'll just have to ask God about it then, huh?"

Ryu nodded and lowered his eyes. His head shot up again when he felt himself being pulled into Rei's furry chest.

"I've missed you." The woren tightened his large muscled arms around Ryu.

The young dragon adjusted himself accordingly into his brother's fur and returned the hug.

"I've missed you too."

Ryu held his eyes shut, sinking into the woren's fur. The warmth brought back comforting memories of his nights spent curling up into Rei's fur, when he felt safe, when he had found his home.

So the brothers took comfort in each other's embrace and Ryu knew that as long as he had Rei, he had a home.

End of One-shot.