Things had just began to settle down a bit after the challenge, but something still didn't sit quite right with him. The whole thing had torn up Ama and Athena so much and his little sisters weren't really even old enough to understand what had happened and then just the pure fact of watching his brother fighting his uncle... He still couldn't quite grasp how he felt about it all. He had made himself leave the pack lands for a little bit just to clear his head and get away from his family members with all of their swirling emotions so he could figure out his own. The only one that really didn't seem bothered by this whole thing was Leo, which he still couldn't understand either. Or maybe he just wasn't showing it... He had know way of knowing which was true. He let a long sigh out through his nose as he slowly moved through the trees. Being here brought flash backs to the first time he ever met Arivae. At least he had something happy to think about. That memory brought a slight smile to his lips as he walked, passing from the shade of one tree to the next. The summer had just begun and he could already tell. His darker coat absorbed plenty of heat as it was and then with its natural thickness it was awful. He paused under the shade of a tree for a moment, resting down on his haunches. His two-toned gaze glanced through the forest and he was about to get up to keep going when a scent he recognized caught his attention. His ears perked and he quickly looked around, trying to lay eyes on the source of it. She couldn't actually be here, could she? She had been at the challenge, but other than that... He stood, peering through the trees to try and spot her purple form. "Absinthe?" Speak Thought Others

Bacchus had lost the challenge. That wasn't the worst thing in the world, at least in her mind. Her best friend had been taking it rather poorly, moping about whilst he let his injuries recover. The only reason he wasn't running about like usual was the girl herself. She'd commanded that he tone it down until he had healed, and so far he'd been listening. As far as she knew. Her travels brought her back to the east. She wanted to see how the pack was settling in after the challenge, see some old faces if she happened upon them. Part of her longed to see her adoptive family. They had all looked so.. betrayed, when Bacc had called the challenge into being. Ama and Athena had seemed disappointed, even offended. So had her brothers that weren't her brothers. She hadn't caught all of it, she was too focused on the fact that her big sister, her kind-of sort-of real sister had appeared. Sat right next to her. It had been a shock, to say the least. A familiar voice called to her. She glanced up, frowning at the summer foliage. Tiburtius. Well, speak of the devil! Though she had no hopes of sneaking around anywhere, she still lowered her head as she crept closer. There was no telling how he would react to her. He sounded mostly curious, probably wondering if it was actually her. However, when she appeared before him, he might very well go on the offensive. That was no good, not at all. She peered around the thin trunk of a sapling, spotting her not-brother right in front of her. She offered a small, tentative smile. "Hiya, Tibby!" She drawled, trying for chipper. Alabaster toes skimmed slowly across the leaf litter, mismatched eyes watching him inquisitively. It wasn't long before they were face to face, with barely enough room between them for the violet girl to have a head start if she had to turn tail. "How's things?" She questioned, southern accent strong as ever. The slight tilt of her head at the question, and loose posture illustrated that there was no threat to be found in her. However, Tib' was a whole different ball game. "talk"

Sure enough, her vibrant form peaked out from behind one of the trees. He tried not to tie her to all of the resentment he held toward his brother, but it wasn't possible to completely avoid. After all, he wouldn't have left if it hadn't been for her asking him to go with her. He might have left on his own eventually, but there was also the possibility that if she hadn't led the way he would have stayed with him and their mothers and this whole situation would have been avoided. Of course there was no way of knowing what would have happened. There was no changing the past now, there was only dealing with the present. And the present wasn't too appealing. His ears flicked at her chipper voice and happy greeting, even going so far as to call him Tibby, like nothing had changed. His tail flicked as he watched her while he tried to sort out this confusing mix of resentment, curiosity, and frustration. The worst part was that he was just too kind for his own good. The worst part was that even with everything that had happened, with everything that she had indirectly started, he was still happy to see her in some odd way. She was still his adopted sister of sorts. It was just so hard... "Hey, Abby," he'd respond after some hesitation even though his wouldn't be nearly as chipper. He honestly didn't know how to respond to her question. He slowly settled onto his haunches while he peered down at her trying to form some kind of sentence. He didn't want to blow up on her like he had Bacchus the first time he saw him again. That had done nothing but hurt the both of them and he still hadn't had the opportunity to patch up that bridge. "Well... Not great. To be honest." It wasn't a great answer, but it was all he could manage without going into all the details that probably didn't need to be shared. At least not yet. "How are you? And... Bacchus?" Speak Thought Others

