Nearly a year had gone by since Noir’s blue and lavender gaze had fallen on the sight of Abaven. Summer kept him somewhat informed, but the two of them remained close since the eruption. The raven hadn’t been in contact with her family anymore than Noir had been in contact with his. He’d spent more time with his kin in Legion than he did thinking about Abaven. Though memories sometimes interrupted the nearly mature boy he didn’t spare Abaven or his immediate relatives a second thought. They were as good as dead, and if the rumors were true then Shaye was dead and Rhyme had gone crazy. Both results sat satisfactorily on the blue striped boy’s shoulders. Even more, it sounded like his once mentor Odysseus went down with the alpha.

Noir couldn’t think of a more fitting end for the pair.

Massive paws carried his huge form up the side of the volcano that had changed everything. Had it not erupted that day he wondered how different his life might have been in those moments. Would Shaye or Odysseus come after him had the volcano not stolen everyone’s attention? He still regretted the fact he’d been robbed of his grand exit. Maybe he’d made a surprise reappearance one day.

For not thinking about them he was doing an awful lot of thinking about them. Maybe it was the proximity. His huge head shifted and he cast his gaze down to the territories that made up Abaven’s borders. He had no idea they relocated, but he did notice the amount of activity that shifted from the rapids to the island. He couldn’t make out any details but there was an area to the south as well that picked up a pack or two. He voided large gatherings of wolves for the most part, Noir had embraced life as a loner but now that he was not only surviving but thriving Noir was experiencing boredom once more.

The yearling stumbled slightly over the rough terrain. Fire had ravaged everything. The whole world had turned black, and as Noir moved forward through the territory he too began to turn. His vibrants stripes were dulling from the mass amounts of ash in the air. No trees remained, the ground was barren of any green life, but then again in some places there was still fire burning. There was little wonder nothing but the bravest of souls made a return. Noir made the attempt to shake the ash from his pelt, but he only disturbed the substance around him to create more of a cloud. With a heavy huff the yearling moved on.

Prowling lightly the Destruction outcast made his way to a rocky outcropping, mostly devoid of ash. He was cat-like in his need for cleanliness, and even if his curiosity about the current state of the volcano wouldn’t let him leave he had to rid himself of the dust and grime. The hot springs were going to be his very first stop after he finished here.

wc: 507

Her trip to Abaven’s borders hadn’t turned up nearly as much information as she had hoped. It seemed as if Noir had done the same as her and ditched the pack in the confusion of the volcano. Theta was far enough north to avoid most of the immediate danger. Going farther inland led her to see what was left of the destruction that the eruption had brought. The Ground was recovering slowly but there were still places deeply blackened with ash from both the volcano and the burning it had caused.

Theta had been walking through some of the most destroyed areas until she had come to the volcano itself. The land she had seen felt almost surreal. The presence of wolves was barely there and the wildlife was sparse as well. She had taken her time walking through it, she couldn’t say she enjoyed looking at it though. It brought a sense of heaviness to her heart. She could care less about the lives lost in the event, there were enough wolves around as it was what was a couple less. What got to her was the darkness of it all and the absence of greenery. There was no denying that this had happened and that she was alive before it did. Theta normally wasn’t the introspective type, but seeing the carnage almost made her one.

Theta had thought about how the eruption had provided her an out away from her family, how it was basically a blessing to her. Yet to others it wouldn’t have been, it wreaked havoc on their land and their livelihoods and possibly their loved ones. She was left unscathed and others would hold it in their hearts as an evil to fear and hate for ages. It was a rather odd thing to think about. She wondered what it meant for the future of the land. The wildlife and plants would surely recover in time, but would they ever be the same? Would anyone else dare to live or travel by the cause of all this wreckage? She certainly had, but who was to say if she wasn’t slightly crazy for doing so.

As she made her way around the base of the volcano she spotted another wolf on some ledge. It appeared she wasn’t the only one crazy enough to visit the scene of the crime. She wouldn’t bother them for the time being, it didn’t seem right to disturb someone who might be pondering the same things as she was.

