It had been a hard trip on Azzurra, they had to shelter from the rains along with the cold nights. It was hard to make a temporary den big enough for them during the nights and caves were easier to manage, but it was really the luck of the draw through whatever lands they happened to come through at the time. Azzurra was still weak but growing stronger everyday, though Balthier didn't act that way. She was still a delicate flower, could shatter into pieces by the simplest touch, at least in his mind. And he was finished with losing any of the family he had left.

It was a trip they had to make though. Azzurra hadn't seen their mother since, well she had left Abaven after their birth. And Aranea needed to know what had happened with Allegro. Maybe it was a last ditch effort to make her their mother again, or maybe it was to show her how wrong and terrible they had been to them. But either way, it needed to happen. Balthier didn't know how it would go until they were there, and he faced their mother again.

He came to the borders of The Starlit Plains, pushing his head to gently bump on top of Azzurra, his paw raising to carefully brush against her back so she could relax if she needed to before he called for the Alpha. Things were much different than the last time he was here, not that he would know until he found out. But there were other, more major things that were coming his way in this meeting.

"Balthier"

When Balthier brought up going to The Hallows to see their mother to tell her about their father's departure, she refused to let him go without her this time. She wasn't sure if it was the thought of missing out on seeing Aranea again for a second time or the thought that she would be without him for days at a time, but either way it pushed her to join in on the trip to Auster. She was in a far better place physically than she had once been, but once they set out she quickly realized just how far she still had to go. She pushed herself harder than she probably should have, but she felt bad for making their pace so slow and dragging out this trip that might have taken him half as long if she wasn't involved. Even still, her brother still did everything he could to make the trip easier on her and she stuck by his side the whole way, forever grateful for everything he did for her.

When they finally reached the border of the pack that was their destination, she sat back heavily onto her haunches with a shaky sigh. Her gaze lifted up to Balthier's when he bumped her head with his own, smiling softly as his paw brushed her back. She leaned into his side and tried to ignore how much everything ached. Her paws, her legs, her back, even her lungs all ached from the long trip. She just kept herself going by thinking about how worth it this would all be if they could reconnect with one of their parents. The thought of truly losing both of them hurt too much to consider.

"Azzurra"

It wasn't that often that he got a call from the border to answer and when he heard the howl calling for someone to answer he was quick to his paws. It wasn't a voice he recognized so as he moved toward the edge of the pack's territory past the castle walls he wore a pleasant, friendly smile. Now that Eska was getting back on her feet he felt like he could breathe slightly easier - not that the thought of hunting down her attacker had really left his mind. However, as he promised, he would help Eska train and get her into the shape where they would feel confident going to find the bastard together so she could get her revenge. As much as he wanted to tear into the man himself, he wanted her to have her peace even more.

As he passed through the opening in the castle walls and rounded the border to head toward the border his eyes landed on the young man and woman sitting there waiting and his blood ran cold. For a second his steps stuttered and hesitated, blinking as he looked at them. For the briefest moment he thought that it was Aranea and Allegro - recognizing the black and gold fur patterns from the trip the man had made to The Hallows with their children. The girl was so similar to Aranea in her stature and coloring that it was staggering. However, when he blinked again he started to notice the differences. Markings that Aranea hadn't had, the difference in the patterns and face markings that make the boy's appearance different from Allegro's. He still felt like he had seen a ghost, but his mind was no longer playing tricks on him, making him think that Aranea had somehow come back from the dead.

However, he knew without a shadow of a doubt that these were her children. Somehow he managed to keep his paws moving toward them with just a slight hesitation and he came to a stop in front of the pair of yearlings. "Hello, I'm Ulric," he said simply in greeting, settling back onto his haunches while he tried to put the smile back on his lips. For a moment he didn't know what to say and just gave the children space to introduce themselves while he continued to try and gather his thoughts. "You're Aranea's children, aren't you?" he questioned even though he already knew the answer, feeling as if he had to try and make conversation somehow.

Ulric Adravendi

The last time they came here, Aranea had greeted them at the border. Though also back then was a completely different time. Resin was still alive and ruling, and Aranea had been alive as well. So many things had happened for The Hallows, none that Balthier had bothered to consider. He and his siblings, and Allegro to some point had all been trying to keep their lives together and greater in the time following their visit with Aranea, and her abandonment.

