She had followed her scent for days. She knew her mother had escaped with her half brother. But she had lost the scent a ways back. She could feel the panic bubbling up from her chest. She had lost the only two wolves she trusted in the whole screwed up world. She was alone in a area she knew nothing about with unknown wolves roaming everywhere. She felt like a scared whelp that had lost its security blanket.

Treble kept her nose to the ground inhaling as she zig zaged trying to find familiar scent. She could feel her desperation heightening until finally, there it was. Treble looked up, "Mama?" She whispered to herself. Her limbs carried her faster and faster until they barely touched the lush grass beneath her. "Mama! I came home! I'm here mama!"She cried out desperately. With a surge of excitement the young female threw her head up and let out a ear splitting howl of excitement.

Rhythm lingered on the stone table that covered her den, her favorite spot had been reunited with her and all things considered she couldn’t have been happier. There were many discretions lingering in her mind, but as the days drew on she tried not to let the thoughts weigh her down. Valentine was again by her side, Rhyme had reunited with her own home pack, Shaye was an alpha! However, even with all of the beautiful thoughts she couldn’t help but to linger on the dark ones.
Where were her slave children? No matter how much Valen attempted to hide the plans to raid that slave pack she had hope her offspring might be rescued. Her chocolate features lay on her silver flecked paws as a sigh filtered from her tired lips. Depression, though she could hardly diagnose herself, held her tightly in its grip. She didn’t want to be sad, she didn’t want to be trapped in her own dark thoughts, but still she couldn’t leave her boulder with out help. Even the antics of many generations from the prairie dogs she had watched couldn’t cheer her. Rhythm put on a brave face for her mate and son, but she couldn’t shake the feelings.

She might have lingered in that same funk all day, lingering in the sun hoping it might warm her core. The sun couldn’t possibly do the job that howl did. Her ears shot up and her front half was thrust beneath her paws. She moved faster than she had since she had returned here. Treble? She leapt from her perch in the direction the howl came from. She had never seen her daughter, but her voice was one of the most beautiful songs she had ever heard.
”Treble!” She called out as she used her ears to tell where the girl would appear. She let out her own joyous bark, ”Here I am, daughter!” She waited for the girl to return to her side, her tail wagging with a quickness. Treble had escaped, she was here, she was safe.

The young girl flew across the terrain. She could smell herself closing in on her mother. Her heart thudded in her ears with every outstretched step. Until finally, there she was. Her dear old mother. Her mother's voice reached her auds calling to her. She felt her stomach flutter and her heart skip a beat as pure joy and excitement overtook her.

She skidded to a sudden stop just before tumbling into Rhythm. Her tongue lolled out in puppy like excitement. It only took her a moment to press herself tightly against the familiar frame. She inhaled the sweet scent of her most precious of family members. Soft whimpers slipped from her lips as she nuzzled her mother. "I missed you so much! I followed you and Ry but I lost your scent. We are free mama! Noone can ever hurt us again right mama?" She whined. Her eyes began to fill his joyous tears.

After a moment she pulled away and looked at her mother for the first time since they escaped. She looked well. Her familiar milky orbs, her chocolatey pelt and her gentle voice. It all made Treble feel at home. Then something caught in her mind. Something was missing, or rather some one. She looked around suddenly, "Where is Rhyme? Should he be here taking care of you? You mustn't be alone " she stated matter a factly. Her brother would not leave her unless she had someone else to care for her that he trusted.

Suddenly Treble was there. Rhythm heard her daughter’s footfalls and she braced herself as the girl embraced her. Joyous tears slipped from her once gem like gaze as she wrapped herself around her daughter. She couldn’t help but feel mixed emotions: incredible happiness at knowing her daughter had escaped, but worry and guilt knowing her sibling(s?) still remained confined. Rhythm did her best to push the feeling away and just enjoy the feeling of knowing Treble had escaped.

Rhythm nuzzled into the soft fur of her daughter’s scruff, kissing and crying as she let the waves of conflicting emotions wash over her. The anxiety of knowing her sweet innocent daughter was safe finally overwhelmed the other emotions.

”I missed you too, I’m so sorry you couldn’t come with us.” She couldn’t help but apologize, had she been able to she would have tore all of her offspring away from the slaver’s grasp. ”I’m so glad you’re safe,” She managed to say through many tears. ”I’ll never let anyone hurt you again.” She promised, though the old blind she wolf could hardly keep that promise in reality, she would fight to the death to keep Treble free.

