Spirit Animals fandom! I am so sad there are not more stories here, but I will add this one! :) However, while I am planning on adding a second (and possibly third) chapter, I do not know what direction to go in. I'm going to try to put a poll on my profile to vote, but on the chance the poll doesn't work, you can cast your vote in the reviews. The options are; Happy/Celebration, Hurt/Comfort, or have three chapters and do both. please let me know what you think. I pinky promise that the next chapter will be up by the 24th, unless I get no votes. Sorry for the long author's note, I hope you enjoy the first chapter!

-owl

Conor was thrilled to see his family at Greenhaven when they disembarked the ship. Amid joyous cries of 'four fallen,' Conor launched himself at his family. He was pulled into their arms, his mother, father, and brothers. Oh, how he had missed them! Being away from them while in Devon's service was one thing, but going traipsing across the world with the Greencloaks was entirely different.

Conor's mother wore a look of pure relief. His brothers had matching looks of pride, and his father's face was a mix of the two. For a long moment, Conor was held too tightly to speak, and he allowed himself to revel in the feeling. Then there was the feeling of a dog rubbing against his legs, and Conor looked down to see Bandit, a gray, almost wolf-looking sheepdog. The dog he had raised from puppy-hood.

Behind him, Conor could hear Abeke and Rollan greet their families. Rollan called out to them and he turned to see Abeke joining Rollan.

"Come with me," Conor suggested to his family, pulling himself out of the hug and leading them to Rollan and Abeke.

Then they called Meilin to them as well, and were one big, happy, grinning, group. Rollan, Conor, Abeke, and Meilin, happy to be together with each other and their families. Conor did feel bad for Meilin, not having her father there to celebrate with her.

The group was broken up when Bandit scrambled away from them and launched himself at a squirrel on a Greencloak's shoulder. Conor jumped away to catch him before anyone could get hurt.

If he returned to see Rollan chortling and pointing at him, who cared?

Nearly three hours later, after the feast in celebration of the end of the war, Conor led his parents and brothers to the rooms Olvan had told him were set aside for them. They were a pair of rooms near the base of the tower where the four fallen kept their own rooms. Abeke's father and sister, and Rollan's mother were also given rooms in the vicinity.

For now, his family was catching up, sitting in his parents' room. His mother and father sat on the edge of their bed, and Wallace and Garrin sat on the trunk at the end of the bed. Conor stood closer to the door, his back to the wall. Bandit sat on the floor, next to the trunk where the boys sat. Evening light streamed through the window, highlighting the dust motes.

"Would you like to meet him?" Conor asked, lifting his arm slightly, showing the tattoo. "I know you saw him in Turnswick, and Mom saw him when she helped us escape, but—"

"Yes," Wallace and Garrin answered simultaneously.

Conor nodded and called to Briggan. In a blinding flash, the tattoo disappeared from his arm and the large wolf appeared next to him. Conor smiled and ruffled the fur on Briggan's head. "Briggan," he said. "This is my family. Mom and Dad and my brothers, Wallace and Garrin."

Briggan padded forward and sniffed each person in turn. Briggan nodded his head to Conor's mother, and playfully nudged his brothers. Bandit didn't seem to be a big fan of the wolf, and backed up from Briggan. With him moving around, the room was suddenly smaller than Conor had thought. Then the great wolf huffed and laid down on the floor at his feet. His family watched the beast in awe.

"He's huge," Wallace said, no trace of his joking demeanor in his voice as he patted Bandit's head comfortingly.

Conor laughed. "You should have seen him when I wore the Slate Elephant, he nearly doubled in size."

His father gave him a confused look. "Slate Elephant?" he asked.

"Dinish's talisman, letting the spirit animal of whoever is wearing it grow in size," Conor explained. "We had been searching all over Erdas for the talismans of the Great Beasts to stop the Devourer."

"Where have you traveled?" Garrin asked.

"Everywhere!" Conor said. "We journeyed to Eura, Zhong, Nilo, Amaya, the Hundred Isles, Arctica, and Stetriol."

"That must have been a difficult journey for you," his mother said, worry in her tone.

Conor shrugged as he sat down, leaning against Briggan. "After the first small journey, we were expecting it. We journeyed to Northern Amaya to find Arax the ram. It was a journey that was made more difficult by the weather he was changing. Then, when we found him — Tarik, Barlow, Monte, Rollan, Meilin, and myself — the Conquerors arrived too. There was a large fight, but we returned with Abeke and the Granite Ram."

The rest of the evening was spent by Conor telling about the journeys he had been on. As soon as Briggan rested his head on his paws, Bandit copied him and fell asleep. Conor was getting more and more tired as he spoke, it had been a long day. When he was halfway through explaining the quest for Cabaro's talisman, Conor drifted off to sleep, his head on Briggan's back.

His mother sighed happily and approached him, pulling his green cloak tighter around him. When she drew near, Briggan raised his head from his paws to watch her. Their eyes met and when she looked away, Briggan returned his head to his paws.

Garrin looked at his younger brother, snoring softly against his spirit animal. "He's really strong for not even being twelve."

Their father nodded. "I'm very proud of him."

As they watched him, Conor shifted in his sleep, curling into Briggan more. The wolf raised his head again and licked the boy's face once before glancing around the room and lowering his head onto his paws.

Their father nodded but before anyone could comment, Briggan lifted his head, staring at the door. Then there was a soft but urgent knock on it. As he was the closest, Garrin stood up and opened the door.