Caelum was dead. It hadn't taken Zephyr very long to find Caelum after she'd passed. It was rare she left Abaven's lands for long these days, and when she did leave, she was always quick to return. Luckily, he didn't have to worry about Caelestis needing him - she was too independent for his liking now, and it'd been a long time since she truly needed her parents, anyway. He left in search of her, following her scent to the edge of the winding river called the Rio Grande, wondering why on earth she'd gone so far from Abaven's borders. He hadn't been at all mentally prepared for what he'd found. She'd been fine just a few days ago, hadn't she? Sure, they'd both been slowing down, with age taking their toll quite obviously on them both, but he'd truly expect to see her smiling face when he found her. Instead, something had felt plainly off about her scent, and only when he finally found her - lying peacefully there, as if in a deep sleep - did he realize what had happened. He spent a long while there, curling behind her as if somehow the force of sheer will might bring her back, but she never stirred and he felt everything inside him turn cold. She wasn't even fully rigid yet, still almost warm when he pressed his snout to her neck, and as much as lying with her hurt he felt it had to be done. He hadn't even gotten to say goodbye, or tell her how much he loved her. The world was a cruel, unforgiving place though and perhaps he shouldn't have been so surprised by the one thing he cared about most in this world being torn away from him. First his children, so long ago, and her... and now he was reliving it all - a hundred times over - except this time, there was no one to blame, not even himself. No amount of pain could compare to the heartache Zephyr currently felt. No, he wasn't even sure that heartache was the right word at all - it was raw, crippling pain. It ravaged him at his very core, shredding his already quite fragile heart until he was sure the pain would destroy him completely. Though he knew nobody was at fault, he couldn't help but feel as though he needed an outlet for it all. Perhaps someone more rational might've thought to head home, to find Caelestis to let her know where her mother was, but seeing her lifeless body sent all rational thought straight out the window. He couldn't think, couldn't even move for some time, and when he finally was able to bring himself to shaky limbs all he could think to do was to move. He paced, far stretches along the river, most likely much farther than he really ought to be.. given his age and his own declining health. Perhaps if he ran so far he'd simply collapse of exhaustion, and the painful thoughts that swirled inside his head like a cyclone would grow silent. He wouldn't get such a compassionate relief, though, and instead found himself wandering inside a swamp. Muck, thick and heavy, clung to his limbs and weighed him down as he trudged on, a sneer evident on his lips. He had lost it - his emotions were hazy and hard for even him to discern, cycling from pure anguish to deep rage in a matter of minutes, causing his limbs to quiver and his head to sway side to side as he walked. Every so often Zephyr would begin to mumble something softly to himself, his words indecipherable, but clearly quite anguished.

She hadn’t been gone from the body for long. Stepping away to find a few things she needed, before lashing together a haphazard, makeshift sled with tree wax, flax, and bamboo. It wasn’t her finest work, but she knew spending any longer on it would only delay the inevitable. Her heart was in her throat when she dragged her creation back to the river.

She found the body moved ever so slightly, as though softly jostled by another who had laid beside her. The scent of the wolf was there, on her skin in fresh waves and old. This stranger had known the Lady Riva had tried to save. He had lain beside her, and then left, and she was trying to puzzle out exactly what she missed. She dropped the sled next to Caelum, closing her eyes for a moment in respect for the deceased, before, with a soft, puzzled sigh, she left the body there.

She followed the scent along the river, until the lands changed from fine greenery to mush. She lost the scent in the stronger scents of the bog, sneezing at the unwelcome smells of mold and dank water. This was hopeless. She lifted her head and opted instead to call out, letting her voice travel across the mushy territory as she called out for the wolf she sought. She had promised to find her family, and Abaven. She had promised to find a wolf called Zephyr, and this stranger might know who that was.

Anguish had shaken him to the very core. No, had destroyed his very core, the pain icy and frigid, like ice chilling and shattering his very heart. Not that he was thinking rationally enough to even understand that what he was feeling was pain. He didn't know anything right now. His eyes stung with tears that refused to fall, and his limbs burned with fatigue from walking far too long and too carelessly for a wolf his age. Only when a call sounded through the swamp did his attention shift, lifting his head briefly as if roused from sleep, though his sneer barely faded. It was a sorrowful call, one full of mourning, and it made his stomach turn as he realized who it was for. Him, or Abaven, or whoever might be searching for Caelestis. What the hell did this stranger have to do with any of it? Turning quickly, he hurried toward the sound, trudging through thick mud without hesitation - though his body was fighting him every step of the way. By the time he reached her his eyes were glazed, hardly seeing anything at all, and his lip curled in a faint sneer. "Who..." Zephyr breathed, hardly blinking as he rounded the stranger on quivering limbs. "Who the fuck are you? Was that you calling?" His voice had a harsh, accusing tone to it as he stared at her, maintaining a safe distance. Even in his somewhat delirious state he could recognize that he was in no condition to be pushing his limits around a much younger stranger, but then again... perhaps the sweet release of death might not be such a bad alternative right now. Perhaps pushing her until she showed no mercy might be preferable to whatever was happening now.

