First, it was infection. The wounds from her assault festered, a hot fever rushing through her bloodstream as her head pounded. Figures blurred, her body prone to fits as her blood sought to rid herself of the terrible infection. Then, it was plague. Eye-bleeding, hallucination-inducing plague. She could not see what had been happening, could not distinguish the light of truth from the dark of illusion. And oh, in all the chaos in agony her children had evaded her. The Queen, the true Queen, had lost herself. She had lost her children, and none if it could have been helped. She had only been in the same den she?d initially sought for herself, no mystery there. Unable to move, unable to leave. And yet she had survived without being a burden; whereas Sendoa, a weaker woman would have fallen undoubtedly, Argent had emerged. Today she is strong. Perhaps not as strong as she was once, at least not yet, but she is getting there. Short limbs carry her out of her haven of disease, and she decides it?s time to find a new den, one more fitting of her stature within this pack. She had formed it, built it with her own blood and sweat, and thus she thinks she deserves more than a beggar?s corner. No, she will be taking the primest of real estate for herself and herself alone.

It was the first time in ages that she had caught her scent. Argent. Her mother. At first Athena thought she had been imagining things when she had come across the scent, but no, it was really there. She had honestly thought her mother had run off again or that the plague had taken her or a combination of the two. None of the less, Athena immediately turned her course to track down Argent. The patrol could wait, she needed to speak with her mother. She spotted Argent's gray form and she felt a mix of emotions, everything from happiness to hatred. Perhaps Genesis and Vereux's views on their mother had begun to rub off on her, but she personally held no ill will toward the former queen. Athena gave a bark to catch Argent's attention as she trotted up behind her, hesitating and stopping a foot or two away. "Mother... Where have you been?" she asked, speaking the first question that came to her mind. She wondered how much Argent knew about the status in the pack, or better yet, her status in the pack. Speech Thought Others

There were a few reasons Vereux held no place in his heart for his mother. The thought of her betraying Isardis for another man simply perplexed him. Perhaps if he had known the situation, he would have handled it better, but he had not. All that he could think of was the pups his mother sired, his half siblings and not from his father. He had the urge, the lust, to know the answer. Who was their father, why had she made him help carry them when he was hurt. Sure they had been but infants, but at the time his mind had been boiling in so much pain he had no clue what to think. Though as he saw Athena with their mother, a slight stiffled growl would grow in his gullet. The bitter boy moved his eye to the side for a moment. Fine.... if she was here, and if she was going to stay he would have to give her a chance to get into his good graces. Vereux had not known his mother had been sick of the plague like he had. Since he hadn't been as sick as the others he had moved around a lot. Though of course he had killed his uncle in that process. Who knew if anyone thought of it as a mistake, but Athena hadn't seemed to mention anything about it. The muscled boy would move his body over to the two women, holding himself high as he was now used to. He was not afraid to condemn himself a king anymore. Of course Athena overruled him, which he payed no mind to of course. He loved her, and with that passion he was nearly like a slave to that notion. That one large gap between him and his father of course. Though himself would press against Athena. Rubbing his fur against her side as his necklace made it's same metallic sound staring at his mother. "Argent." he would greet mildly cold but still at a respectable tone for the one who had brought him into this world. He wanted to ask her, but he would wait for her to answer Athena. Speech,