Balthier had stood to greet the alpha, at least the polite gesture that he assumed was proper. Ulric had asked if they were Aranea's children, but Balthier hadn't known the man in the slightest. Allegro hadn't known him by appearance, but Allegro also hadn't spoke about what Aranea had done. So to him, the alpha here didn't have any pull on his emotions. "Yes, I'm Balthier. We came to see her." His gaze went back down to Azzurra before mentioning, "Azzurra hasn't seen her since she left Abaven almost a year ago." He wasn't expecting the news that Ulric would give them, and it was sure that Ulric wasn't expecting the news that Balthier was about to give Azzurra in the realization that both of their parents had passed. And he and his siblings were their only survivors.

"Balthier"

Azzurra waited patiently beside Balthier and eventually a massive brown-hued male appeared from the castle that loomed over them. She was more than happy to let Balthier handle all the talking and was a little relieved when he stood up to greet the wolf she assumed was the pack's alpha. She snuck a peek behind the man and tried to look and see if maybe their mother would come out to greet them too, but she didn't see Aranea appear after a few moments and once Balthier looked down at her she refocused her attention on the man that introduced himself as Ulric.

She offered the man a small smile before she glanced away shyly, shifting her blue gaze up toward Balthier's for a moment. Had it really been a whole year already? Her whole concept of time was so skewed it was hard for her to gauge any of it. Sometimes it felt like just yesterday that they were all playing outside the den together as really small pups and then sometimes it seemed she realized she could hardly even remember what their mother looked like and that reminded her of just how long it had been.

"Azzurra"

SOLO DESTRUCTION-LOIRE THERE IS VERY LITTLE LEFT OF ME AND IT'S NEVER COMING BACK Long strides with pale limbs pushed him forth in quick pursuit of where his siblings had gotten off to, after he'd stopped to help right Psalm when she'd tripped along the way. Now he was certain his sister was doing fine, and she was rushing along at his side. Given the simple fact that he was the largest of the bunch, he always made an effort to keep his pace slow and head up the back of the pack when they travelled. It made it easier to stop and help when things like this happened. When they finally broke through the treeline and into view of where his other siblings had settled, it was clear he had been a bit slow. There was already a titanic male speaking with Azzurra and Balthier, settled on his haunches and wearing a tight smile. Onyx masked features pinched with concern, he took a few cautious steps closer. Gold marked limbs stilled as he settled into a comfortable stance a few steps behind Balt and Azz, sizing up the strange male. He'd caught the tail end of the introductions, where Balt had mentioned the Azz hadn't seen their mother since she'd initially left them. It came as a strange realization, accompanied by a strange tightness in his chest. Poor Azz, her illness had taken a lot from her. Thick skull dipping politely in greeting to the older male, the alabaster yearling schooled his features into a more neutral expression. Perhaps the man was simply concerned for the fact that there was a random group of kids lurking at his borders. "Sorry we're late, Psalm took a bit of a tumble back there." he murmured when there was a lull in the conversation, glancing over at his brother and sister who had beat them here. To the ruddy giant, he smiled lightly. "I'm Solo, I hope this isn't a bad time." he said, glancing behind the man in search of his mother's form appearing from the shadows somewhere. The despondent child in him, devastated by his father's disappearance, ardently sought reconciliation with the only parent he had left. "Speech" thoughts "others"

TABLE & CODE © SKELLE 2021
"Speech!"
It felt weird to be going south again, the last time had been with their father at their side, a sore subject for the girl still... So maybe her mind hadn't been on where she was going as much as it should have been. It wasn't really a surprise then that she'd taken a tumble, not a pretty one either. By the time her mind had caught up to what had happened she was laid flat out on the ground, her ankle throbbing lightly and her body aching more than that. Clearly, she'd hit the ground pretty hard. It had taken some coaxing to convince her siblings to go on ahead while she caught her breath and made sure nothing was broken. Solo had insisted upon staying though and it had been the last thing she needed to convince Balth and Azz to go on ahead. The last thing she wanted was to be the reason that their sister didn't see their mother... Her mind went back to the dream she'd had of her mother and some part of her felt certain they would not find her there...