She remained where she was, knowing her hope was likely a vain one. This wolf she hunted might well be long gone, or he wasn’t, perhaps he knew nothing of the information she sought.

When he trudged through the muck towards her, her eyes lit up for the bearest of seconds, before falling again. Yes, he had come, but nothing she had to say was welcoming. It seemed he already knew that, with the hostility in his eyes that verged on hate, with the pain she could see behind them. He knew, she understood in that moment that she knew exactly who Caelum was, and her death had meant something to him.

Pain squeezed her heart, and she struggled to keep her voice straight as her words wondered out from her, trying to keep the pain from them and do her duty as a healer. “I promised a wolf that I would find a man named Zephyr, and a pack called Abaven. Do any of these names mean anything to you?” she asked him, her voice soft, and she did not react to the hostility she could see in him.

Somehow, Zephyr was experiencing a new hell. All other trauma in his life had an explanation, a reason, even if the reason hadn't been satisfactory. Someone had always been to blame, even if that someone was himself. He'd had an outlet for his anger, someone to direct it toward, but now it was free to consume him with no direction. There was no hope for him now - not with Caelum gone. Even thinking of Caelestis didn't bring him relief. She was young and would bounce back quickly from the loss of her mother, and even the loss of her father. She was adaptable and fierce, like he had once been, and he wasn't worried for her in the slightest. The stranger's reaction was frustratingly calm. He resisted the urge to lash out at her - whether physically or merely verbally, he wasn't even sure, but his body plagued with fatigue wouldn't stand a chance against someone so young. Zephyr merely sneered, though his expression was quivering as fiercely as his limbs were.  "I am Zephyr. What could you possibly want to find me for?" The faint scent of Caelum was evident on this woman's pelt... or maybe that was merely his imagination playing tricks on him. Zephyr didn't know anymore.

The man didn’t look to be in good shape. Aged, like the woman she had just had to say goodbye too, had been. His limbs quivered beneath the trauma of his anger, and she felt as though her heart was breaking all over again. She had failed to save a patient, an innocent, old wolf in pain. She had died with only a stranger beside her, and Riva had not been able to stop it. He confirmed what she was already beginning to understand. This was Zephyr alright, and he had seen the body of the wolf he loved. Riva cleared her throat, trying to push past the unshed-tears she felt clogging her. “Caelum, she said she was happy with her life in the end. It didn’t end how she wanted, but she was happy. She just wished…” dammit. She needed to do this professionally. She was about to start bawling her eyes out at this dying love story. “Wished, that you were there in the end. I couldn't save her” Riva blurted out, unable to stop the words, tears burning in the corners of her eyes, as occasionally one dripped free of her control, seeping into her fur. "speech"

The quivering of his limbs didn't slow. Perhaps he might've found her company comforting, once, many many years ago - but Zephyr had grown even more hardened over time. If he had any kindness in his heart, it was reserved solely for his mate and his daughter and no one else, not even a kind-hearted stranger. Instead he merely sneered at her, despite the pain mirrored back to him in her own gaze, his emerald green gaze as cold as ice. Caelum. The name spoken on another's lips tore another hole through his heart, a pain worse than the worst injury he;d ever suffered.  "Shut-" He growled, his eyes briefly closing.  "-the-" He struggled to speak, the words spoken through gritted teeth. "-fuck-" Zephyr inhaled sharply, giving his head a firm shake.  "-up." This was no happy ending, not for him, even if she claimed Caelum had died happily. Zephyr couldn't pretend things would be fine. They wouldn't be fine, and he knew that. He didn't blame this healer, and perhaps in a more clear state of mind he would've made it clear that he wasn't upset with her, but everything was suddenly hazy and blurred, like a reflection in a body of water, one layer removed from reality. He had no interest in comforting Riva, as cruel as that might be. He deserved no happy ending and wouldn't allow himself to be tricked by the promise of one. Mutter something to himself, he let out another low growl and jerked himself around, moving to leave. She could do what she wanted, but he didn't want to hear any of it. -exit Zephyr-