Regulus Anatolii Adravendi

His daughter had gone ahead and warned him about Baine’s return, adding that his little sister was a mother now, too. What of Rasiel and Kieryn? Where were they? He’d been glad for his middle brother’s presence as Tornach healed and regained his strength after his horrific encounter with the eruption. He knew it was hard for his stormcloud brother to be here after all but abandoning the family at the founding of Celestial. He tried his best to keep the good memories of this place at the forefront of his mind. Sweet days and nights with Solveiga, watching his younger siblings grow and play and be born here. Seeing his own twin children come into the world and grow up… least until it all went wrong and Solveiga was taken for the first time. Had he ever really gotten her back? Her body maybe, and her soul… But the bad experiences had crushed what was already so delicate and innocent before. Where were Zuriel and Faite? From what he knew, both had vanished. His encounter with Dominus had been… painfully enlightening as to some of that answer. A pale form brought his gaze into focus, the reflexive snarl fading from his lips and face as he found his Little Moon’s form entering the main chamber. His features remained neutral, waiting expectantly to hear why she’d vanished without a word to him, knowing the pack laws as she’d gone. “Why.” And there it was. Under the deep rumble, there was a crackle of hurt. Worry that maybe it had been he that had driven her away. Hurt that she hadn’t just come to him and told him she wanted to leave. Or that she hadn’t taken him with her if she’d been taken by an enemy.

Pale paws carried her to the beginning of the path that led down into the dens where she was certain she would find her brother. For a few moments she wasn’t entirely sure she would be able to gather the courage to actually face him. All of her energy and focus had been thrown into just getting herself here that she hadn’t thought much about what she would actually say to him. If she was being honest with herself, she hadn’t been certain that she would actually survive the journey so the idea of worrying about what would happen when she finally arrived seemed silly.

Now here she was, afraid to even face the man that she had traveled all this distance to see. Perhaps she would be braver if Nolan was with her, but she knew this was something she needed to do on her own. She wanted Nolan’s introduction to his uncle to be on happier terms. Pushing herself forward, she made her way slowly into the dens. The layout of them was just as familiar as it had been the last time she was here and a heavy nostalgia settled over her as she moved though them.

She followed her brother’s familiar scent until her pale pink eyes finally found him. Her heart leapt into her throat and she froze in place in front of him, at a complete loss for words. Why. The single, hard word hit her like a slap across the face. Her ears flicked back against her skull and her eyes fell to look at the floor. It was the response she deserved, she knew that, but it didn’t mean that it the sting wasn’t there all the same.

A heavy silence hung between them as she tried to gather her words, her haunches slowly lowering to the floor as she struggled to find the right things to say. ”I didn’t... I didn’t understand what I had here. I got so wrapped up in... I don’t even know what it was. Some far flung rebellion, some... some part of me that wanted to do something crazy maybe? It was juvenile and stupid, I know that. I just felt so stuck and I didn’t know what else to do.” She hesitated, frowning as she thought back through her memories and tried to pinpoint one specific reason or excuse, but she came up short. She sighed and made herself lift her gaze to look at Regulus again. “It’s a terrible excuse... And that’s all it really is I guess, isn’t it? Not even a reason, just an excuse.”

She knew that he would want to know exactly what had happened and she let the words tumbling out of her mouth continue after a heavy sigh. As she spoke her eyes remained on her paws, too ashamed of her own actions to look him in the eye.  “I met a man named Acere. I didn’t know at the time that he was Elias’ brother. I was so hung up on the fact that I was getting older and I still hadn’t found anyone to be with and I was just attracted to him for some reason... Like I said, it was juvenile and stupid. I ran away to be with him... Thinking about it now, I don’t even know if he felt the same way about me, I was just too eager to have any sort of chance. When we got to his pack was when I found Zuriel and put all the pieces together.”

”When everything started falling apart there, Zuriel decided to leave. Daelos of course went with her and she took one of her younger sons, Casso, with her as well. She was the most worried about him since she seemed to think that he’d have some of the same problems that Elias did and wanted to keep him away from that influence as much as she could... There hadn’t been time to try and gather the rest of her children before the opportunity came for us to slip away. She thought about coming back here. We both did. But... We felt so guilty for how we had left that we felt it was better to go away from Boreas. I think she was a little afraid of Elias finding them as well, but she wouldn’t admit it. I wanted to help her raise Casso and... I guess I hoped maybe whatever it was that I was looking for would be out there somewhere.”

