This was it, wasn't it? This was the place where his mother had lived before Imperium, and the place she returned to after its crumble. This was where she died- at least somewhere in there. And now a pack lived here. He wasn't sure where, though. His mother had described a large tree with a hollow right by the lake. That's where she had lived. That's where she died.

He had found her once. Her body was a little old, but not all together ruined. Enough of her markings remained and enough of her scent under the rotten stench of decaying flesh to confirm it was her. Ashmedai felt like he was dying that day. He felt like he had lost every connection he had ever had. He felt so angry and sad. He wanted to kill something. He wanted to go back to the siege and destroy someone.

He had left again, after a short burial filled with sobs and gagging as he tried to bury his mother. He wanted to come back. He wanted to see her again. Then, there was this pack. Ashmedai stared intently at its borders. He thought about just going in. Maybe he could slip in and out and no one would notice.

Or maybe he'd get caught then he'd never see his mother.

Ashmedai stood, trying to decide if he wanted to call someone, or just leave the pack and his mother's grave. He just really didn't know what to do.

Faite was growing more and more restless with each passing day. Fortune was gone, missing without a word said to her, and that only piled on to her worry about Miach and Kane. She still hadn't managed to track down either of their scents either. She was reluctant to spend time away from the pack. Regulus' news about the north hadn't been forgotten and she wasn't keen on leaving. What if he came back with news? Then there was a new thought? What if he didn't come back at all? What if things had gone sour? What if he'd been too injured to come home? What if he was dead? The thought made her sick to her stomach so she shoved it away. Regulus was more than capable of taking care of himself. That thought alone reassured her as she padded slowly along the border. She was stressed out since she'd found Aldric's bloodied and broken body in the cavern that him and Jewell had been exploring in. It made her reluctant to let Jewell leave the pack lands to go anywhere. The girl somehow managed to find all the trouble in the world. She was still convinced the kid was going to give her more gray hairs by the time she was six. The scent of a loner caught her attention and she padded towards the scent. A large slate colored male sat at the edge of the border but he seemed a bit preoccupied about something. Maybe he was looking for someone? She padded towards him and her tail waved softly behind her before she stopped a few feet away. "Can I help you with something?" Walk, "Talk" Think

Ashmedai sat for what seemed like an eternity. He went back and forth between wanting to barge into the pack and leaving. Eventually, however, a voice reached him.

Ashmedai turned to see a white and reddish wolf with a necklace. By scent, Ash guessed she was the alpha. Were all alphas into looking strange or wearing accessories? Ashmedai wasn't sure. It didn't really matter. She asked if she could help him somehow. Ash wasn't sure what to say really. Could she?

"Well, you see," Ashmedai started slowly, "It's kind of an odd situation. My mother..." Ashmedai trailed off. How should he say it? "My mother is- uh- in your pack and I kind of wanted to see her is all."

Ears flicked forward curiously as the male began to speak. He seemed a little confusing at first. It was almost like he wasn't quite sure how to explain his presence at the borders. To her surprise though he revealed that he was here to visit his mother. Oh that was wonderful! Her nose twitched as she tried to see if she could guess who his mother was, though she didn't recognize his scent. Then of course the only female old enough that she could think of was Stardust. Did she have any children she didn't know about? It was hard to imagine a wolf that large coming out of a wolf as tiny as her. She didn't give it too much thought though. "Oh that's great! I can call her here if you'd like? I'm sure she'd be happy to see you." She was oblivious to the fact that something might have been amiss about it. He was here to visit his mother. How could she even know that he meant a wolf buried within the borders. Either way a smile crept to her face as she waited for his answer. She wouldn't be the one to keep a son from his mother and vice versa. Walk, "Talk" Think

The alphaess accepted his reason readily and seemed pretty thrilled at the fact. Ashmedai groaned inwardly. He was scared of this too, of course, but he was also scared of trying to explain any of it anyway, so it wasn't an easy decision. The woman offered to call her here and Ashmedai knew he would have to say something.

"That's- Not necessary, actually," Ashmedai tried to stop her quickly before she howled. He rose to his feet now, glancing around nervously. How to explain...

"What... do you think happens after someone dies?" Ashmedai paused for a moment to let his question sink in, also waiting in case the other wanted to answer.

"You see, I'm not totally sure what happens, so when I say I want to visit my mother, it's really that I want to visit- uh- well... The last place she was before- you know." Ash hinted as heavily as he could, but he wanted to be sure, "Her physical self, her body- or- rather- where it's buried... in your pack."

