As spring kicked into high gear she found her spirit lightening a little bit. Although her grief was still fresh and tender, seeing Casper grow strong and healthy provided some small comfort. Being with her family again allowed her to dip into her spiritual reserves that had been left untouched for some time. She found herself praying more often, asking Tor and Fenris both for guidance in this difficult time. The only answer seemed to be: turn inward. Collect yourself. Steel yourself. Eris had grown stronger and been nurtured by the other Ademre. Of course, having Oxide by her side helped. Watching him bond with her son brought her an inner peace that she had never known.

Following the bright spring sunshine, Eris made her way to the falls where she had given birth. She had brought her son along to play, maybe swim a little bit. It was the first somewhat warm day she'd experienced in recent memory and the sunlight felt good on her fur. Since her the birth her vision had stabilized; small miracles like that kept her going. Once she arrived by the falls Eris settled down to watch Casper play.

His mother still wasn't talking. It didn't bother Casper much - talking seemed annoying, difficult, and loud. He much preferred the way the Ademre conversed and had become a masterful little communicator in no time at all. The boy hadn't met anyone outside his family yet so he had no need for words at all. They lived a charmed life together in Auster, separated from the rest of the world. Cas was growing strong and felt it from the tip of tail right down to his toes. Every day he felt bigger and better, although some nights he tossed and turned from growth spurt related discomfort. He had it in his mind that he'd become a huge, unstoppable warrior! Just like Oxide and Lament!

How disappointed he would be to find out that he wouldn't be much taller than his mother. But he didn't know that now. Everything was new, smelled good, and was interesting to look at. He had youth's sparkle bright in his eyes as he skipped to keep up with Eris. Once they got to the waterfall he sat down and marveled at the spectacle of it all. It took his breath away.

Kindle had been doing a lot of exploring away from the Ademre band, secretly looking for the man she'd met who'd spoken to her so kindly and shared with her his kill. Rose however was nowhere to be found, and perhaps whatever romance was there was all in Kindle's imagination. He probably courted all the women that way and was half way across the world with his ten families, but whatever the reason his absence clearly told Kindle that she was too good for him.

Once she'd returned to Ademre 'territory' she'd realized how much she'd missed within her band. "Eris." She called out to the woman who sat by the falls. Nearby was a young child, and Kindle knew Eris was expecting before she'd gone on her adventures so clearly it belonged to her. She approached quickly, moving up to nuzzle the other ademre. "Is this one of yours?" Her nose motioned to the pup playing in the falls, a smile upon her paw.

Eris turned and offered her band mate a warm smile. It didn't quite reach her eyes. Kindle had missed plenty - including the death of her other son. The Ademre woman fidgeted nervously. It wouldn't be appropriate to share the news outright, but she had taken a personal vow of silence since his death anyway... it wasn't like she could communicate with words even if she'd felt the need to. Eris simply tapped agreement, love on Kindle's paw and hoped that response would satisfy her. With Casper's tiny stature and the way he kept glancing at his mother for approval, it was impossible to mistake him for anyone else's child. He belonged to her. They were kin.

She peered up at Kindle with a question in her eyes. Where had she been these past few lonely months? There wasn't quite Ademic for the specific questions that Eris wanted to ask and so they lapsed into a comfortable silence. Eris had always been bubbly and talkative before her son's passing. While this behavior might be typical for some Ademre, it was obviously off key for the petite female.

Sota couldn't help but feel somewhat restless as of late. He'd been spending most of his time by himself, though his recent conversation with Oxide had helped ground him a bit. He wasn't used to not having a long-term goal - he wondered if he ought to be putting his efforts toward training in anticipation of searching for Balsam, but he had a feeling he was needed here more than anything. It was hard to imagine Balsam truly needing him; surely his crafty friend had long since escaped his captivity and was faring even better than before, out on his own. Though he hadn't spend much time with Eris or her family, he felt he have plenty to offer them, and he couldn't help but shake the thought that maybe he still owed them for the wrongs he had (accidentally) done.

He navigated toward the falls from a higher position in the trees. Nimble paws carried him from one branch to the next fluidly, with the grace of a creature that had never left the trees. And the truth was that he'd spent far more time in the trees than on the ground.. though he was begrudgingly learning to adept. Below him he saw the shapes of familiar wolves, arresting his attention from his self-guided tour of the cedar forest and toward the falls. He was oblivious to Eris's vow of silence, though without being told explicitly he'd come to understand the subtle way that the Ademre communicated. Asking any more questions wasn't really Sota's style. He cleared his throat to announce his presence long before he showed himself, eventually navigating down toward the clearing and letting a gentle smile touch his lips as he approached the few, his expression careful - and his mind hoping that he wasn't at all intruding.

