Visiting the rapids had become more bitter than sweet. The lava flow and rocks that had blocked the lower rapids weren't able to be moved by wolves alone. The upper stream still flowed freely, but it slammed into the rocks downstream and split into several thin, sad rivulets. It was nothing like the rapids of her youth - the stay away from there, the current will drag you under rapids, the louder than life rapids. She couldn't help herself from returning over and over again in the evenings, like picking a wound until it bled. She loathed it and she loved it.

Theory was settled upstream where the water still flowed quickly. Her blue eyes followed the water down until it hit the rocks; she stared long and hard, her gaze unshakable. They would find a way to restore the water's flow. She just needed time to think.

He tried not to leave pack lands often and especially without company. There weren’t very many days where the thought of Shaye didn’t cross his mind, but the time between hallucinations continued to grow. Rhyme hurt but he was embracing reality and the heartache that came with it. His pale paws carried him towards the rapids and what used to be his beloved home. Now it was filled with sad memories and broken dreams.

Dark ears clung to his skull as he passed by the maple tree his children were born beneath. The ancient behemoth was felled, its once mighty branches crumpled on the ground. A sad mirrored image of himself. Rhyme continued on, his blue and lavender gaze falling on the painful image of Theory. The blue feather that had once adorned the one he loved caused a jolt of pain in his heart, but he continued forward. He knew the girls would carry on Shaye’s bright spirit.

”Theory.” He greeted softly with a clarity in his eyes that hadn’t been there the last time they were together. Rhyme still hurt but he was living in reality again. He reached forward to nuzzle her cheek lovingly, if he needed anything in that moment it was his daughter’s supportive love.

At the sound of her father's voice, Theory turned to him and returned his affections. If this place hurt her, how badly did it pain Rhyme? Like the fire that had ravaged the thicket, flame returned to savage them over and over again. There was no time for the wounds to heal. Only hurt and hurt again. "I met Samara," she said pointedly, deciding that they may as well cut right to the chase. The tiny female could have been any of their twin, with her dark fur and white markings. Did she remind him of Shaye? "I'm glad that she brought you back to us. Don't go running off again. I couldn't stand it," Theo added, her voice curt and tight. It was almost as if she was speaking to him as a superior and not his daughter. She didn't like it, but it felt better than crying and breaking down again. Tears didn't fix anything. The land would mend on its own, but fixing things that were broken like her father took more than the passing of days and seasons. He needed company. A reason to live.

"I still need to learn from you. The children of the pack need you." she sighed and closed her eyes. They had lost so much. Eulogy's brood had never known another father figure. Rhyme was, of course, irreplaceable to her, but she was slowly learning that she could get by on her own. If she had to.

She greeted him with affection instead of words as they closed the distance between each other. He tried not to overlay Shaye’s image over his daughter as he held tightly to her. Thoughts of their lost loved one were blessedly banished as she uttered Samara’s name. ”I’m sorry.” He muttered apologetically, debating about telling her that without the tiny Klein woman he might not have made it back to Abaven at all. There was no need to say it though, the way Theo spoke she knew his precarious state as well or better than he did.

He was caught off guard by her words and they struck him deep. Shaye was gone and he felt the draw of following after her. There were so many things he wished he could take back or moments he could return to. He pulled away a bit, feeling the weight of his burden the once alpha lowered himself to the ground.

”I know.” Rhyme felt the deep gouge within his heart and his soul. He needed to be whole, he needed to recover, not for himself but the ones who relied on him. He swallowed hard as bright blue and lavender gaze looked to the ashen sky. He’d been through so much in his life but losing Shaye was the most difficult of all. Rhyme was weak, and though he couldn’t deny Theory’s words were true it was hard to work past his sorrow. It was hard for him to ask for the help that he needed. Especially after his daughter was forced to be so strong.

"Well... good," she said tersely. He seemed to get the picture and she wasn't interested in rubbing his nose in it, even if she was still hurting. Her pain was private and she'd tend to it on her own, in her own time. Just like Rhyme's grief belonged to him, Theory's pain was hers alone. It couldn't be understood any plainer than she had already tried to communicate. Some things, she was learning, didn't really have words. The scope of your pain was impossible to explain to someone else; it was worse than a language barrier. It was untranslatable. Sighing heavily, she laid her head on her paws and followed Rhyme's gaze to the sky. "Poem has come home. We have plenty to be grateful for," she added. Theo was sure that Poem had already stopped to see her Tato. With Samara and Poem's help, she hoped they could restore Rhyme to the capable leader he had once been. "I like this Samara," she offered, her eyes glimmering with an unspoken mirth. "She asked to join recently. I welcomed her with open arms. Anyone who can bring you back to us in one piece is Abaven material."

Theory didn’t deserve the heavy load that she was forced to take, nor did she deserve the extra weight from him giving up. Rhyme was doing exactly what he’d warned Shaye about, he had to keep fighting. Abaven needed him. He shifted so he could lean against Theory, he’d offer what comfort he could until he was strong enough to help her bear the weight once more. Knowing Poem returned brought a great relief to himself. Now if they could return Motif to her senses. Shaye’s daughter’s inherited a difficult life. ”We do.” Still, it was hard to not dwell on their loss.

She went on to mention her thoughts of Samara more deeply, she liked her and had already welcomed her into Abaven’s embrace. ”She’s given me more help than I deserve.” After losing Shaye he’d forgotten the lingering looks that the woman laid upon him, or how much time she spent in his presence. She devoted more time to him than she should have, but he was grateful for her. ”I’m glad you decided to give her a place here.” He was cautious about exploring why that was. Deep down he knew it wasn’t just because of her kindnesses towards him. Samara was positioning herself closer to Rhyme than his current state allowed him to realize.