The winter had not been kind to Eulogy, the cold temperatures along with her arthritic joints had made the cold months miserable. And just when things were looking up… disaster struck. The kind, caring headmistress, Theory, had disappeared and Abaven had dissolved with all the members dispersing to the wind. The older woman knows she should have sent word to Void that she was alive but Eulogy had been so focused on just surviving the winter that it had slipped her mind. Now, she slowly, makes her way to Ashen’s borders, trying to figure out what she is going to say when she sees her son. Sorry I was gone so long? Hey grandmother’s dead… can I stay with you?... Surprise?

She scoffs at the thoughts, banishing them from her tired mind. Before Eulogy had made the trek down, she had left word with Gloom and Spirit to find her here. Soon enough, the white barked trees strung with white ivy came into view and the old wolf stops a good distance from the border. It has taken a lot of effort to get here and she sits heavy upon the ground. Tilting her head back, Eulogy lets out an uncertain call for her Void, part of wondering if he even wants to see her. With that done, she slides down onto her belly and rests her head on legs for a moment, allowing her aching joints a moments peace.

"Eulogy Destruction"

Void spent the last year at the height of his existence. Raising a family with the love of his life and sweet Rava opening up emotions and experiences he hadn’t ever imagined could happen to him. Watching his children grow into real individuals, gain their own skills, boast unique personalities, did something to the man. He’d grown exponentially over the last four seasons. His relationship with Plague had grown deeper, and having Rava beside them gave him a comfort he’d never expected to find in a woman. They were far from a conventional family, but he wouldn’t have changed anything.

Spring came to greet them, though she was slow in coming, the islands were always somewhat warm. Void was thankful for the mild weather now, and felt eager for the warmer seasons. He was about to go on a quick scouting mission to the adjoining territories to see just how they looked after the winter season when a call at the border stopped him in his tracks. It was a voice he was certain he would never hear again, and one that made his paws move before he even fully realized what he was doing.

Void raced to the border, and his blue and lavender gaze fell on the form of his dear mother. The one he worried about and looked for for so long. He’d thought that she was dead. ”Mother..” He said uncertainly as he approached her, uncertain if she was real or not.

Void Abraxas-Destruction

Eulogy’s body had protested the journey, screaming at her with the voice of gnawing pain in her joints and stiffness that never seemed to leave her. When it was at its worst, the old wolf had considered stopping, waiting, and at one point, even giving up. Yet, as the black and white form of her son appears through the white barked trees, she knows that it has all been worth it. Eulogy lifts her head from her paws, ears standing up straight on her head, eyes blinking several times as she watches him approach. When had he become so mature? Her breath hitches as she watches him approaches, her gorgeous, tall son. A smile appears on dark lips, at first, small but slowly building the closer Void gets.

Moving to stand, the old wolf winces as her joints pop and creak but the smile never fails, never falters. Blue eyes scan his face, tears building in the corners of her eyes as Eulogy takes in the sight of her son. His uncertainty tugs at her heart and, as he speaks, she dips her head for a moment, swallowing past the lump that has formed in her throat. She steps forward, emotions choking her voice as she says, “Oh my son. My beautiful Void.” Love fills her eyes as the tears that have been building slip free, sliding into her dark fur that covers her cheeks. Words fail her as steps toward him, her smaller, shorter frame moving to try embrace her handsome son while the tears continue to fall.


"Eulogy Destruction"

Eulogy had never been a strong or healthy woman, at least not that Void could remember. As he looked at her here, thin and in pain, a ghost of a wolf, his disbelief was palpable. It felt like for so long he’d only known her as dead, after being missing, after being subject to so much sorrow. Here she was, an old, decrepit woman, with the most beautiful smile on her face as she looked up into his features. For only a beat longer did Void consider the possibility he was facing a ghost, but when her voice cracked and tears began to well up in her eyes he moved forward without any hesitation. As her sweet broken voice greeted him Void swept her off her paws and into his arms.

He pulled her into his chest and let her tears dampen his ivory splattered coat. Void had always been somewhat distant in his emotions, but being married to Plague and having a family brought him more in touch with those inner feelings. Being reunited with his mother now brought a collection of them to the forefront, but relief and love took the lead spilling over his star touched cheeks as he cried with her. The man never believed this moment would come again, he thought her gone and beyond his grasp, yet here she was. Flesh and blood pulled into his embrace.

”Mother.” He sobbed silently, closing his eyes and wrapping his head protectively over hers. She was in his arms once again, she wasn’t lost, she could meet his family. All of these thoughts and emotions hit him at once and the stoic man was fully overwhelmed.

Void Abraxas-Destruction

There is moment where both wolves pause and Eulogy doesn’t know what to do. Raw emotions slam into her chest and steal away her breath, as a bright, loving smile appears. A small voice urges her forward, whispering to embrace him and hold her tall son once again. Confusion swirls in her mind as she wonders, ‘when was the last time she had seen him’? One year? Five? At some point, time had become a strange, foreign concept and the only way the old woman had known time had passed was by the way her joints stiffened and pain settled into her frame. She steps forward, tentatively, uncertain if he would even want to touch her.