She discovered a way that led further up the side of the volcano, it wasn’t a clear path but it wasn’t steep enough that she would go sliding down it should she take the wrong step. She carefully made her way up and spotted the other wolf again. This time she was closer and had a better look. They seemed to be covered in ash, just as she had gotten to be. Her travels had meant her paws were covered in the stuff and the darker reds on her fur had become even harder to discern from the natural black. The other wolf was darkened and she wasn’t entirely sure if she had seen them before. But…something about them was familiar. She wasn’t confident in her idea, but she was desperate. She wanted it to be true more than anything.

Theta’s mouth slowly opened as she almost whispered the word “Noir?”

wc: 570

Summer stood stoically on Noir’s shoulders after landing. She warned him silently of the wolf she’d sighted, but the Raven didn’t recognize the she wolf. Noir looked up from his grooming, bringing himself to his massive paws. Dark ears perked forward as blue and lavender eyes pierced through the smoky haze that covered the mountain. The eruption may have started almost a year ago but the volcano had not given up the fight just yet. The air was warm thanks to the exposed gash to the innards of the earth. Fires still burned away the last bits of life and winter’s touch wouldn’t likely press hard enough to infiltrate the heat.

Noir lifted his head, bringing himself to his full impressive height as he caught a glimpse of movement. He trained his attention on the figure, feeling his striped tail flick in irritation as he peeked the silhouette of antlers on their head. He couldn’t smell anything over the ash, but he had lost his fear of other wolves a long time ago. The wind picked up and cleared the haze from between their two forms. Noir’s sharp gaze stuck to her as he studied her features, he saw her lips move but he didn’t catch his name on the wind.

He stood still for a long moment, silently studying her face like he had studied the face of the volcano beneath his paws. She had a face he would never forget, and the memories he’d gathered in his puphood swarmed him. ”Theta.” He returned, Noir’s voice turned deep after his last year of growth. He was almost completely filled out, and the young Destruction man was one of the biggest. For too long Noir had felt the boredom of idleness take hold of him, but as recognition took him a whole world seemed to open up. He’d found a few amusements, but he’d only ever made real plans with Theta.

She had been the one to beat Poem so long ago after his sister had beaten him. He hated reminiscing, but the satisfaction of knowing Theta had claimed victory brought a grin to his dark features. With ease Noir shifted to close the distance between them. ”You aren’t dead, are you?” He might not have believed in ghosts, but after exploring Boreas there was too much he’d seen that still remained unexplained. Seeing Theta here, covered in ash and on the side of a mountain, was something he had never expected.

For so long all he wanted was to escape Abaven and go out into the world to do what he wanted and not have authority standing over his shoulder. He was in a place he didn’t have to worry about impressing a worthless parent or overbearing alpha. Noir was free, and now he and Theta could do whatever they desired.

wc:476

Theta stood stunned as she watched the other wolf. They were bigger than she was and appeared to be much more muscular. As she had grown up her body hadn’t changed much besides the antlers. She had reached her full adult height and her muscles were a little more defined, but she was nothing huge. Nothing as big as what stood before her.

The wolf had looked at her and said her name. It had to be Noir, it just had to be. Part of her mind was busy thinking that this was some kind of illusion, that she was imagining it all. Maybe she was a little dehydrated and hungry and when she took the time to rest none of it would have happened. Noir would be gone.
The voice asked her You aren’t dead, are you? and Theta honestly couldn’t tell. She very well could have died on her search and this was the afterlife where she had found her mental image of Noir and they would go on to live happily ever after. If this was the afterlife that idea didn’t seem too bad.

Theta had been gazing at Noir for a moment longer than she should have after he had asked the question. She shook her head to try and clear her mind, if she could have slapped herself she would have. No no no she was not dead, she was still a living breathing wolf. She wasn’t stupid enough to have let herself die out there. Be sensible!

Theta answered his question with another question “Are you dead?” If Noir was dead she might as well be dead as well. “If I’m dead then you must be too, I don’t remember dying but that doesn’t mean I’m alive.” Theta might have been over thinking it a little, but it was hard not to when either option seemed perfectly valid.

