She couldn't believe how fast time was flying...it seemed only a few days ago she had found him. United with him. And the result of their supposed love now resided with her in Imperium. Her large form was carried across the plains, the grasses brushing her chest and often tickling her nose. However, today she wasn't sure what kind of a mood she was in...sad? Angry? She hated him. Truly and undoubtedly hated him. And she never thought she could...but she did now. She wasn't sure what her plans were now. Except to move on and never look back, of course. He had dug a grave...and if Newol ever came back, she would make him regret it. She would abruptly stop for a moment, almost shocked and surprised at herself for having such thoughts. But did he not deserve it? Did he not deserve punishment for leaving her alone with children? She loved them dearly, but it wasn't fair to them or her with what he'd done...shaking her head, she gazed briefly at the midday sun, the heat feeling good on sore muscles from the fighting she'd been doing to get her mind off of such things. What else could she do though? "Talk" "You" Think

Spring was definitely here. With it Creed could feel the heat setting in and it made him grumble with protest every time noon rolled around. He loved being in Celestial with Surreal and her family though he wasn't the happiest about the location. He'd been bred for the north in Glaciem and that was how his pelt would remain. Thick, fluffy, and unbelievably hot. Still he wasn't one to complain openly, at least not too much, so he'd suck it up and deal with it like he always did. With Spring around he knew it'd only be a season longer before he turned seven and that was a depressing thought to the man. He finally felt like he was getting old. The way he'd pictured things in his head when he was smaller was that he'd get to be around three or four, live in Glaciem, be a brave, and eventually settle down and have kids. He'd looked forward to the idea of having little ones he could dote on and train. Of course everything had changed when he and his family had moved from Alacritia. With his mother's passing and then their father getting older and then falling into depression, he hadn't exactly had starting a new family on his brain. He'd never met any remarkable females that caught his attention (other than Surreal of course, but she was clearly out of the question) so he'd never really had the chance. His return to Alacritia hadn't exactly been fruitful for him in the women department. He'd been more concerned with helping form Celestial and finding friends. Now he felt like he was running out of time. He knew he'd only have about a year before he would probably be too old to have a kid and that made him a bit depressed. Well Celestial was doing wonderfully and he now had a rank that offered him the ability to go to packs and travel so that was at least comforting. Maybe he'd see some new faces along the way. He wasn't exactly an expert at picking up women, the idea made him a bit nervous as he was sure he'd suck at it, but he was rather determined to find his lady love. At least it was what he wanted at least. He hadn't seen Crucible around since he and Cross had left and Cross had been missing in action for a little bit now. Someone had to have children after all. If not he could hear his mother cursing at him from the high heavens for not giving her some grand kids. He tried to shove the thoughts from his brain as he traveled away from the plains towards the more southern region. It was rather ironic, as he'd previously grumbled about being hot, as he moved to warmer regions. It was nice to see some green though and as he approached the tall grasses of these plains it made him happy to know that everything would be returning to its full splendor of color. The grass tickled against his fur and he could hear the rustling of life not far off. If he'd been hungry he might have even tried to find a rabbit or two, but he'd eaten before he'd left on his journey. Instead he was happy to catch the familiar scent of Avalon. It'd been a while since he'd seen her, though her scent had changed slightly. She smelled of ... Imperium? Yes Imperium and something that smelled oddly like pups. However he didn't happen to catch the scent of the male that had trailed along after her in their very first meeting. That was certainly interesting. So with determined steps he set off after her scent and it wasn't long before she came to view. He offered her a friendly smile as he approached and swiftly took a seat near her. He couldn't help but notice the irritation that her physical features displayed. Was something wrong? "Fancy seein ye here. Ye alrigh'?" He asked curiously. Walk, "Talk" Think

The winds shifted, and not even seconds passed after she smelled him that she would spot him. Amber gaze shifted to meet his as he sat near her, her posture relaxing slightly as he greeted her, a question following suit. She allowed a small smile to touch her features, a deep breath filling her lungs as she took a moment to respond. "I don't know..." Should she tell him what was on her mind? She didn't know him too well, but from what she had gathered, he was of some sort of relation to her wasn't he? It was sort of a pity...he was rather attractive. "It's nice to see a familiar face. How have you been?" "Talk" "You" Think

