Winter had set in with a bone chilling cold that lasted even while the sun was high in the sky. Theory did her best to still complete her duties and maintain pack morale, but it was hard when all of her energy seemed to be sapped from just patrolling in this frigid weather. She wanted to touch base with those closest to her and see where everyone was at. Rhyme had already come to her - their conversation had provided an additional level of comfort and reassurance she hadn't known she had desperately needed. They had reached the point past "stability" and had begun to grow, as a family and as a pack. It was a wonderful thing. There was a certain sparkle in his eye when he talked about Samara that kept her on her toes, but at the end of the day, she was happy for her father. Next on her list was Motif. Navigating the strange channel between leader and daughter had been strange for her, and even stranger did it feel to assign tasks and training to her sisters. It left a nervous pit in her stomach. As much as they loved her, she worried about pushing them too hard. Or not hard enough? Theo knew the Armada had pushed Poem to her peak physical condition, but it had been under duress. How could she hope to achieve similar results? Brooding over various ideas and training regimes, Theory lifted her head to the sky and called for her sister, Motif. The young alpha had gravitated towards the bay since claiming it when they had returned to the mainland. Even in the winter, there was a savage beauty about the ocean. Waves crashed ceaselessly against the shore, louder than ever. The air itself had seemed to quiet with the first snowfall, which had drifted into dunes and finally petered out into the sandy beach. "Speech"

There was something beautiful about the crashing waves, the controlled, destructive force. The way the water rolled back, and rushed forward once more. Crashing against the rocks, and leaping skyward in a flash of water and dancing sunlight. The young singer found she liked to sit on the sandy shores of Fontamo bay, and watch the waves as they crashed against the base of the Moontouched cliffs.

Her voice rose, softer than the crashing waves, as she sang gentle melodies, and wondered what it would like to travel upon the ocean. Her eyes were closed, and she almost missed the extra sound, the one that hadn’t been there a moment ago. The sound of paws as they crunched lightly over the beach. She opened her eyes, and found her sister, blushing softly as she realised she had been caught singing.

“Oh, hey Theory” She murmured softly to her sister and Alpha.

"Speech"

Theory smiled as she happened upon her softly singing sister. Her ears perked for a moment and she nodded slightly to herself. "You sound lovely, although I can barely hear you over the waves," she chuckled, then paused for a moment. Perhaps that was why she choose to sing here. Suddenly aware that Motif perhaps had different plans to spend her day. Being a leader seemed far more difficult than being a sister. She was worried about pushing Motif away just when she'd finally returned. The young alpha settled down beside Motif for a moment and looked out over the crashing waves, her ears flicking back and forth at the sound of the water on the beach. "What do you want to do today...?" Theory ventured awkwardly after a moment of silence, peeking at Motif from the corner of her eye. "Speech"

Her blush only increased at her gentle Alpha’s words. She knew Theory was busy, recovering from the raid, rebuilding their territory after the move and volcano. Chasing away the memories of the past, and giving a home to those that needed it. Being the Alpha of this pack had never been an easy task, and Motif could only hope there wasn’t too much pressure on her sister’s shoulders.

It did surprise her to see that Theory seemed almost shy, peeking over at her. Motif had been handled with kid gloves a lot since returning home. She knew she was more prone to tears and listlessness. This time, however, she returned a shy smile, and gave the sand beside her a pat. “Join me, Theory” she offered. “I haven’t any plans today, was there something you needed me to do?”