Still, once they'd both been assured she was fine, a little bruised both physically and mentally but otherwise unharmed they'd taken off after their siblings. Still she and Solo had arrived later than they'd thought and the girl pushed herself in beside her other siblings, head lowered slightly and blue gaze lifted to look at a familiar form. She hadn't really met the man but he'd been around the last time they'd been in. She dipped her head as Solo explained why there late but otherwise offered no other introduction, a dip of her head a greeting though. Her demeanor made it clear it wasn't from a lack of respect, just sheepishness.

Ulric nodded quietly as Balthier introduced himself and confirmed that they were here to see Aranea, his silver gaze glancing toward the smaller girl at his side as he introduced her as well by mentioning that she hadn't seen her mother since Aranea left the first time. He did remember that there had been three children that had come during the visit with Allegro and in the brief moment he was trying to gather his thoughts he glanced up and saw two more walking toward them - another young man and woman that came forward to join their siblings. The boy mentioned the girl's name - Psalm - before introducing himself - Solo. Balthier, Azzurra, Psalm, and Solo. He wasn't sure why he committed the young wolves names to memory, but he did. "That's quite alright, you arrived just in time," he said to Solo, managing a small smile before he looked back to Balthier again.

"I'm... sorry to say that she's no longer here," he explained after a moment, his expression darkening as he did his best to gently broach the subject. He quietly wondered to himself why the yearlings were here on their own without Allegro, but he wrote it off as the children's attempt to connect with their mother even though their father didn't want to interact with her and didn't ask about the black and gold man. Besides, they were old enough to travel on their own he supposed. He sighed softly, his ears flicking back. "Aranea passed away... She had been pregnant and there were complications."

He tried not to go into the details. He wasn't sure how much Allegro had told them or how much the other man would want them to know. He already knew that Allegro had turned her away after seeing that she was pregnant again, but he didn't know the details of that either. He stood quietly for a moment, trying to let that sink in before he added softly, "I can take you to her grave if you'd like... And you're welcome to stay here for the night to recuperate before you go back home."

Ulric Adravendi

Balthier turned to Solo and Psalm when they arrived, poking his nose towards his other sister to make sure she was okay from the fall she had. His head dipped to Solo as he introduced himself before his gaze went back to the man of The Hallows before them.

His eyes squinted lightly at first, his expression had already been more flat, serious at first. He almost wasn't surprised that she wasn't with them anymore. But he wasn't expecting what the brute had announced next. Aranea was dead. And not only dead, but pregnant before she died. He had remembered that Allegro told them that Aranea had done something, that she had chosen someone over them. And really the whole realization of what she had done, and now she was dead, it was extremely overwhelming. His head pushed gently into back Azzurra's neck, like he was trying to hide from the feelings like he always did. But he quickly picked his head up to look at Psalm too. She hadn't taken Allegro's leaving well, he wasn't even sure how she would feel about Aranea being dead. Her and Azzurra were fragile in their own different ways. He glanced at Solo, hoping that he would be able to comfort Psalm too. He definitely didn't want her running off into Auster lands by herself.

He looked back to Ulric, "I'd... like that." His eyes didn't look at his siblings, but they glanced along the ground in their direction. He didn't want to force them all to see it for themselves. But he felt like they all needed to.

When they arrived at her grave, and Ulric stepped back as if to give them a moment to themselves and their dead mother, Balthier just stayed close to Azzie. He fought back tears that weren't even in his eyes. His breathing was long and deep though, the sign of his struggling. He only stayed there for a few moments in silence, his head and neck almost cradling Azzurra. He put his head against Solo for a few seconds if he was there. There wasn't only one grave though, there was a couple. And it gave him the idea that the kids she had didn't make it either. In other words, they didn't have any surviving siblings. He couldn't know what she had done, attempting to abort the babies and then losing them and herself in the end. Or knowing who their father was. He honestly didn't really care.

"Allegro..." He broke the silence, "I saw him in a dream. He told me he had passed." He couldn't know for sure if the dream was real, a premonition, or just a whole figment of his imagination. But he felt like he could tell them. This seemed like the right time. To finally get everything that had, or could have destroyed them out. But hopefully this meant the end of their travesties. They wouldn't have to worry about losing anyone, each other, he hoped. It was all they had left.