Creed felt like he was pretty good at reading people for the most part. Something about Avalon's mood spoke to him in volumes and it didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out something was wrong. The tiny smile that tugged at her face didn't seem to reach to the rest of her and the male picked up on it instantly. If those weren't clear signs, the pause she took before she answered him surely was one enough. "I don't know..." Sign number three. Something was wrong. Creed wanted to press her for it, to see if he'd be of some assistance, but he also didn't want to upset her. After all they were somewhat strangers, though he was aware they were family and that meant to most to him. There weren't too many of them left from the Ancora line. His brothers were who knows where and the rest of his cousins... well he hadn't seen them since he was a kid. "It's nice to see a familiar face. How have you been?" "Ah've been alrigh'." He said softly with a shrug. To be honest he couldn't have been happier. Celestial was all he could ask for really and it didn't take too much to make him happy. Granted there were things that could make it better but he was sure those would come in time. He wasn't too keen on focusing on himself though so he decided to flip the conversation around again. "Since ye don' know how ye are, wanna tell me wha' bothers ye? I migh' be able ta help." Walk, "Talk" Think

His accent certainly made him all the more attractive. But with him being family, she knew she couldn't think about such things. Why was she even thinking about that in the first place? Maybe it was her hormones getting to her. Or the loneliness she'd been feeling since Newol had disappeared on her. "That's good." It was all she could think of to say when he answered her. Which was more then she could say for herself. She hadn't been feeling like herself since everything had happened. Newol vanishing, Arian dying, raising the kids by herself, adjusting to a new pack, and through it all, she felt lonely. Another deep breath, amber gaze finding the ground as Creed spoke. Offering potential help, but she doubted he would be able to fix what was on her mind. "I'm that obvious, huh? I guess I would be. I've never been very good at hiding things." She sighed, "But I don't think it's anything you can fix...not unless you can change the past, but that's unheard of." Turning her gaze upon him then, she figured she might as well tell him something that was on her mind. "I'm sure your well aware, my former mate abandoned me and my children. It's been nearly a whole year now, and I'm sure you know who I'm talking about." She was so...angry, about the memories. Angry enough to the point she couldn't even say his name anymore, when before...he was all she talked about finding. And now, she regretted it. "Talk" "You" Think

He noted the deep breath and her eyes heading down towards the ground when he spoke to her. Whatever it was it seemed pretty bad. He shifted on his paws and waited to see what she had to say. He wasn't exactly sure what to expect, though her first set of words didn't surprise him. He smiled halfheartedly. She really was that obvious, though at this point he decided he wouldn't push her any farther if she didn't want to talk. She continued speaking though and regretfully she spoke the one thing he knew he couldn't do. He certainly couldn't change the past though there were many occasions he wished he could fix. He'd know she'd had a mate, the brown male that had shown up at the gathering Surreal had called, but he had know idea that he'd left her. A frown creased his muzzle at these words. He'd expected more from the male as he'd seemed like he'd been a pretty loyal fellow. The whole thing had him rather irritated to think of. He knew if he was angry about it... well he could only imagine how Avalon felt. "Well Ah don' know wha' tha's like, bu' Ah'm sorry. I don' have any kids of mah own, bu' if you ever need someone ta baby sit Ah'm always here and if Ah ever see him again Ah'll be sure ta fuck him up fer ye." It wasn't much, but it was all he could really offer her. He was positive if he ever saw Newol again Newol would be missing something when he left. Nothing like a good castration to teach someone a lesson about abandoning your mate with newborn children. And babysitting... well he'd never had kids but he sure did like them. He was sure they were a bit old for "baby sitting" but he'd would always be happy to take them on for a day or two and keep them entertained. He had plenty of stories to tell and he was always up for an adventure. "Speaking of yer kids, how are they?" Walk, "Talk" Think

His response to what she'd told him was expected. But it didn't help to curb her anger about it. She had half a mind to seek him out herself and take away what he didn't deserve. A small smile peeked through that fit of anger, amber eyes finding Creed's. "Thank you, Creed. I don't wish this kind of betrayal on anyone, but if I ever do see him again I think I will be the one to deliver the message personally." She sighed, eyes seeking out the sky as she thought. It was a shame really..."It's funny. As much as Surreal talked about family and loyalty, I guess it doesn't matter when it comes to those who aren't actually related. Even though I was adopted into the family through Arian, surreal never tried to make me feel like I was family. Only Arian did. So I guess that's where he got it from. He didn't care like I thought he did. Or...like he said he did, anyway." She turned to face him again, an apologetic look in her eyes. "Sorry, I shouldn't be talking like that. I know you're pretty close and loyal to her." And yet, it always seemed to Avalon that surreal really didn't care about anyone else. She didn't show up to try and stop Arian from killing herself. Or to see if Arian's children were alright, or anything of the sort. In Avalon's mind, surreal was a selfish being. And she couldn't help but feel that way. Avalon had a strong familial pull, she couldn't not be there for those she loved. She supposed she was rambling after that, so she would try to change subject by answering Creed's question about the kids. "They're doing better than I thought they would without a father. Better than I did, anyway. Kharnage and Gryphon got sick from the same thing that killed my baby Gnar...but they're getting stronger each day. Lykos has promise to be a great warrior, and Dragon has already proven to be a troublemaker, but I expected at least one of them to act out after everything that's happened. Still, I feel they'll all grow to be great warriors." She smiled as she thought about them all. While the events in the past were painful, she had at least gotten one good thing out of it all. And it was her kids. She loved them to death, and somehow...they always managed to put a smile on her face. "I just never expected to raise a family on my own..." She murmured in almost a whisper. True enough, she never did think this would happen. But here she was. "Talk" "You" Think