"Speech"

She exhaled softly, glad that Motif seemed to be high spirits today. Her sister really had continued to quietly flourish amidst the chaos of the raid and now the wild winter the east endured. Emboldened by Motif's invitation, Theory threw herself down next to her sister without any semblance of manners. For now they could just relax. "Well, yes, but not yet," she said awkwardly. "I just want to lay here for now. Your voice sounded great - have you been practicing?" Theo wasn't well versed in any of the softer arts. She was hopeless at crafting, passable at healing at best, and definitely, definitely couldn't sing. Although her natural howl was lovely - just like any other wolf - she wasn't exactly musical. When it came time to refine her tone or pitch, she often cracked or warbled. Motif, on the other hand, sounded like a regular songbird. "Speech"

It pleased her to see her sister flop down beside her. She ran a forepaw through her sister's warm back fur, affection something that always came easily to Motif in regards to both her sisters. Theory admitted that she did need something for Motif, but not just yet. The conversation was quick to turn back around to her singing, and there was a permanent heat to Mo’s face. She had started to take comfort in the sounds of the ocean, they reminded her of older times, how some things never changed, no matter what catastrophe you threw at them. “I was… taking inspiration from the crashing waves, and the calls of the albatross.” she said, glancing across at her sister shyly. “Would you like me to sing for you?” she wasn’t sure she was confident enough to sing for an audience, but perhaps she could manage with just her sister here. "Speech"

The past few months had been kind to her sister. After the raid, Theory could really tell that she'd begun to grow into her own. This singing was just further proof of that. It was something special and private. A slice of life, just for herself. Theo wanted to see her continue these pursuits of happiness. Maybe she could even teach her a thing or two! But the idea of her own throaty warbling compared to Mo's sweet voice was almost enough to make her saddle her ears in shame. "Oh, yes!" she said as Motif offered to sing. "If you wouldn't mind, I'd love to." Theory peeked at Motif out of the corner of her eye. She could tell that her sister was still a little bit nervous, but she was glad that she still offered to perform. "Okay, I'll just look out over the ocean, yeah?" the young alpha added with a cheeky smile. Theory stared out over the ocean and waited to her sister to begin.

Theory seemed to understand how attention gave her confidence a hit, and offered to look out across the ocean. Motif smiled, grateful, so grateful, to have sisters like Theory and Poem. Between the two of them, the young girl was beginning to heal. With a gentle smile on her lips, Motif leaned gently against Theory, her own eyes going back to the ocean, and the familiar sight of crashing waves. her long tail wound about the both of them, warming their toes. “I think I made a friend, his name is Ocean, isn’t that peculiar?” that two types of Ocean had been giving her comfort recently. With a cheeky smile that spoke of growing confidence, the young Abaven girl tilted her head, and began to sing. "I had a dream Of the wide open praire I had a dream Of pale morning sky I had a dream That we flew on golden wings And we were the same, just the same You and I" "Speech"

Theory sighed deeply, closing her eyes and letting Motif's voice slide over her. It felt comfortable, like a cushion she could sink into at the end of a long, hard patrol. It felt like home. She had had some difficult decisions to make lately, between the raid and Tempo asking for release from the pack. Life continued to challenge her in unexpected ways. Being an alpha was so much more difficult than she'd bargained more. With each passing day, she began to understand why Shaye had staggered under the weight of it all. Even with Rhyme to help shoulder it, the burden was almost unbearable. She hesitated to place any of the difficulty on Poem and Motif, but she needed reassurance desperately. "That was beautiful, thank you. May the ocean and Ocean continue to make you smile," Theo said, a glint of humor in her eyes. "But, I have to ask your opinion on something. Tempo came to the border... and asked me to release him from the pack," she said. Her voice was a bit strained. Beat's face when he had heard that his brother planned on leaving still haunted her quiet moments. Had she made the right choice? "I granted his wish. He seemed so troubled, like he was convinced this was the only thing that might help him. I'm not sure if I did the right thing." Oh, it was hard to keep her voice from breaking.