Her voice calls to him, choked with the emotion that are flooding her, threatening to drown the shorter wolf where she stands. But, all the while, the smile stays on her lips, and it is filled with all the love that she has for her son. Void sweeps her off her paws and Eulogy bites back the grunt of pain from the sudden, jarring movement. Instead, she focuses on the feeling of being in his arms and tears begin to fall freely. She winds her own, shorter arms around him, holding onto her son as if he is her life raft in the sea of emotions.

She buries her face into his fur, hiding herself away from the world as she shares this tender moment with Void. Her thin frame quakes, as she quietly sobs into his fur, thanking every lucky star that she is alive and here. Void’s simple word has Eulogy’s arms clutching him a little tighter while her head turns the side and she murmurs soothing sounds for both of them. His head wraps over her own and the older wolf lets out a content sigh, thankful that she had made the trek down here.

When the tears have slowed, still holding tight to her son, Eulogy softly says, “Oh, Void. I was afraid I would never see you again. I… I…” Her words become choked and fall off, so she gives him a small squeeze. Memories flare and Eulogy buries her head into his fur once more and she tearfully croaks out, “I am so sorry.” For all of her shortcomings, the older wolf regrets not being with her children more. But, here she is, in Void’s arms, looking to share what time she has left with all of her children. Maybe dreams do come true.


"Eulogy Destruction"

He was so overwhelmed by emotion that Void didn’t even realize he could be hurting his mother with his exuberant embrace until he felt her stiffen within his grasp. He loosened his hold as she relaxed into his embrace, her tears mingling with his own at the unexpected reunion. Void said little, he lost his words, all he could focus on was the fact that Eulogy was in his arms. How much time had passed since he’d laid eyes on his mother? How long had it been since they had embraced?

Void had thought his mother was dead, he and his siblings had searched for her for so long. He was having trouble believing that she was in his arms right now, that she was still here, that he could introduce her to his family and she could see how far her son had come. She held to him tightly as he held onto her, and his massive arms cradled her with the utmost care. Eventually, after a long time of just holding her and reveling in her return to him, Eulogy spoke.

She didn’t believe she would see him again, he felt exactly the same. He’d thought that she was dead, after not being able to find her for so long. Void had given up, he had moved on and tried to build a life with the sorrow of knowing she wouldn’t see what he built. Yet here she was. The massive man took in a deep breath as he settled his emotion, something he wouldn’t have even felt had he not found Plague.

”I thought you were dead.” He answered her, he’d believed she was gone that her story ended without redemption. He knew the darkness of her life before and after she birthed them. He wanted so badly to give her the life she deserved. Maybe they could have that in Ashen now that Abaven was gone. ”I thought that we had lost you.” He cried, having trouble even forming words in his mouth as his thoughts drifted to what was next.


Void Abraxas-Destruction

This moment will live in Eulogy’s memory until the day she breathes her last breath. While her life, up to this point, is mostly filled with dark, murky memories of pain, sadness, and loss, the older woman knows that this will remain sharp and vivid for the years to come. She memorizes the way her son’s fur feels against her own; counts the thundering beats of his heart as he holds her; and counts the blessed seconds that she is in his strong arms. Even the feel of Void’s tears as they gently plunk atop her head…. Yes, she will remember it all.

When he had swept her into his arms, Eulogy had stiffened from the pain that aging has wrought on her body and she is grateful that his grip loosens slightly. The pain eases and allows her to melt into him much more comfortably, mother and son staying lock in silent embrace for some time. A mother holding her son… a son holding onto his lost mother… emotions choke the words in her throat and tears slide freely from her eyes as she speaks, apologizing to Void as she holds onto him.

While she does not know the true extent of what absence has done to her son or what kind of life he has built without her, Eulogy hopes that he has found happiness, joy, love, and every other wish a mother has for their child. Suddenly, a dark part of her worries that her presence might break apart whatever he has, that her reappearance will be an abrupt, unwanted hindrance on his life and maybe she should have just stayed gone.

However, as he speaks, saying he thought she was dead and that they had lost her, the older woman knows that has done the right thing by coming and all her doubt melts away. As Void cries, Eulogy softly shushes him, like he is a child, crying because the darkness scares him, and says, “Oh, Void. Oh, my handsome, son. I promise you that I am not dead but, I was lost.”

Wrapping her arms, a little tighter around her son, the smaller woman says, “I’m here now. I am here.” The words are said to ground him as much as they are for her. Life has changed and Eulogy wishes to adapt with it. Softly she goes on, saying, “And I want to be near you. And Spirit. And Gloom. I love you Void. I never want to leave any of you again.” Her breath hitches as she waits to hear what he has to say.


"Eulogy Destruction"