Eris was Oxide’s shadow and he wouldn’t be convinced otherwise. These days though it seemed more like he was her shadow. He couldn’t help but worry about her, she seemed changed since the death of their son. She hadn’t spoken a word since, and he did his best not to be too far away. He was looking out as Casper and Eris both made their way to the waterfall. The world went crazy since the eruption and he was wary to let her far from his sight.

Ox was quick to show his face when he heard a female voice, and he glimpsed Sota traversing the trees. He didn’t rush, there was no sound of alarm. Quietly his rusted form came to sit near Cas and his playing while Sota approached the two she wolves. Ox had already assumed this girl was another of the Ademre.

Seeing her two favorite - well, three favorite, counting her son - males together warmed her heart. Eris lifted her head to watch Sota approach and returned his smile, although her smile was smaller and looked a touch worried. There was always an air of worry about her now. The distant look in her eyes that always colored her expressions with concern never faded. Nuzzling Casper and encouraging him to come along with her, she approached the pair of them. After looking between them for a long period of time, from Oxide to Sota and back again, she opened her mouth a crack. At first nothing came out. She coughed and cleared her throat, trying to find her words again. They had been buried so deeply and for so long. "H..." It was a start. "Hello." She looked at the pair of them, her eyes almost liquid with emotion. It threatened to spill over. Eris was consumed with the great love that she felt for all of them. The Ademre, her people, and this smaller, chosen family. "I'm," she croaked and cleared her throat, "I'm glad you're still here," she said to Sota, then turned to Oxide and gave him the gentlest of touches on the cheek. He already knew that she was perennially glad for his presence. That would never change.

Oxide seemed entirely unbothered by his presence, which pleased him. The talk they'd shared had been a good one and Sota was grateful that the other man welcomed him into his life, in whatever way. Even Sota wasn't entirely sure where he fit here among the few Ademre that he'd stumbled across, but he knew he cared for both Eris and Oxide and that leaving them behind didn't feel right. Perhaps he could return to the Songa, or seek out Balsam as he'd originally set out to do, but... Balsam didn't need him. Sota knew that, part of him had always known that, as much as he wished the opposite was true. But these wolves? Casper? Casper didn't know him well yet but Sota knew raising a child was never a one-wolf job, and helping ensure he grew strong and capable sounded like something Sota wanted to help with.

Eris smiled his way, and he moved to approach them, with all the caution of someone approaching a new mother and her child. But she didn't seem threatened by his approach, not that Sota had a threatening bone in his body, and before long she was heading over to him with Casper in tow. His smile brightened significantly, warmth spreading across his gentle features. What surprised him was hearing her speak, a thing that only brightened his expression tenfold. "Hello, Eris, and Casper," he leaned toward the boy, feeling a similar warmth begin to blossom through his chest. It was a beautiful thing, to see a boy so young, untouched by the darkness of the world - the urge to protect him from it was strong, despite his Songa upbringing, where children were not coddled, but instead pushed to run free as soon as they were capable. He sighed, a content sound, as he regarded them both. "I'm glad to be here too," he said finally, somewhat bashfully.

Oxide watched as Eris gathered but their little boy and brought him closer, the rust colored man knew that he wouldn’t ever get called dad, but he knew he’d have a hand in raising the innocent little guy. He couldn’t deny the pull he had towards the tiny child and the affection that easily grew.

Eris was still the love of his life, as her lips parted he wanted to rush forward and embrace her tightly to his chest. He resisted as her first words were pointed at Sota. Ox might have felt jealousy were he not so elated that her vow of silence was broken. Sota cared just as much for the woman and their child, knowing Eris trusted him enough to give that gift made Ox more respectful of the small wolf.

Ox grinned at his little shadow as Sota replied softly, the rust marked wolf took to his paws and closed the distance between them. Not hesitating to nuzzle into Eris’s dark fur for a long moment before turning his attentions to Casper. His heart swelled with love for the young boy as he ruffled up the fur on the boy’s head. He sat close to the tiny boy and looked back to Sota, who seemed out of place standing across. Before he realized what he was doing Ox motioned the Songa closer to the small family.