It felt like her story was rambling on forever, but she knew if she didn’t get it out now she may never do it. After the silence settled around them for a moment, she finally lifted  her eyes to look at her brother again. She knew she didn’t deserve any forgiveness for how she had left, but it felt better knowing that he at least knew what had happened to them. ”Daelos is still out there. She found a mate and has very young children so she decided to remain there.  I found a mate as well... His name was Thorben. We were both probably too old to really want such a thing when we found each other, but we were happy. It was honestly a shock when I realized I was pregnant. I had two pups, but one was stillborn. My son came here with me, his name is Nolan. He’s a wonderful young man... He’s even a little taller than you.” Her voice glowed with pride when she spoke of Nolan, even hinting with a bit of humor when she mentioned how big he had grown. However, her tone quickly grew more somber as she continued. ”Thorben passed away several months ago. Zuriel... she passed away as well...“

Regulus Anatolii Adravendi

He saw the flinch, the shame as her head lowered like a pup who had done a grievous wrong, and was transported back to the night Baine had snuck out to grab a bite from the carcass their mother and he had brought down and dragged to the ravine. Granted it hadn’t been out in the open, but the pack hadn’t been founded yet. She’d been caught, and had just about melted from shame then. He sat silently, not speaking but listening intently as the grown Baine spoke, telling her story. His features did share the emotions he felt as he listened. The reflexive, silent snarl at the very mention of Elias’ name. Did Baine know what that monster had done to their sister? From the sound of it, maybe she did. But he wanted to clarify the notion once she was done speaking. He would be glad of a nephew living with them. Too few of their little branch remained in the pack. He was relieved that a similar fate to Zuriel’s hadn’t befallen his little albino sibling. Still, sadness had come with her birthing. A stillborn. He gave a sympathetic whine, so soft it was barely a whistle. But the remaining son was strong, tall, apparently. He looked forward to meeting Nolan, he had to admit. He’d have to go meet Torin, too, make a point of visiting all his nieces and nephews that he could. He was silent as Baine finished, quiet grief welling in his breast for the sister he’d never gotten to see again. Perhaps… But he would have to hope she would find a way to visit him another way some time. The silence drew on for several long minutes as he processed everything that she’d told him, before he slowly shook his head. “She thought she could fix that monster. Begged me not to kill him for what he did to her. I assume she told you about that? He had no right ever setting a paw on one single hair of her body, no matter what manner of touch it was. Let alone getting her pregnant again.” He straightened with a soft groan, joints creaking before he slowly lowered himself to the floor with a sigh. “Solveiga died this Spring. I suppose I have a long saga of stories to tell you, now…” And so he did, his rich, deep and age-deep voice falling into that enthralling cadence of a natural storyteller as he started with just before her departure. Through the months of training and watching his children grow, caring for the pack, watching Solveiga be the gloriously gentle, sweet, beautiful mother and Queen he’d known she would be. His twins’ first outing as pups. Love and yearning laced his voice as he told of those days. But that joy and beauty darkened as he spoke of the day Solveiga and Aramis had been taken. How they’d vanished when Solveiga had taken little Aramis out for a solo lesson beyond the wall about herbs. Emotion thrummed through the sonorous tale-teller’s words as he spoke of the aftermath. He’d raised his daughter alone, hoping that the remainder of their family would return, that Solveiga had gotten a little lost but would find her way back. But as the seasons rolled on, he’d focused harder on Aurielle’s training, the care of the pack, while sending feelers out to the Nomads, who were far more able to search far and wide for the missing mother and son. He told of his daughter’s successes, his own fatherly pride matching Baine’s as he praised the young wolf’s strengths and wit. And finally the news that had come, that the Nomads had found them, captives of slavers. Of bringing Aurielle to alphaship early, with Gwenevere at her side as a guide. His journey to battle, the battle, the death and wounds and the freeing if the slaves and his Solveiga and his Aramis. The horrible condition his mate had been in. He was proud of Aramis for having done his best to defend his mother and stand by her, preventing her from being used as a brood-slave. Aramis’ unusual coat had been a point they wished to use as a selling ploy, and should the boy waste and die, thus their profit would die. He told of the journey home, the joy of the return, and the budding hope that all would be well. And then his mate and son had fallen ill, in the same way of Kavdaya, but in a different way. Aramis had bounced back, but Solveiga… Solveiga. His voice cracked slightly, but he pushed on through those months. Aramis was missing again, now, the last he’d said being about looking for a cure. And in that time, Mt Volkan erupted in the east, throwing the lands into turmoil, burying them in ash, sending the natural cycles askew. Laisren had been missing well before that, lax in his duties even before then. And then, as Spring rolled in, his mate gave up the last thread she’d clung to, passing on in his embrace. He refused to let himself fall ill. He refused to die until he saw his daughter happy, and at least one litter of grandkids in the world. He could only hope that Aramis would come back before he was gone. He spoke of meeting Dominus, learning what he could of the happenings. And finally, his story completed, he let the silence fall with a huff. He’d let no detail slip from the narrative, and he added, “Aurielle hopes to hold another festival this season.”

