Brandr was exhausted. He'd been hitting his travels and hunting harder than usual and with the stress of the volcano and everything else that had been going on he decided he just needed a break. This week, he was staying in Abaven. The day was nice, warm and bright. After he'd finished restocking the stores and putting away his first attempts at fish jerky he made his way to the bay to just settled down for a nice afternoon.

Padding around he found a nice set of palm trees and he settled down to enough the sea breeze. It wasn't long before Blanda joined him. He'd come across the little raccoon attempting to raid his den and after a contentious confrontation they'd soon begun to see eye to eye. Much like Ambi she was interested in trading her skills for food and protection. Brandr was finding her agile little paws particularly useful when it came to crafting items. She also had a curious tendency to make strange, strong drinks that would make one light-headed. Brandr didn't get the point of them but Blanda loved them.

She settled down next to Brandr, her little paws working at weaving together some leather strand. "Afternoon, Brandi! What are you up to?"

"Ah, just taking a break, Blanda."

Rhythm was similarly tired, her old bones just travelled over half of Boreas and she was certainly feeling it now. She couldn’t help but think of sweet Alarr and all of his efforts to help ease her aches and pains. Sadness was a good friend by now and she felt her heart squeeze as she missed the boy. The old woman hoped dearly they would visit soon. She walked now, however painful she was if she settled down for long she knew she wouldn’t get back up. She had to keep moving.

Short breaks were a must however much she didn’t wish they were. The quiet voices reached her over the sounds of the bay. Rhythm didn’t recognize them so she decided to go and investigate. She wasn’t incredibly useful anymore besides sharing and gathering knowledge. Despite the constant sorrow that followed her Rhythm’s peppered lips pulled back in a smile as she approached. Her cloudy eyes on the horizon roughly where Brandr relaxed.

”Hello,” Rhythm greeted in her soft tones. There was no hesitation in her step despite her sightlessness as she reclined close to where the hunter was. ”I heard breaks were being taken over here. Do you mind if I join you?” Though she’d already sat down the old woman would have gotten up and left him if he wanted her to.

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The little raccoon continued to work away as Brandr relaxed. He glanced over at her from time to time, amused by watching her weave and feeling a slight sting of jealousy that her paws were so much more nimble than his own. Still, it had been a good trade off. His hunting skills for hers with crafting. Though he still wasn't sure what to make of the alcohol she had a tendency to brew though he made it clear that he would not tolerate drunkeness. If she was a wee bit tipsy he could tolerate her but much more than that and the little raccoon became a nuisance.

Ambi called out and he turned his head to see a woman approaching, her cloudy eyes seeming to indicate that she was blind. The woman spoke a greeting and he gently replied. "Certainly, madam, feel free! My name is Brandr Scylding, a hunter of Abaven. What brings you out this way?"

She wasn’t sure what the other creature was but she could hear her call. A racoon maybe? Rhythm wouldn’t give it too much thought, maybe she would be introduced. The old woman wondered for a moment where Feather was. She’d been around just recently.. Ah well. The little bird was a gentle reminder of her niece and the small bird knew Abaven well. She seemed to become more comfortable when they returned and Rhythm couldn’t blame her. It felt good to be back with her family, but that didn’t help how much she missed the ones in Legion.

He gave his name with friendly welcoming and she smiled in return. ”Hello, Brandr. It’s a pleasure to meet you. I’m Rhythm Destruction.” She couldn’t help the sad sigh that filtered from her lips. ”Death.” She offered the calous word before thinking. ”I’m sorry,” she offered instead knowing there wasn’t an excuse. ”I’ve come back to Abaven to support my family after..” Then she choked up the wound was still fresh. ”She was my niece.”

For a moment she debated telling him Rhyme was her son, but she hesitated. She hadn’t seen her boy yet and she wasn’t sure he wished her to claim him. ”Rhyme is my son.” She decided to add after all.