Motif chuckled softly at Theory’s words, a shyness to her smile, but a happiness, too. She knew that despite being the same age, Theory was now so much older than her, and the Alpha was so gentle with her damaged sister. The humor fell away when Theory brought pack business into it. The girl leaned against her sister supportively, knowing how much the other girl took onto her shoulders. If Motif could alleviate it, even a little, she would. “Shaye told me once… about the founding of Abaven. How Bass made the pack, and her mother, my name sake, Motif, joined, as did Rhythm. But their other brother, Chord, didn’t. He needed to roam, and be free, but he always returned to them, and shared his adventures. Maybe Tempo needs a little bit of that” she suggested softly. Of course, the idea of any Abaven wolf, or family, out there in the world without pack protection worried her. "Speech"

Theory huffed softly in thought as Motif spoke. Well, she'd heard a little about the founding of the pack, but everything before the volcano seemed so muddled now. Motif picked out the threads of the story she needed to hear perfectly. Although it was from the distant past, it still soothed her. Not every wolf was made to live a pack life. Kai had proudly extolled that fact, all while slyly (maybe, she wasn't sure) flirting with her. What a strange man. Tempo had been through so much.. perhaps distancing himself from this land really was the only way he might find peace. "I was scared, too," she admitted quietly. "After the fire. I mean, we all were! We were just kids. But after the volcano, I really thought we should leave these lands. Just like Tempo. I was so, so torn," she said. Theory looked up at the sky and closed her eyes. "But I couldn't stop thinking about how we rebuilt the thicket. And our family - especially the ones we've left behind." There were so many graves in these lands. How could they leave behind their dead? "It was such a difficult choice. I can't blame him for choosing something else, but I can't help but worry." Worry, worry, worry. It felt like that was all she did.

Shortly after the fire, her lion friend Cannival had vanished, and Motif had left in search of her. That had led to her kidnapping, and being sold to the Empire. Had she really been given time to digest, and recover, after the fire? Or had it somehow been forgotten amongst other horrors? “There’s still good in these lands, they remind me that mum wanted peace for her wolves, that I can look, and occasionally find, something she left behind. I don’t know if that’s good or bad, if it makes it harder to let go, but I would be loath to leave this pack or these lands.” Abaven had moved a little, but not far, after the volcano. They still had one territory left from the past, and it was a short walk to find that which they had left behind. “You’ve adopted a whole hoard of wolves, becoming Alpha, I think you’ll always be worrying about someone” she pointed out gently, nudging her sisters shoulder, and glancing over at the mentally older woman. “But i’ll always be here too, and I want to share some of your worry and burdens” Theory was family, and Motif couldn’t ever imagine leaving her. "Speech"

"I believe there's still good here too. I think I'd like to return to our home eventually, but the land needs time to heal. The water is just now running clean downstream at the rapids. It took so long," she sighed, folding her ears in disappointment. Migrating, even just a little bit, had been a welcome change for some and a frustrating link along a chain of unsavory events for others. Theory had grown to love the bay and the islands - plus, all the extra fish had done wonders for everyone's coat. As they had begun to shed out from the winter she'd noticed how sleek and shiny their fur was looking. Although it was a small thing, she was thankful for it. Health and happiness was all that she wished for her pack. "It does feel kind of like being a mother - but in the worst way possible," she said dryly. "All work and no play. Then they all grow up and leave me, like Tempo," she groaned, flopping down and rolling over on to her back next to Motif. "Thank you... I hope you don't mind sharing some of my worries. Some days I feel like I'll just melt into a puddle of it all, just a whole mess of worry and fear."

It surprised her to learn that Theory was considering taking them back to Abaven’s original lands at some point. She had thought the pack fairly settled where they were now. Well, she trusted Theory’s judgement, and would go where her Alpha sister took her.

As Theory rolled on her back, Motif kneaded her paws into her sister's stomach, hoping to tickle the other wolf's coat. “I never mind, Theory” she promised gently. She was glad her sister felt she could confide in her. “Do you ever think you’ll be a mother for real?” she asked. She had never considered it before, they were, all of them, adults now. They could have families of their own, if they so choose. She wasn’t sure if the idea filled her with sadness or joy. She couldn’t imagine having children of her own, but the idea of little baby Theories running around was adorable.