Her anger seemed to have been curbed slightly, if only for a moment, as she smiled softly at his words. He smiled lightly at her trying to reassure her it was going to be okay. He understood her want for revenge herself. He had no doubt that if she ever did see him again he was going to feel every excruciating moment tend-fold. He'd put her in a lot of pain and he expected no less from her than to make his life a living hell. He definitely wouldn't ever be having any kids again. If he couldn't help raise the ones he had then he certainly didn't deserve to have any more ever again. If she didn't do it he surely would. It wasn't fair to leave her without a mate or the children without a father. Her topic switched to Surreal and he frowned slightly. Avalon was family but Surreal was a different kind of family. The gray Alpha wasn't blood related but he felt that she was every bit as related as Avalon or his siblings were. His loyalty to her definitely wouldn't be swayed yet he bit his tongue. He understood Avalon's anger, even if he didn't agree, so he wouldn't try to make her opinion matter any less. She apologized soon after though and he nodded. He didn't blame her. Had he been in her shoes he'd be more than a bit angry about a lot of things. "We're all a bi' differen'." He said softly. "I can' speak fer Surreal, bu' she's had her paws full fer a while now. With kids, one who lef' when tha pack was made, a blind husband, and a pack ta run Ah know she's had more than her fair share of things ta do. Ah'm no' sayin' ye don' have a righ' ta be angry. Ah'm just sayin' tha' relationships are hard and it's easy ta pay attention ta everyone. I doub' she had too much ta do with Newol though. If ye really wan' her to treat ye like family though you should come around, bring yer kids, Ah'd love ta see ye around some." He offered her a small smile. He really did want to get to know his cousin and her kids some. It'd be healthy for her to surround herself with more friends too, or so he believed, and visiting Celestial didn't feel like a bad start to him. If she really was bothered that she didn't have a good relationship with his Alpha then it wasn't too late to fix that. He hadn't been privy to what all had gone on and how long Surreal had known Avalon or Newol, but he wanted to try to fix things. It was what he felt like he was meant to do. The subject change felt like a good one at first but it was saddening to hear that both of her children had gotten sick. One dead child was bad enough but hearing that she'd almost lost two more must have been devastating. He was glad that they were okay though. They had a strong lineage. It would take more than an illness to wipe them all out. Hearing that one of hers was a trouble maker made him grin. He sounded a lot like he did when he was a kid. It had taken him no time at all to run off and that's when he'd first met Surreal. He hated how depressed and angry his cousin seemed to be. If she felt so alone, even in a pack as large as hers, he could only imagine how hard it was. "I know ye feel alone, bu' if you ever need anythin' Ah'm here fer ye. Ah never had kids of mah own bu' Ah'm willing ta help if ye wan'. There's also yer pack. Ah'm sure in a pack as big as yers they''d be willin' ta help ye out. Ah know it's no' tha same as havin' a mate ta help, but yer not alone in this." Walk, "Talk" Think

She sat back and listened as creed spoke. She knew he didn't agree with what she said about surreal, but that was how she felt. She did nod though, coming by to visit didn't sound like a bad idea. As long as the red eyesore didn't come around...her son had said the brute had been pretty rude and threatening. She didn't care who you were, she would not tolerate anyone threatening her kids for making a mistake. "I think I will come by soon for a visit. Dragon made it to the borders once, I'm sure he'd love to come again and visit you." She returned his smile, she was so happy to know that she had actual blood relatives now. And when creed offered his help, she smiled and nodded. "Thank you creed, I do appreciate it. Maybe there's things you can teach them that I can't...I do have all boys, they may need your help someday." Ah! She dreaded the day she would have to give them "the talk", but she was sure creed or someone could help when it came to it. Returning her gaze to the sky, she sighed and hummed a bit. Her tail wrapped around her paws as she looked at the clouds. "It's strange...since my parents disappeared, I was...kind of the only one left from our old pack...I was alone for a long time, even my brothers and sisters eventually disappeared. So when I found you, I was ecstatic! I thought I was the only one left." True, she was happy that she'd found someone related to her. She didn't feel so alone anymore. "Talk" "You" Think