Just after sundown Wakinyan felt something coming, so he left his trailer and walked out onto the plains. As he walked he sensed heavy air currents coming from the west. Whatever it was it had to be huge. Wakinyan decided to stop when he saw a tiny black spot in the sky illuminated by the moon. The speck gradually grew larger and larger until he could tell that it was a bird. Wakinyan thought that it looked like Larue's familiar, Anrok, but he couldn't be sure. He also didn't want to get his hopes up. He hadn't seen Anrok in over a hundred years, just as he hadn't seen his daughter in that time. However, when he heard the bird's screech in the distance, he knew that he had guessed correctly. Wakinyan smiled. Anrok would not leave his partner behind, so he knew that he would be able see his daughter this night. Wakinyan knew that she still harbored a grudge against him on account of her temporary banishment. Whatever brought her here was clearly an act of fate.

Anrok flew closer until he was directly over the spot where Wakinyan stood. He started to fly in lazy circles overhead rather than descend and land. Wakinyan could tell there were three riders on Anrok's back, but from this distance he could only identify one. Larue's mask gave her away. Wakinyan was the one who had helped her hunt down the buck that currently covered her face. He watched her stand on Anrok's back and jump. She landed lightly on the grass in front of him. Larue looked the same as when he had last seen her, except for her hair. He remembered her as having long black dreadlocks; the ends of which she would dip into red paints or powders. Her hair now was stark white. Larue said nothing, nor did she remove her mask.

"Larue, take off the mask," Wakinyan said. "You and I both know it's not necessary."

She hesitated for a moment before bringing her hands up to her face and untying the mask. She let it slip from her hands and fall to the ground. She looked at the ground, keeping her eyes downcast. Wakinyan grew weary. Larue only looked down when she was feeling ashamed or had something to hide. Even her ears were downturned in sadness.

"Look at me," he requested.

She shook her head. "I will not."

This time, he commanded her to look up rather than asked. There was a brief pause before she looked him directly in the eyes. Wakinyan was momentarily taken aback. Her eyes were pitch black and soulless. They held no life or warmth. Her eyelashes and eyebrows were just as bleached as her hair. He knew that this was his child in front of him, but this was a less vibrant and slight wrong version of her. Larue's eyes used to be golden, like two large pools of liquid gold. Her hair used to be black and glossy. In that moment he knew exactly how she had been hiding from him all these years. How she had been keeping herself safe. She was using old magic. Bone magic. When used correctly, it was powerful. The kind that was immune to magic's general decline. However, old magic always came at a price. Bone magic poisoned the body. That's why his child's hair had gone white and her eyes and nails were black. He wouldn't be surprised if Larue was addicted to it. The power that old magic gave her. Wakinyan internally grieved for his child.

"What have you done to yourself?" he questioned.

Larue's empty eyes flashed with anger and her ears pulled up closer to her head. "What I had to."

Anrok gave a cry above them, indicating that he was growing tired. Larue let out a short high pitched wail and Anrok slowly began to descend from the sky. Before he reached the ground, Larue spoke to Wakinyan again.

"I have Mapiya's children. They smell like her, look like her, and bear the mark. She asked me to accompany them here, to meet you," she said. Larue then produced Mapiya's letter from the side of her pants and gave it to Wakinyan. "Read this."

Wakinyan scanned the letter briefly as Anrok got closer to the ground. It was similar to the message that his sister had sent him a few days ago. The only difference was that Mapiya's letter to Larue mentioned Heaven's Gate. He sighed. There was so much to do now, but at least Mapiya's letter had given him clear direction. He was brought back to reality by the heavy thud of Anrok settling on the ground. He turned to Larue while Mapiya's children were still out of earshot.

"We will talk about your condition later," Wakinyan said with finality. Larue nodded.

Wakinyan wanted to pull her into a hug, but he had a feeling that she wouldn't like that. Together they watched the twins climb down from Anrok's back. The boy came first. He reminded Wakinyan of his brother Mahpee. They shared the same height, build, and dark shoulder length hair. It was clear to him that this child was kin. Larue had been correct when she said that he smelled like Mapiya. He even looked like a male version of her in the face. Wakinyan noticed that he was wearing Takoda's jacket. It brought back memories. Takoda had been wearing that jacket when Wakinyan had last seen him in the late 60s. The boy turned to catch the bags his sister threw down before helping her climb to the ground. When she turned to Wakinyan he saw visions of his sister. The same face, the same long silky black hair, the same height. She even wore his sister's jacket. He'd never seen it in person, but Takoda had brought a polaroid of himself and Mapiya when he had visited. The girl gave off much more power than her brother. It rolled off her in waves, making him wonder if Mapiya's gifts had been passed on to her.

"Your going to have to speak to them mentally, the boy is deaf," Larue informed him as the twins walked over.

"What are their names?" he asked.