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The woman introduced herself as Rhythm Destruction and his ears immediately perked up at the name Destruction. It wasn't a terribly common name and he immediately assumed she was some relation to the Destructions of Abaven. Next to him Blanda had finished braiding the cord she'd been working on and she looked the other woman over with her dark round eyes and curious face.

Rhythm sighed, the sound of sorrow evident, falling from her lips like rain as she told Brandr that it was death that brought her to Abaven's borders. He immediately had a feeling she was talking about Shaye and his own mood fell more somber. Her death had been hard on all of Abaven and the volcanic eruption had made it even more difficult to process. They'd been forced to move and forced to focus on survival. There was little time for grieving. Brandr himself had turned to his work as he often did when there was nothing the world could offer him but sorrow.

His grief had been furthered by the death of Storm. He'd lost his mother in law and he couldn't help but feel that Corentine had been distance since the woman's death. He wanted to help but he didn't know what to do. Rhythm elaborated on her connections with Shaye, saying that Shaye was her niece and Rhyme was her son. "I'm so sorry for your loss Rhythm. Shaye's death has hit Abaven hard, we all feel her absence. If there is anything you need from me feel free to ask." He felt the raccoon shift beside him but she said nothing.

"Did you used to live in Abaven? Where is it you are journeying from?"

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If he lived in Abaven and didn’t know those of Destruction descent the old woman would have thought something was terribly wrong. Despite these amusing thoughts the loss of Shaye hung over them. This hadn’t been the direction she expected when she sat down though it wasn’t entirely unwelcome. She’d had little time to grieve so far, and being able to express it with someone who understood helped relieve a bit of her emotion. Brandr was very understanding and the man even offered his help with anything she needed. ”You are very kind, Brandr. Thank you.” Rhythm offered with a nod of her head, she was truly appreciative.

”I did, a very long time ago.” She answered with a chuckle as she tried to lighten the mood and herself. ”Bass was my brother.” That was so long ago, did Brandr even know who Bass was? ”I’ve lived in Legions for a couple of years now. With my..” What were they now? Did she want to think about it too deeply? ”With Rhyme’s father.” She finally decided on. ”Have you always been here Brandr? Did you ever meet Bass?”

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Rhythm stated that she had lived in Abaven a long time ago and that made sense. There was certainly no rule stating that Destructions were required to live in Abaven and with such an extensive family some members were bound to end up in other packs now and then.

Brandr did a double take as she mentioned that Bass was her brother. "Wow! I knew Bass. He was the wolf to first accept me into Abaven. He left in search of some missing family members and I haven't heard from him since…" Brandr did wonder how Bass was doing from time to time. He sincerely hoped the other wolf was alive and well. "I have been here for several years though I was not born here and for a time my wife and I returned to join my mother's nomadic pack. However, she had family here and so we returned." Though, now Storm was gone. Even so, he had decided he didn't want to up root his family again. It wouldn't be good for Lucine though he had to admit he wondered how Halation was doing and he hoped he would be able to see his son again some time.

Brandr wondered a bit about Legion and he decided to go ahead and ask. "What is Legion like? Do you intend to go back there after your visit?" If so he would offer himself as an escort if she desired.

Rhythm felt a bit more at home talking about Bass, knowing that he had gone in search of loved ones was no surprise. That he never returned was. Her expression turned sad again, knowing by now she was the last of her siblings that remained. She distracted herself from the thought by listening to Brandr’s story. He had been here for awhile now, after having wandered with a more nomadic pack. She nodded along, knowing what it was like to choose your mate. Though she didn’t think Valentine would ever voluntarily live in Abaven. Another fundamental difference that manifested.

”It’s been kind of quiet with the eruption.” She admitted to him. ”And about as opposite to Abaven as possible.” She chuckled, knowing even if she tried to lighten the mood they wouldn’t quite lift. Especially with his follow up question. ”I’d like to say that i’d return someday. But I’m very old now Brandr, I don’t believe I will.” Rhythm wasn’t sure how she felt about it all. About her mortality and the finality of her goodbye to Legion and Valen. She knew very well that she was sad.