The disease that had plagued the land had stolen so much from her. When the endless darkness finally parted and the sun shone anew, stripping the sickness away from the land much more quickly than it had ever arrived... it had felt like a cruel joke. She was well again, but Rhyme had perished. Thalia had left - or rather, been banished. By her own making. Theory felt rubbed raw by all of the change. She had chosen to sequester herself for the last few days, requesting that Corvus and Poem take up a temporary cooperative team to take care of the other wolves who were recovering. She needed time to think. When the answer finally came, she almost chuckled. It had staring at her all this time, disguised as something else. What had she cared about so fiercely for all this time? The children. Their future. That they would enter this world on the other side of adolescence as well-rounded young adults, prepared to take on anything that life might throw at them. To give them every opportunity that she had been denied when she was thrust into leadership at such a young age. To give them what every young creature needed: time to grow. Time to learn. Once the ooze had dried and she had taken a bracingly cold dip in the shallows of the rapids to clean herself as best as she could, Theory spent some time by the gravesites of her family. A few had freshly overturned soil. They were the most painful to look at. After a moment, she took a deep breath to center herself and called for the rest of the pack. --- They stood gathered before her, some battered and worse for wear. There was a curtain of uncertainty that was thrown over them all - and could she blame them? It was partially her fault. She had been terribly sick, unavailable, and the worst crime of all - unreliable. Never again, if she could help it. "I have called you all here to introduce my dream for Abaven going forward. You are free, as you always are, to join me in making this a reality, or you have my blessing to leave and seek your own fortune," Theory smiled, trying to exude an aura of confidence that she hadn't yet earned back after her sickness. But she needed to recapture it. It would be utterly necessary for the next step. "We have always been a place for families to grow and thrive. My dream is for Abaven to open its doors completely and become an institution for all of the children of Boreas. I want to reorganize our ranks so that we can best serve the young, the disadvantaged, or anyone who wishes to better themselves. We would turn away no one, and in turn, it is my hope that we would become a place of neutrality and a beacon of knowledge for all. We will retain Monument Rapids and the Thicket, but we will trade Serpent Plains for the nearby Crystallum Cliffs. With help from our allies, we can excavate a warren of dens and classrooms to create living quarters for all." She took a deep breath, then explained how she had reimagined their ranks, along with some new rules that she hoped to institute. Theory tried to gauge a reaction, but it was difficult to tell. Now it was time to turn it over to the pack and hear them out. Theo hoped most would join her, but so many had already come and gone. This change would be orchestrated with or without the ones she loved; after all, Rhyme no longer looked back at her from the crowd. Thalia was gone. Shaye was long buried. In her heart, she knew this was her calling. "That's what I've gathered you here for. Does anyone have any questions?" "Speech"

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"Speech!"

What had he done? There was a child tucked away in the back of his den, sleeping soundly as the crystals that had claimed the poor boy's face slowly crumbled and fell away. When the Sequoia called out, summoning the pack, he felt as though he were walking to his execution. The last dregs of paranoia clung to his mind, less of a heavy fog than a clinging mist- tainting every thought. She knew. She knew. She knew what he had done and she was going to punish him severely in front of everyone. Tail tucked loosely between his thighs, the burly yearling moved oh so slowly towards the source of his leader's summoning call. He hadn't taken notice of the strange new development that had stuck around since he had stolen away with the boy on the cliffs- he assumed the light that seemed to follow him everywhere was yet another of the hallucinations that he was struggling to banish. It only cropped up in the dark, after all, like the rest of his horrible visions.

He settled on his haunches nearer to the back of the gathering site, wary of Theory and the punishment that certainly awaited him. He was the first one to settle in, somehow. Where was Psalm? He could have sworn they were both in the den, she had to be coming along soon, right? Perhaps she would save him from Theory's wrath.. unless she shared the sentiment. Had he missed the signs, that his own sister loathed him for stealing away with that young boy in the dead of that everlasting night? Panic welled up, tightened his throat and filled his chest to bursting. It took all of his strength to remain silent and still while he waited for everyone to trickle in and hear what Theory was going to declare.

The announcement wasn't related to his transgressions. It was entirely new. A change of direction for the pack where he'd lived his entire life. Tension built in his shoulders the longer that she spoke, waiting for the whole speech to end with a condemnation of his actions in the midst of a paranoid haze. It wasn't an excuse for what he'd done. He would submit himself to whatever came next... but nothing did. It was a restructuring of the pack. An opportunity to venture off and create his own life if he didn't want to take part in this new.. school? Well, he liked the concept, certainly. He loved to learn, and he thought he might like to teach young wolves someday. He remained silent, staring up at the Sequoia.. Headmistress? Those glowing eyes of his, ghostly pale and set in the dark mask of fur upon his features, maintained a baleful gaze for a few moments before he cast his attention around to the other members. What would they do? He knew he wasn't going anywhere, but he would likely wait to talk to Theory in private... they had a few things to discuss, evidently.

The darkness had persisted for so long that Corvus feared it would never fully lift. The world had grown bleak and strange before, after the volcano's eruption... but this? This had been something else entirely. Lately he thought often of the children that he and Twig had lost - would they have even survived this cruel world? It had stolen Rhyme away and no doubt others. Perhaps everything really had happened for a reason. When the sun finally rose though he didn't feel quite as relieved as he should have, though he couldn't explain why. He had changed - everyone had changed.

But even those that had been sick, deeply sick, seemed to be recovering, and for that he was thankful. He'd clung tightly to Twig through all of this, only now feeling confident enough to branch out and check on the rest of the pack - at Theory's command - while she regained her strength and prepared to speak to them. He wasn't surprised to finally hear her call for all of them, and he nudged Twig along after him, quick to arrive while the rest of the pack fell in line.

What she said was interesting. Abaven would change; it would be a place to learn and thrive, a place that welcomed all children, fully neutral in all affairs. All he could think was: Why had we not done this before? There was no chance he'd leave now. Abaven had always been his home, and the home of his father and grandfather. He belonged here, no matter where they went, no matter what kind of pack they intended to be. He was surprised to feel tears of joy pricking at his eyes and threatening to fall as he leaned against Twig, breathing a quiet sigh. If they could not have children of there on, that didn't mean that there wouldn't be children around for them to teach and care for - he was fully on board with this plan, giving Theory a smile and nod as she spoke, pride filling his chest.