The silence was the worst part. It seemed to stretch on forever and every second that ticked by felt like an age. When he did finally speak it was about Zuriel and Elias. At the very least it wasn’t him dismissing her or an insistence that she was still in the wrong so for that she was thankful. She nodded quietly to his sentiment toward Zuriel’s former attacker turned mate. Their sister had the biggest heart, but Baine was certain that her kindness and love had blinded her healer sister. ”It was a hard way to get them, but she did love her children more than anything. I miss her.

She followed his lead and settled onto her stomach with a soft sigh. As soon as she heard the news of Solveiga’s passing, her expression clearly showed her sorrow and sympathy. Loosing a loved one was something that she was intimately familiar with now and she certainly felt his pain. She and Thorben hadn’t had the time together that he and Solveiga did, but the emotion had been there all the same.

Regulus had her full attention while he went though the time that she had spent away, filling her in on the lives of him and their family. He had always been a good story teller and now was no exception. She had no idea how much time passed while she listened to his stories, but she was happy to be able to spend every minute she could with him. Time seemed so precious and short these days. In a way it seemed like all those years in the middle of her life had been wasted and now that she wanted more time she wasn’t going to be able to have it. It was a deep regret she had and one that she wasn’t sure how to deal with yet. She smiled when he mentioned that Aurielle was hoping to have a festival soon. ”That would be wonderful,” she agreed, her tail brushing slowly against the floor behind her.

She hesitated while she tried to figure out the best way to say what she wanted to say. ”Regulus, I... I decided to come back here because I’m not doing well... Physically, I mean.” Her expression and tone showed her seriousness, but she wouldn’t let herself be somber or sorrowful. It wouldn’t do any of them any good if she got wrapped up in depression as she faced her own mortality. ”Zuriel and Daelos both tried to treat me the best they could, but... It’s just a matter of time. I came back here because I was afraid that I would never get the chance to apologize to you before it was too late and I wanted to make sure you knew what happened to me and Zuriel in the end. And... I wanted to make sure Nolan would be taken care of after I’m gone. I wanted him to be around family.”

Regulus Anatolii Adravendi

He never once doubted that Zuriel had loved her children, regardless of how they’d been forced into her life. His litter-sister had always been one he’d known would love her children without fail… did she die not knowing what had happened to the rest of her litter? His heart clenched with grief, knowing that Solveiga had indeed passed on not knowing where Aramis had gone, with only his hurried words about a search for the cure and finding the Nomads before he’d left. And then to hear the Nomads themselves saying that they’d never seen his son… “I miss them all…” Baine’s admission to her ill health wasn’t a surprise—he could smell it on her. He wished it were otherwise, that he and his little sister could grow into crotchety old geezers together and see their children have children, and those children have children of their own…. But Galei didn’t hand out fate that way.. “Thank you for coming back. I look forward to getting to know Nolan. What do you plan to do before…”

The question of what she would do with her remaining time hit her with an unexpected amount of uncertainty. Making it here to speak with Regulus and get Nolan to his new home had been her only goal for some time now and now that it was accomplished she wasn't sure what to do with herself. There was only one certain thing left on her mind. "For now I guess I'll just spend as much time as I can with Nolan and maybe reconnecting with some of our family... If I'm being honest, I'm not sure what else to do. I want to try and help around the pack when I can of course... Other than that, I guess I'll just try to make as many memories as I can with Nolan."

