Tomorrow is Nothing to Fear (Because it's Always Today)

Instead of making a quick return to the den under the maple tree Rhyme let his paws carry him on a patrol around the territory. The raging emotions built up within needed an outlet that Tana didn’t deserve to deal with. The exercise didn’t remove the emotions but made them much easier to deal with. Rhyme didn’t stop until the sun had settled beyond the horizon, and still he avoided the maple tree. Instead he made for his place by the rapids, to where Darilnor had been laid to rest.

He felt the familiar seering burn of loss as his gaze fell on the snow covered grave. He closed his eyes painfully before he sighed softly and curled around the frozen ground. He touched his nose to the snow and closed his eyes as he greeted his son’s spirit.


"Hey there, little guy." He started, the emotions showing through plainly in the cracks in his voice. Rhyme couldn’t keep his tears at bay and they slowly slipped over his cheeks and onto the snow. "I really screwed things up here on this side." He whispered, confessing the days events. "Really bad with your mom, and even worse with your sister’s mom." Would Shaye even look at him the same again? Did he want to pursue a relationship with Tana now that he’d seen how readily she would abandon her two tiny daughters? "Your siblings are getting big, their vocabulary is blossoming. I'm sure they'll be out of the den any day now."

He sighed more heavily this time, the sound of the rushing water behind him soothing his pain as he lifted his head from the snowy grave. Even in the bitter cold most of the rapids remained flowing. Rhyme continued to go over everything that happened, and how quickly his life was changing as he lay his head on his paws. He wouldn’t return to either birthing den tonight, but instead would watch over the night in the company of the dead.