Tiburtius wasn't happy to see her. It didn't take an idiot to see that. He greeted her with enough warmness as could be expected after the events a little while ago. He hesitated to answer her question, settling lazily on the ground and staring at her like she had grown another head, or asked him what babies tasted like. Slowly, he formed a response. Things were shitty. Who would expect any different? She sighed, frowning with as much sympathy as she could. It must be hell for Ama and Athena back home, having to deal with what Bacc had done. It wasn't a very bad thing, in her eyes. She didn't have any real family, she didn't know what it meant to challenge one of them for their home. It seemed a little crazy, how angry everyone was reacting to Bacchus now. Sure, it had been a little out of the blue, and slightly out of character for Bacchus as she had previously known him. But he was different now. Something had happened to him when they'd been separated, and she was still figuring out how they fit together after it. They were still best friends, but Bacc was hanging out with a lot of girls, and she didn't like having to share him with other people that weren't related to him. However, she wasn't about to shout at him for it. She wanted to shout at the other girls instead. Her thoughts slammed to a halt when Tibby asked her how they were doing. She drew a breath in between her teeth, mismatched brows drawing together as her odd eyes looked to the ground. Her own rear dropped heavily onto the leaf litter, tail wrapping loosely around her hip. "Bacc is alright, recovering and all that." Southern accent mumbled, shrugging lightly. "I'm the same as always, I guess. A little worried about where we stand with everyone now. I don't really know how families work, you know?" She glanced up at him, sheepish expression all she could offer. "I mean, I had you guys when I was little, but it's not really the same, you know? That's why we left, kinda- to see if my sister was out there somewhere." She sighed, her frown returning in earnest. Millicent hadn't been found, and she'd lost Bacchus in the south. It had been a disaster, and nothing good had come from that trip, really. Shit, someone had claimed her home! "But anyway, it's going to take a while for everything to cool down, it looks like." She muttered, shaking her head lightly. It was crazy in the Armada family right now, and there was no telling what was going to happen in the next little while. She glanced up to try and read Tibutrius' expression, see how he was reacting to that little information dump. "talk"

It was a relief to hear that his brother was recovering. Despite how they had spoken to each other the last time they had seen each other and despite all of the recent events with Bacchus and the rest of their family, it was still a small comfort to know that he was healing okay. He'd listen as Abby spoke, understanding her concerns over how their relationship with the rest of the family fared at the moment. He sighed and nodded in agreement to her comment about things taking a while to cool down. He wasn't sure how everything would settle out, if it ever did. Things were so raw right now that it was hard to tell what would happen now. This sort of thing wasn't overcome in a day. "Leo seems to be taking it the best surprisingly," he commented with a short chuckle. "I don't know if it's an alpha thing of just expecting to be challenged or maybe he just gets where Bacchus was coming from... I don't know. But he seems to be okay about it all. Ama and Athena... They're just really upset I think cause it's like family attacked family and all that... I'm not sure if there's more to it or not." He shrugged and shifted uneasily. He wasn't the best at emotions and explaining them. That was probably why he had been having such a hard time lately. He just didn't know how to process it all. He sighed again, glancing down at his paws and back to Abby again. "Well... I'm glad you're doing alright anyway. It's good to see you... all things considered." He wished he could just rewind time. Maybe he could have handled the whole thing with Bacchus when he first reappeared better. He didn't know if that would have changed the current situation or not, but he thought maybe it could have changed his and Bacchus' current relationship at least. He hesitated, the words that he wanted to say hanging on his tongue. "Could you tell Bacchus that... I'm sorry. For yelling at him before. He'll know what I'm talking about." Speak Thought Others