She sighed softly, her ears flicking back as she thought uncertainly about her quickly approaching mortality. She didn't know if it was going to be a month or a year from now and the uncertainty of it was really the only part that scared her. She had loved and had gotten the chance to have a child and got to see him grow into a young man that she was proud of so she felt like she had gotten to experience most of the things she wanted out of life. Her biggest regret was having to leave Nolan so soon. "Nolan knows that I'm sick. He saw his father pass away when he was so young and he understands that the same thing is going to happen to me... I just don't know if he realizes how soon. Just... please don't mention it to him. I want him to be out enjoying his new home and meeting everyone - not sitting next to me all the time."

After a moment of silence Baine pulled herself to her paws, that familiar exhaustion settling over her. She gave her brother a small, sad smile before padding over to him to press her nose to his cheek for a moment. She was about to leave when the feeling of her necklace shifting against her chest reminded her of something she had meant to ask her brother. "Regulus, if I don't get a chance to do it myself, will you make sure Nolan gets my necklace? It's a little thing, but I'd like for him to have something from me." With that she turned to pad out of Regulus' chamber and set off to find somewhere to rest. She hadn't quite recovered from the physical toil their trip had put on her and the emotional exhaustion hit her just as hard.

Regulus Anatolii Adravendi

Her uncertainty in what she would do now settled him into his own certainty. He would simply just have to be by her, to make up for the long years they’d been parted. He listened as she spoke, gentle sympathy in his eyes. He could understand her wanting Nolan to be able to enjoy his life instead of hovering over his mother, watching as she weakened and died. He knew that agony personally. He knew Aurielle had, for the most part, managed to escape the majority of it. Here duties as Spirit kept her moving and busy, and distracted. She’d been absent when the last breath left Solveiga, though, and he knew she hurt deeply for that. “If Tornach comes back from his venture, I’m sure you and he have much to talk about— you’re twins, after all. I may be the big brother, but he’s your littermate. If it’s alright with you, I’d like you to meet Faite’s kids too. Torin’s had his first litter—they’re yearlings now, I believe. One of his daughters visited not long ago.” Her embrace was welcomed, like old times. He tucked her back under his chin and sighed, nodding at her request, but gently tightening his hug as she moved to leave. “Stay? My furs are thick and comfortable enough, and I don’t think an alcove’s been set up quite yet.” He released her and stepped away, nodding toward an alcove that wasn’t the one she’d come into the world inside but one over, visibly piled with thick furs, sheepskins and lined further with dried hay and herbs beneath them.

Tornach. It had been so many years now since she had last seen her litter mate. She remembered how much it had hurt when he left and how uncertain life had felt after that. If she was honest she wouldn’t even know where to begin if they did see each other again, but... yes, she did want to see him. She had always missed her brother and began to hope, possibly in vain, that she might be able to spend some time with him before this was all over. The thought of meeting Faite’s children and her grandchildren made her smile as well. She’d certainly enjoy that, there was no doubt. It felt daunting to catch up on all the time she had missed, but she was also hopeful and excited about it all.

When Regulus stopped her and offered her a place to stay, she gave him a grateful smile and nodded. ”Thank you, Reg. I appreciate that.” She was so happy that things felt comfortable and familiar between them again. She knew what she had done was terrible and that a wolf who was less kind wouldn’t have forgiven her. She moved toward the welcoming pile of furs and settled into them, curling up in the warmth they offered. She knew she was tired, but she hadn’t realized just how tired until she was curled up in the comfort of her childhood home. Baine drifted to sleep almost immediately and had the deepest sleep she had been able to enjoy in a very long time.