"The boy is Basil. The girl is Birdie," Larue answered.

Wakinyan shook his head. "My sister is such a hippy."

The pair stopped in front of Wakinyan and Larue. Neither one of them spoke up. They were too busy taking in the massive man that was Larue's father. He toward over Birdie and was even taller than Basil. Birdie thought that he had to be over seven feet. His dark hair was slightly longer than Basil's and hung loose over his shoulders. Wakinyan had a full goatee and thick eyebrows, one of which was bisected by a scar that reached from his forehead to his eye. Birdie thought he looked like that Game of Thrones actor. She thought that Wakinyan could be around 35 or 40. Basil took in Wakinyan's attire. He wore a large black wide brimmed hat, a black thermal shirt, brown pants that looked suspiciously like they were leather, and black hiking boots. At least he now understood where Larue had acquired her proclivity for leatherware.

Wakinyan studied them as they studied him. They both had stormy gray eyes that stood out. He wondered what their father must have looked like in order for them to have those eyes. Wakinyan focused on the boy. He figured that in about five years' time they might be the same height, but for now Basil was a couple inches over six feet. He assumed that Birdie was done growing though. Mapiya had always been the short one of all his siblings. Basil was also giving Larue a look that made Wakinyan frown slightly.

"Basil," Wakinyan said directly into the boy's mind, causing him to jump and look Wakinyan in the eye. Basil had not heard an adult male voice until that moment. Wakinyan's voice was powerful. It reverberated in his mind the same way the bass of music he couldn't hear could shake his body. His voice was low and deep. It rattled Basil's brain like an earthquake.

"Wakinyan," Basil started, his voice deep but hesitant, "Mom has told us about you. It's...um...nice to meet you."

Basil held out his hand, trying to be polite. Rather than grab his hand, Wakinyan grabbed Basil's arm just below the elbow surprising Basil. He caught on quickly though. Basil clasped his hand around Wakinyan's arm so that they were linked. Even at Basil's size he was unable to touch his fingers together around Wakinyan's large forearm. The two men were locked in the warrior's handshake, looking eye to eye. Wakinyan squeezed Basil's forearm before letting go.

"She has told me of you too," Wakinyan said with a nod. The boy was not particularly strong, but at least he was brave enough to lock arms with him in a show of good faith. Basil let out the breath he had been holding. His arm wasn't broken, so he took that as a good sign. Wakinyan turned to the girl next. She looked him directly in the eye and held his gaze with confidence. He figured that she was the true fighter of the two.

"Birdie," he said mentally, giving her a nod. When he reached out he felt the crudely constructed barrier over her mind and brushed it off. Birdie's wide eyes were the only indication that she had heard him, but she quickly recovered and spoke.

"Uncle," she thought, returning his nod. "I suppose Larue was right when she said anything stronger than her could get into my head."

Wakinyan made a "tsk" sound. "I'm the one that taught her how to get into a person's head, of course I can get through such a slipshod barrier."

Birdie rolled her eyes causing Wakinyan to let out a deep rumbling laugh. Her mannerisms were just like his sister's. He assumed that Birdie had just as much attitude. Everything fell quiet for a moment. Larue took the opportunity to let out a low whistle. Anrok squawked in response before taking off to one of his old roosts in the nearby Black Hills.

"Follow me," Wakinyan said to all three with a wave of his hand. The group grabbed their things and started walking in the direction of his trailer.

Birdie spoke up while they walked. "No offense or anything, but you're a lot more chill than Mom said you'd be. She said you might try to kill us for being human or using Thunderbird magic."

"Ha, maybe five hundred years ago," Wakinyan sighed. "We haven't seen each other in a long time. At this point, Mahpee's the one that would probably try to eat you. Time gives perspective. At this point I'm just happy my family is still alive even if we can't see one another."

Larue's ears flattened back at his words. A small scowl crossed her face briefly. Basil saw this and reached out to grab her shoulder.

"What's wrong," he asked, reaching out. Larue shrugged him off and walked faster.

"Nothing," she told him. Basil thought she sounded angry.

Wakinyan's eyes narrowed at their interaction, but he did not address it. He continued to make small talk with Birdie instead.

He stopped when they reached the trailer. Larue looked around in confusion.

"I thought that you lived on the res," she questioned.

"I wanted a change of scenery," Wakinyan said with a shrugged.

Larue laughed lightly, thinking that her father had probably done something stupid like get himself kicked out. Wakinyan gestured to the trailer.

"It's not much, but it's home," he said with a smirk. "I don't have a whole lot of room, but I've got camping equipment."

Larue volunteered to stay outside so that Birdie could take the couch and Basil could sleep on the trailer floor. Basil protested, telling her that he was more than willing to spend the night outside. Larue had waved him off. There were a lot of things that went bump in the night on the planes of the Badlands.