Roza stood at the edge of the mangroves feeling like an empty shell. She had mourned Ganta as long as she could stand to. The image of Ulric running off at the news of his sister's possible location kept playing over and over in her head. She felt like a terrible mother, but when she saw him run off after her she couldn't find the strength to go after him. The weight of her own sorrow and pain held her down and barely let her continue living. In fact, her children might be the only reason she was still here. She stood with her paws where Fiori's border once stood. Her blue gaze peered out between the trees, desperately searching for the tall forms of her children. She was tired and if she would listen to her body she would be hungry. There wasn't much weight on her body these days, but she barely noticed. Once the fog had begun to lift off of her mind she realized how much time had passed and knew she had to at least try finding them. Not caring if someone that wished her harm came to find her here, she lifted her head and let out a pleading howl for Philomena and Ulric to come to her if they were here and able. Talk Abbey Others

Philomena had finally let her emotions free. She’d managed to hold the majority of them in at the Risen Empire… managed to hold it together when she met Cloudburst, and was even able to enjoy his company a bit. But it was as she reunited with Ulric, and began traveling back into Boreas, that Philly felt a stab in her heart. The feeling was small at first, but the pain grew deeper the closer to home she got, and she was sure that her brother could sense it even though she desperately tried to put on a brave face. Philly was hurting… there was no denying it. Her father was dead, and though he had tried being selfless, what was it really for? A pack that didn’t even care about him… and now he was dead.

...was love just a lie? A weakness?

Philomena didn’t bring this up to her brother… instead she tried to smile, to tell him about her time with their uncle and the things she’d learned. Philly had thought she was happy… and she was, to a degree, but she regretted being unable to see her father before he died. Would he be proud of who she was becoming? Even if she didn’t follow his exact choices… was that alright?

“I miss all of them, really…” Philomena said quietly to Ulric. “Uncle Riker… Papa… Mama…” She vaguely remembered the place where they were though… the mangroves. They were almost to where Dragoste once stood.

But the two youths wouldn’t need to go that far to find one of the ones they were looking for.

Roza’s howl, dripping with emotion was met with an immediate response from Philly. The teen threw back her head, howling with all her strength to the female to let her know she and Ulric were there, that they were coming. Philly didn’t wait for Ric to move… she knew he’d come bounding after her for the same reason she broke into a run.

Tears were stinging Philomena’s eyes as she saw her mother. She was relieved at first, until she saw the state her mother was in. She was so skinny… so malnourished. But Philly didn’t stop. She didn’t stop until she had practically bowled into the smaller woman… the woman who was, and always would be, her mother.

“Mama!” Philly cried, still using the name she called Roza as a pup. “H-Here I am! ...and Ulric will be right behind me, I know it!” The younger wolf was already nosing her dam, trying to search for any signs of wounds that she may have. Ulric had said that they hadn’t been captured when the Empire attacked… but that didn’t mean enough to the young girl who hadn’t seen her mother since she was small. Even a single hair out of place was cause for concern, and Philly whimpered at Roza’s condition.

“Oh mama… when did you last eat? Are you hurt? Sick?” Her brows furrowed with worry, a million and one things wanting to spill from her maw far too fast for her to process them.

Everything had simply been a blur. Ever since his father was killed Ulric felt like he had been pulled this way and that way till he just couldn't keep up with his own life or his own emotions. In a way he just felt tired, but in other ways he felt hurt and angry and sad. Being with Philly definitely helped and was just a tremendous relief to have her here after missing her for so long. It was funny how they had been apart for so long, pretty much the largest part of their childhoods, but it felt like no time had passed. Sure, she had plenty of stories to share and experiences to tell him about, but to him it felt like they just clicked back together like missing puzzle pieces. He gave Philly a nod when she mentioned all the wolves she missed. "I do too." Their mother's howl caught him off guard and his head popped up at the noise. Philomena responded faster than he was able to and before he could register what was happening she had taken off in the direction of the call. Ulric wasn't far behind though with his equally long strides, mostly just wanting to keep Philomena in his sights. Just in case. He had a similar mix of relief and worry when he finally caught up to her and saw the state Roza was in. He didn't quite fret over her like Philly did - he figured that his sister had that covered - but he did shift to his mother's side and hover near her protectively. He realized now that he saw his mother and sister side by side how much larger they were than her. He wasn't able to see himself beside her of course so it was interesting to have that perspective now. The two of them easily surrounded her and that gave him a bit of comfort. Ulric let Philly do the talking and let them have a moment to reunite since he realized that it had been even longer since the last time Roza had seen Philly than it had been for him. Speech Others

The moment that her daughter's voice called back to her in response Roza fell back onto her haunches like the relief she felt was a gust of wind that knocked her back. How long had it been since she had last seen her daughter? After a while she had lost track. Moments later Phillomena's long haired, speckled, beautiful face popped into view. All she could feel was pure joy in that moment. Even though she couldn't find the strength to get up to greet her, Roza couldn't help the smile that stretched across her face and the way her tail wagged against the ground. "Philomena! My sweet Philly, you're here!" she said, nuzzling into her as much as she could with how Philly was racing around and nosing all over her. She caught a glimpse of Ulric over her shoulder and she gave him a grateful glance. She hoped that they would have been reunited either way, but she had to think that Ulric coming to find her had a great deal to do with them being all together now. At Philomena's worried questions she glanced down at herself and realized what had her children looking so worried. She had been so caught up in her own emotions that she hadn't given her own care any notice. "Um... no, no, I'm not hurt. Or sick." When was the last time she ate? How long had it been since Ganta died? She leaned into Philomena for a moment and smiled. "I missed you so much. You've grown up so much. Both of you have." She reached up and gently pushed back the hair on her daughter's head out of her eyes with her nose. It had gotten so much longer than it was when she last saw her. "You're so beautiful, my sweet girl. Are you okay? Did anyone hurt you? Where have you been?" Talk Abbey Others

Philomena was relieved when she heard Ulric come up behind her, and even more so when she heard that her mother wasn’t hurt, nor sick. At least not physically… Philly still didn’t smile, figuring there was only one other reason for her mother’s state of being. Her father’s  death. The girl nuzzled her mother again, shaking her head as Roza turned the questions back on her.

“I’m sorry I worried you, Mama.” Her blue gaze shifted to Ulric for a moment before shifting back to her mother. “I’m alright… I wasn’t hurt.” She didn’t mention the fact that had anyone tried she would  have fought back. Now was not the time to get her mother worked up again… or Ulric either.

“I had gone home… but when I got there a bunch of stranger’s scents were there.” Philomena flicked her ears back. “Aunt Paradox and Uncle Enigma tried to warn me… but the Abraxi showed up. Ulric came too and well… they took us to their Empire.” Philly let out a whimper.

“Mama… why did they take Papa? The Risen Emperor spoke to me… he said it was cause Papa stood in his way. That one day we’d meet again…” Philly closed her eyes. “They want to claim all of this land… and who knows how many others.” Philomena furrowed her brow, opening her eyes.

“He claims that there is a choice... but I don't see it.” Philly tensed, shaking her head. “B-but enough of that. We’re together again! It doesn’t matter where we were, or what we were doing. What matters is right now.” She tried to force a smile.

“...Where have you been staying?” Philly asked, lifting her ears a little. “We'll need to establish a base camp.”