The eruption had really ruined everything he had planned, there was no grand escape and he’d been unable to call for the other yearling in the battlefield. He’d searched for her minimally, but he’d mostly figured she was dead at this point. She might still have been, the yearling girl froze for a long moment, her vivid ruby eyes locked onto his mammoth form. Her attention changed his grin into a smirk as she lingered and remained silent far longer than polite conversation would allow before she eventually spoke.

Noir had learned patience in his time alone, though he wouldn’t likely spare much of it for anyone but Theta. And maybe the albino bitch, but being impatient had been more fun with her. Theta did eventually speak once more, reversing the question to him. Was he still in the living world? Surely. ”Not yet.” Not like a few select individuals he’d left behind in Abaven. Unlike Theta, Noir had no doubt that he was alive. Before he had taken his freedom from the pack he’d felt like a captive. Now he was on his own, making his own decisions, and living for the first time in his life.

With Theta here maybe he could finally bring some excitement back into his life, he’d been bored recently. The calm of the volcano brought a calm to his lifestyle that he was not a fan of. ”If you’re questioning your aliveness so much, maybe it’s time for some more excitement.” His brows lowered as he offered her a scowl. ”What do you want most in the world?” Noir questioned softly, his intense sapphire and lilac gaze fixed on her garnet eyes.

Noir was partially right, she hadn’t done much with her freedom besides hide and run. Excitement hadn’t been a part of her life for quite some time. The most recent thing that could be called excitement was the fights she had gotten into. Her brother finding her at her base was what had prompted her to actually leave. Staying there much longer wouldn’t have been safe for her; she had fended off her brother and showed him she was still stronger than him. Even so she didn’t trust him not to tell his pack about her whereabouts, she doubted that they would truly care but the risk was still there and she wasn’t willing to take it. The question that Noir had asked surprised her a little, what did she want most in the world? It wasn’t a question she had really pondered much in her life. If she was still trapped in Winterfell with her family she would have said freedom, but she had that now. Theta had her freedom and it hadn’t been as great as she had imagined it to be. She had her freedom to choose alright, but she hadn’t done much with it. What she really wanted now was strength, she knew she was strong but she could be even stronger. Mentally and physically. She wanted the strength to defeat those who stood in her way, but also the strength to know when fighting wasn’t her best option. She wanted to be on top of everything, that was where she belonged and yet…there was a desire to be accepted. From what she had seen those on top didn’t fit in well with those on the bottom. Having been alone for as long as she had she wanted friends. A group that she could fit in with that wasn’t weak. After thinking Theta had landed on an answer, she met Noir’s eyes and said “I want to be strong, but I want to be strong alongside others.” She felt that those words captured the essence of what she wanted to convey. “Life alone hasn’t been that exciting, at least for me. I beat my brother again so I guess there’s that.” Theta carefully sat down on the pathway she had taken up “He found me and tried to challenge me, asking to prove to him my strength. I still don’t know why he even tries to be honest. He doesn’t even know the first thing about true strength.” Now that she was here Theta just wanted to talk. It felt good to talk to someone genuinely again. She didn’t want to run herself everywhere trying to fight people or being passive aggressive. For the moment she wanted to just be, she was tired. "Speak"

Trapped was exactly how Noir had felt during his time in Abaven, he hadn’t been able to wait to get out. The volcano had provided the best distraction, but he hadn’t really wanted distraction. He’d gone out with a whisper compared to the chaos that the eruption caused. He still felt a little disappointed, but he’d made his impression on Abaven. Maybe one day he’d go back. The young Destruction didn’t think long about his plans for Abaven as Theta mentioned she wanted to be strong alongside others.

The thought repulsed Noir, he didn’t want to have to rely on another wolf for the rest of his life. He wouldn’t show his displeasure at her answer, and an easy smirk played over his features instead. She boasted her accomplishments and spoke about her sibling. She didn’t seem entirely certain about her path, but maybe he could use that to his advantage. ”You’re already strong. what do you need anyone else for?” He questioned her further as he made himself comfortable as well. With a shrug of his shoulder Noir sent Summer back into the air to scout for him.

”I haven’t seen any of my ‘siblings’ and I’d like to keep it that way.” He wasn’t going to go out and find them at least. He did wonder how Theory or Poem might react to facing him today. He knew Motif would cower before him. Verse was the wild card, he wasn’t even sure if she was still alive.