Her daughter pulled away slowly, and Rhythm was bale to catch her breath again as the girl realized her older half brother was not here in her presence. She, unlike Valentine, felt proud that he had taken up responsibility in Abaven next to his cousin.

”Rhyme joined your cousin, Shaye’s pack. Abaven. This is where your brother was born, and his father still remained. My mate, Valentine watches over me.” Treble should have been Valentine’s daughter, but fate had different ideas. No matter, she felt blessed to have been reunited with him.

She savored her mothers warm frame. To others the old female may look weak and helpless. But to Treble she was the strongest wolf she knew. She stood firm and always tried to protect her family. Her blindness was a mere obstacle to overcome. She had always been the young woman constant shoulder to lean on. She owed her mother so much. She loved this wolf more than life itself. The first to show her love and kindness before anything else.

Rhythm apologized but Treble shook her head. "Dont be, please. You did what you had to do.
If I had a chance to escape you would have made me take it. All that matters now is we are both safe." she crooned softly. Rhythm's promise was acknowledged by a slight nod. Treble knew that her mother could not do such a thing. But it was comforting to hear nevertheless.

As Treble pulled away and asked about her brother she was quickly answered. He was with his other family. Alittle jealousy stung her heart. She longed for family, to be loved. But she doubted anyone could love a thing like her. She was weak, ugly and useless. At least that's what the slavers had raised her to believe. Lavander and blue eyes looked to the horizon for a moment as if searching for something. But they soon returned to her mother. "Do you think he remembers me mama? Rhyme, do you think he would be happy to see me if I sought him out?" she asked quietly. There were many other questions that burned to come out. Who was Valentine? What did he look like? Did he treat her mother with kindness or was he just like any other male? But the saddest question of them all she needed to ask. Just because she felt like she should know the answer to it. She pointed her muzzle down towards her paws and watched herself paw sheepishly at the ground. "Mama....what's a mate?" she asked shyly.

Rhythm wasn't sure if she could accept her daughter's words to not be sorry, but she did hold a valid point. If she had to stay behind but had been able to give Treble a way out she would have forced her daughter to go. They were both safe now. One more of her children free from the slaver's grasp. She just hoped the others might not be punished for their escape. 

Treble was quiet as she explained where Rhyme had gotten off to, and wondered for a moment what her daughter might be thinking. Would she stay here with her? Go and find the pack her half brother now belonged? Or would she forge off into the unknown and create her own path? She was young and the world held many possibilities for the girl. 

Rhyme too had struggled with the thought of his half siblings, but despite their lineage she knew he cared about them. They were family. "He would love to see you, and I'm sure he remembers." he was one of the only reasons Treble had even been left with her mother when so many of her other siblings had been stolen away. "I wouldn't be surprised if he asked you to join his pack. Your uncle Bass formed Abaven back before I was even your age. You'd be welcome at his side." she smiled genuinely, sighing into her daughter's coat. 

Though her last question caught her off guard. She forgot what a different upbringing her poor child had suffered. A sweet summer child with out any real sense of how a free wolf was supposed to live. Rhythm grew more serious, she could tell the turmoil within from the tone of Treble's voice. 

"Treble," she started softly, trying to find her daughter's gaze despite the lack of sight in her own eyes. "You've been given an awful start in life, but you are a free wolf now. You have to forget everything they ever told you and listen to me." She had been there during the abuse, she knew the lies given to Treble and how she wished she could have corrected them. "You are my beautiful daughter. You are worth more than you know, and I will teach you all that I can about living a free life." She aimed to give her daughter a quick kiss on her chin. 

"A mate is someone you choose to love, someone you can count on. Unlike your sire, who forced himself into my life, a mate is someone you raise a family with." Rhyme had tried to be there for his younger siblings, but he couldn't replace what a real father could have been in their lives. "Some wolves out there are much like our captors, but there are more like your brother, Rhyme. Strong, kind, and compassionate. Worth loving."

Rhythm chuckled suddenly, getting away from the seriousness her conversation had wandered too. "Listen to your old mother rambling. I just want you to know joy, my sweet daughter. I want you to live like you were never able to while a slave."