"Balthier"

She glanced over toward Solo and Psalm as they caught up and came to join them, glad to see that her sister had recovered from her fall. She refocused on the man in front of them hopefully, but once she saw his expression darken her smile faded. At first when she heard that their mother was no longer here she was just sad because they had come all this way just to miss her and find out that she had even abandoned the place where she had she would be, but then the darker truth came out and her shoulders slowly slumped, her mismatched ears falling back against her head while her mind slowly processed the words. Their mother was dead. Not only that - but she had been pregnant with another litter and that was what had killed her.

She felt like she was frozen in place even as Balthier pressed into her neck. She stared at the ground in front of her with shocked, blue eyes while she leaned back into Balthier's touch. She didn't really hear Ulric as he invited them to see Aranea's grave and offered them a place to stay if they wished, everything feeling kind of muffled and distant. Their mother had already abandoned them, their father was gone, and now this... The vague and fuzzy memories of her mother were all she'd ever have left and a mix of sorrow and frustration squeezed at her and made her throat hurt with unshed tears. Her illness had kept her from so much - including coming to visit their mother when their father had brought the others down to see her. That had unknowingly been her last opportunity to see her mother and now she'd never get another chance again.

Azzurra followed close to Balthier's side as they began to move, not really comprehending what they were doing or where they were going until they were placed in front of a grave. Tears welled up in her eyes as she looked at the mound where grass had begun to grow over under a tree, breathing in a shaky breath as she fell back onto her haunches. She leaned heavily into Balthier, pressing her face into him and wrapping her frail forelegs around him to hug him tight. She didn't notice the other, smaller grave opposite their mother's and she honestly didn't want to look at any of it again. It was just a reminder of everything she had lost and all the opportunities she would never have.

Her brother's voice caught her off guard as he spoke of their father, making her blink open her eyes to look up at him. She didn't comprehend or understand his words any more than she had understood the fact that their mother was dead. They were both dead. Both of their parents. Completely gone with no chance of getting them back. A sob caught in her chest and she held Balthier tighter as she buried her face into his chest again, the overwhelming emotions bubbling over into tears while she tried to drown out the rest of the world and hide from everything they had lost.

"Azzurra"

Reassurance followed from the titanic russet male that they were not interrupting, nor running behind. He briefly flashed a lopsided smile in response to the small smile that was offered up. However, when the ruddy man returned his attention to Balthier, the way his expression darkened brought a pang of anxiety to his chest, flooding his muscles with a desperate plea to flee, abandon this conversation and whatever was about to happen next. The alabaster giant stood still as the grave, feeling his mind drifting away from reality as he braced for whatever might fall from his lips next. "I'm... sorry to say that she's no longer here," he said morosely, forcing Solo to push away the scoff of disdain that threatened to burst through his jaws. Of fucking course she had abandoned them again, without a word or a care. Why should he be surprised, it wasn't like either of their parents gave a shit about their kids, really. Dark lips pulled back into a stern line, ignoring the mournful expression of an adult simply trying to lighten the blow of their mother's abandonment. Ebony and gold dipped auds tipped back irritably, tail flicking against his tall heels. The ruddy man's sigh preceded yet more painful news, but did little to ease the sharp pang of guilt and anger that arced down his legs and into his paws. "Aranea passed away... She had been pregnant and there were complications."