Confusion settled in as he insisted it wasn't necessary. Didn't he want to see his mother? Then the topic change left her slightly baffled as he questioned her as to what she believed happened when wolves died. What did happened when they died? It was something she never really thought about. Ever since the death of her parents she'd tried not to dwell on it. It brought back feelings that were just downright depressing after all. Now she was curious though. Past being buried, was there some place that souls went to watch over the mortal plane. He'd certainly raised a good question for her to think about later. And then there was embarrassment as he continued. Oh god, his mother was buried here. Well at least she wasn't the only one feeling awkward about it. Of course now she felt guilty. Had she still laid claim to the dancefloor they wouldn't be having this conversation and he could have been visiting his mother's grave by now without interruption. Now what could she do to fix this problem? She didn't know him, at all, but she also didn't want to be that dick who told him no either. "Well I'm not going to keep you from visiting your mother, but I obviously can't just having you wander in by yourself so if you don't mind some company you're welcome within the borders." Walk, "Talk" Think

After the moment of awkward silence passed, the alphaess spoke up. She said she'd let him in to see his mother if he didn't mind some company. Ashmedai shrugged, "You can call some others here if you want. I am kind of a big guy, so you don't gotta trust me at all." Ashmedai stood and came a little closer to the woman, his body language remaining relaxed, if not politely submissive.

"I am just here to see my mother. She's near a lake next to a big tree where the base is hollowed out some. I can usually find it if I wander a while, but I figure you'd know it better than me."

Faite studied the man for a brief moment as she tried to force the awkwardness down about the whole conversation. Ears flicked idly as he made the comment that he was a big guy. She took a second to size him up before shrugging it off. He'd been nothing but relaxed, other than the weirdness of having to explain that his mother was dead, and his presence didn't bother her or set off any warning signals. She imagined a party of wolves coming along to visit his mother's grave wouldn't have been appreciated and would make things weirder than they already were. "I like to give others the benefit of believing they're trustworthy until they prove otherwise. Besides, I'm small, but I bet I could take you." She said with a soft grin. She listened intently as he explained the place where she was buried and surprisingly enough it was a place she recognized. "I know where it is, follow me." She said with a flick of her tail. She set off at a trot towards the lake and didn't slow until she neared its edge. From there it was easy to follow the bank until she found the hollowed out tree he'd spoken of. "Well here it is, did you want a moment alone?" She questioned him curiously. Walk, "Talk" Think

The alphaess said she liked to believe others were trustworthy. Ashmedai dipped his head sheepishly, "That sounds like a dangerous stance to take." On any other day, he could have easily been that untrustworthy wolf.

"Besides, I'm small, but I bet I could take you," Faite said. Ashmedai chuckled softly, "I bet you could." He was serious, who knew what this woman could do.

He followed the woman as she led him through her pack. His gaze meandered around almost lazily. It was a little awkward. He didn't get the secrecy in most packs, and he had been in this area before, but somehow it felt a little different now that it was marred by other wolves' scents.

They were there. Ashemdai recognized the place. Faite asked if he wanted wanted a moment, and Ash nodded softly, "Please. I'll tell you when I'm done."

Ashmedai walked up to the place his mother had been buried. He suddenly wasn't sure what to do. His mouth became a little dry. No one was even around, so why was he even nervous?

"Hey- uh- so I guess you probably aren't listening, but what's new?" He started with a coarse joke, laughing breathlessly to himself. "I guess I just kind of ended up here and thought about you. I'd say nothing's changed, but everything had. There's no more pack, but you knew that. I haven't found one yet. I thought about starting my own, but- I mean- I'm not Dad."

Ashmedai glanced around. He still didn't know what to say or what he was expecting. Did he even need to talk to himself out loud? He rolled back on his haunches as he spoke.

"I mean, this is a pack now and their leader let me in, which was nice. You'd probably be angry that I even asked to be let in instead of just coming in, but you always thought this place was your kingdom anyway."

That reminded him of something, "By the way, did you know if dad was a god by chance? I met some strange wolves, and it kind of makes sense, as crazy as it seems."

This was terribly awkward, but it felt good to talk to someone familiar, even if that someone was dead. He imagined she was listening more now than she did when she was alive. It was kind of ironic that way.

"I wish I could find Angel, or Eva, or Chaos... or anyone- well, except Rhythm or her pups. I'd rather never see them again. You felt the same way, didn't you?"

Ashmedai waited a while before continuing, "Well, either way, I was just kind of here. I feel pretty lost without Imperium or you or Dad, but I also feel kind of free. I don't think I want to join any of these packs, but I wonder if maybe some of them would enlist my help like we did for Abaven that time."

The man shrugged. He should ask Faite if they needed help, he decided.

"Well, I'm sure you're quite done with me interrupting your sleep, so I'll leave now. Besides, I don't like the way being in an unfamiliar pack feels. I- uh- guess I'll visit you again or you'll be watching me or something. Sorry I ran away and sorry you died alone. I hope you didn't miss me. I hope you were- like- experiencing life and having fun before you got sick. But also... I kind of hope you thought about me just for a moment before... you know. I don't think we said it a lot, but... I really do- did?- do love you."

Ash felt all sad now. That didn't make him feel better at all! Ashmedai stood and shook his fur, turning from the place, "Bye Mom. Rest well, okay? One of us needs to."

Coming back to Faine, Ashemdai did his best to throw on a loose smirk, "She didn't have much to say- which is kind of a relief," he joked, though his smile didn't quite reach his eyes. "Anyways, thanks for everything. I owe you. If there anything I could do for you or your pack to- uh- pay you back? Just as a little thanks?"