Hadn't Allegro mentioned something about her choosing someone else over the family but.... this? How could she have abandoned them so readily? Moved on to try and make a new family, without trying to fix things with her children in Abaven. It was a punch in the gut, and he felt sick. He was dimly aware of what was happening around him, mercury gaze fixed on something in the middle ground at the Aegis' feet. He drew in a deep breath, letting the fresh air of the warm southern continent flood his lungs and force the tightness in his chest away. He could grieve his childhood later, he needed to take care of his siblings right now. He peeled his eyes from the ground and lifted them to the Aegis' features as he spoke again. "I can take you to her grave if you'd like... And you're welcome to stay here for the night to recuperate before you go back home." the autumnal man offered softly, and Solo finally realized that this hadn't been an adult trying to console abandoned kids, but a man forced to deliver the hardest news there was. Gold marked brows pinched together as he dipped his head mutely in assent to the larger man, and then turned his attention to his siblings. Balt had leaned into Azz, muzzle buried in the thick fur of her dove grey ruff. He could hear the ragged edge to his brother's breath, but both of them were even keeled and protective enough that they would take their time to truly grieve later, once everyone else was settled and cared for. Their gazes met, and Balt's sapphire eyes flicked towards Psalm. Solo dropped his head in a soft nod of acknowledgement, and he slowly raised a massive ivory paw to cover one of Psalm's. "I'd... like that." Balt mumbled quietly, and it locked Solo in to join as well, he bobbed his head quietly in agreement. He wasn't present enough to remember that he had already nodded in agreement when Ulric had initially offered.

He recalled their father's abandonment, and the way Psalm had taken off for an entire night. They were in unfamiliar territory, and far from home. She couldn't get lost, or they might be stuck here for way longer than they should trying to find her again. When his gaze drifted to his littlest sister, Azz was staring blankly at the ground, ears pressed towards her skull and cerulean eyes glistening with tears. He felt the compulsion to comfort her, to draw her tight against his chest and let her tears stain his fur until she was ready to talk about things again. Instead, he let Balthier take the lead, and pushed his shoulder into Psalm's. He searched her pale features, ebon masked mirroring ivory. Words would only fill the space, they wouldn't fix anything. If she moved to run off, he would be forced to chase after her. He sought to walk solemnly at her side, trailing after the Aegis and their other siblings in the direction of Aranea's grave. Obsidian tipped tail would sweep across his hocks periodically, and tap lightly against her thigh as they walked. Bringing up the rear of their travels was becoming his place, and he wasn't stopping now. It didn't take long for them to arrive beneath a gnarled tree, mounds of disturbed soil slowly being reclaimed by grasses and weeds.

He settled in behind his siblings, looming over their shoulders and staring blankly at the largest grave. That was their mother in there. Alone in the end, despite how hard she'd tried to make her perfect family. No one had been good enough, and she had run out of time. Heavy skull lingered in the space between Balthier and Azzurra, while Psalm settled in alongside them all. He felt the gentle pressure of his brother's head sinking into the plush fur behind his jaw, and he pushed back into the comforting gesture with a sideways tilt of his muzzle and a low rumble in his chest. The uneven, drawn out breaths against his neck were all Solo really needed to confirm his suspicions that Balthier was just as devastated as the rest of them, despite his attempts at stoicism. As Balt pulled his head away, he spoke quietly to the siblings gathered around him. "Allegro... I saw him in a dream. He told me he had passed." he said simply, sorrow laden in his accented vocals. The ivory brute drew in a long, heavy breath through his nose. That was it, then. They were officially orphans. No parents to give a shit if they lived or died. They would have to support each other even more now, through this grief and the eventual healing that would come with time. Azzurra clung to their brother, burrowing her face in his pelt and keening softly into it. A pale paw reached up to slide gently down her back, the breadth of his massive forepaw nearly covering the width of her shoulders. "I'm sorry, Zu." he murmured solemnly.

Mercurial gaze shifted to Psalm, praying he wouldn't have to race after her if she took off again. She'd loved Allegro deeply, and the notion of his death would crush her more than anyone. By now, Solo was numb, overwhelmed by the onslaught of emotion and trauma. He would need time to unwind the tightly coiled feelings at his core, and deal with them on his own. He was here to help his siblings right now, and he would attempt to wrap Psalm up in his forelimbs and hold her close if he felt she was going to make a break for it. He didn't have anything to say about Aranea's death. What was there to say? Any chance to build a relationship from the crumbling foundations of her abandonment was out the window. Just another bad memory to add to the pile. His attention kept coming back to the tiny graves alongside hers. None of her new kids had made it, and somehow that was sadder than her death itself. Children had died before they'd been born, as collateral damage in her failed attempt to build family that was better than the one she'd abandoned. He looked away, trying to preserve any shred of affection he might have still harboured in his heart for his mother. If he focused on Psalm, on Balthier, on Azzurra, he didn't have to worry about what Aranea's death made him feel.

"Solo"