Vitus had never felt pain before, not like this. Not something that ached with each step, that jostled his gait to the point where he couldn't walk right. Not something that burned, that blossomed, that seemed to ache with each gust of wind. It wasn't anything serious, not something that a healer couldn't fix or wouldn't heal on his own in a few weeks or a month (He assumed...) but it was still nothing he had ever felt before. But it all paled in comparrison to the agony he felt within. His heart clenched every time he went over the fight in his mind, every time his side hit that ground and the stranger child overpowered him. He had failed, he had lost, and it affected Vitus to the core.  He moved with a broken gait, limping as each step sent pain through his shoulder. Blood dried over his eyelid, making it hard to see, to blink, but he didn't stop to run his aching paws over his eyes to remove it. The cold winter wind had dried the blood along his nape and along his skull, and it almost felt liberating when it nearly froze him to the core. It allowed the pain to almost become numb, but then the tremors began. Oh, Vitus was just not having any luck today. This morning he had fled, he had run from his home (only for a short time!) because the emotion had gotten almost overwhelming. His mother seemed depressed, his siblings nearly distant. The only constant was Amalia's happiness, and even then it felt overwhelming in amongst all the negative emotion. He couldn't handle it, he couldn't understand it, and that frustrated the boy. Maybe when he was older he'd understand his anger was from his lack of ability to help but for now, it was merely overwhelming and it ate at him. But this, this failure...he failed in a small battle against another child. The fire of his anger did little to help him achieve victory and it was a hard blow. How could he protect his siblings and his family if he could not win a simple fight. How useless was he if the only thing he was created to do was something he..couldn't. Agony clawed at his heart, made his lungs burn as the constricted, and he felt dizzy with each step. Yet he didn't call, didn't make a sound. He didn't want them to know of his failure, of his loss, and how deeply it affected him. "Burn Baby Burn"

Talvi hadn't been around her nephews even half as much as she would have liked and the worst part of all perhaps was that the blue and silver woman had little really to excuse herself from it at all. Perhaps it was worry on some part, not knowing how to comfort her sister or what she was actually meant to do with the pups. They were growing swiftly though and the latter certainly couldn't be an excuse for much longer and she knew damn well that she surely ought to be there in some way for her sister. There was no avoiding one of the nephews now however, gaze would fall upon him limping his way through the forest clearly troubled by something. Though there wasn't much she could say much about each of the boys' personalities, she knew them by name and would make her way towards Vitus now, concern evident upon her features. "Vitus. What happened to you?" She addressed him, the care seeping through into her softened voice. She felt even more guilty now, the rather absentee aunt she had been, did it really take a problem like this to force herself to be dragged into their lives properly as more than simply Lady Talvi of Regium?

Her son's absence had not gone unnoticed. She knew her boys were growing oh so quickly and wasn't surprised that they had begun to wander past the pack borders. She herself had done just that when she was their age. As long as they came home at night she would let them have their adventures. As much as she hated to admit it, the more they were away from the den the more relief it gave her. She loved them with every fiber of her being, but each of them reminded her of Verux and thinking of him only caused her pain now. She had let herself love him, had his children, and he had left. As she walked through the Bevroren - no - Regium territory she tried her best to keep him from her thoughts and simply let herself enjoy the cool winter air, hoping a walk would help clear her head. But of course not even a walk in her life could go without some form of drama. The cold winter breeze brought Vitus's scent to her nose, along with Talvi's and the faint, all too familiar scent of dried blood. Her ears immediately flicked back against her skull with worry and she turned to rush toward her son, all sorts of worries and scenarios flashing through her head. She found them a few short moments later, seeing Vitus with some sort of wound and Talvi acting as the good, worried aunt she was. Athena quickly went to her silent son's side, peering at what looked to be some sort of battle wound. It didn't seem to be too terribly deep or dangerous, but it certainly didn't look comfortable either. She sighed and gave him a small, reassuring smile. What trouble have you gotten yourself into now, my boy?" she asked, though she didn't entirely expect an answer. Vitus had yet to utter a word, a complete opposite from his brother Tiburtius that she couldn't get to be quiet. She leaned down and started gently lapping some of the dried blood from his fur and face. She avoided cleaning the wound itself, leaving that task for Amalia. knowing that was better suited for a healer. She couldn't just let her little warrior walk around with blood in his face though. Speech Thought

The pain nearly left him dizzy as he walked through the snow ladden forest, his eyes unfocusing with nearly each blink...or rather, was that tears? He wasn't sure anymore, all he knew was that he wished to go home and sleep in silence. Away from his family and his siblings prying eyes. And yet, all he wanted to feel was his mothers warmth as she soothed away his pain and his sadness. That was a secret desire, something he wouldn't voice to the world, but Vitus was still a child, and every child needed the comfort of their parents. He took one fragile step after another, nearly hissing at the pain the blossomed along his shoulder. A simple bruise, and yet it stunted his movement? If one thing was certain, he would have to get accustomed to handling pain a lot better than he did. He stopped suddenly, red rimmed eyes snapping up as he blinked throuh the emotion that stung along his tear ducts, ears twisting forward as the scent of another rushed to him. It was family, or a very close member of pack, that much was certain. He recognized but couldn't quite put a name to the scent just yet. Lowering his head he stared through the dim light of the forest, his progress towards his den entirely halted. He almost hoped the wolf would keep going, miss the scent of blood on the air and miss the child completely. He didn't want to be seen like this, to be remembered as the failure he was. But she came anyway, and when he saw the girl who's fur he seemed to mirror, he couldn't help his curiousity. Bright eyes lifted to her face, and he recognized her scent immediately. An aunt, wasn't it. So far he hadn't concerned himself with his familial connections, aside from his parents and his siblings, but it seemed he would have too. His eyes, though bright, stared up at her with a weakness that hadn't ever been seen in the stunning green and red. He lowered his head then and shook it just slightly, not answering her question as he gritted his teeth. He couldn't answer her, but not speaking is what got him into this mess, wasn't it? His jaw suddenly jerked up, his eyes staring through the forest as his mother's scent joined the others in his senses. Mom. Athena. It was like his prayers have been answered and he had been cursed all at once. He both longed to step towards her and to run in the other direction. But the throbbing of his pain kept him rooted...or was it hope she would fix it? When she came into his view he whined, the sound pitched in his throat, nearly silent from lack of use. It was his first sound, even as a child he didn't cry, didn't growl. Even in the fight all his snarls had remained a thought and a silent roll of his lips. She was upon him the instant she arrived, her tongue lapping at the stubborn blood on his face that he hadn't had the energy to remove. He felt his throat tighten, his lungs constrict at her love and care, at her warmth. And it all came falling down. Every ounce of his strength crashed as the emotion, as the feeling he couldn't name swallowed him up. The desire for his mothers love, his deep sadness that he had no power to wipe hers away, the neglect he believed he felt and the agony of losing the battle. His eyes stung so overwhelmingly before the tears fell in silent paths down his cheeks, and he moved to press himself against his mother. Still, the whine was the only sound he had made, even as he cried all the pent up feelings into the cold winter air and his mothers fur (if she let him press against her, that was.)  "Burn Baby Burn"

She hadn't seen any member of her little family for quite some time, and it was starting to worry her. She had been up all night trying to track both Athena and Vitus, but the fresh snow fall didn't help her in any way. The little woman was concerned that they had gotten lost, and she had to get her little fam jam back together! She finally picked up on Athena's scent, and a soft sigh left her lips, nose to the ground as she followed it. As soon as she saw her paw steps she let out a giggle, stepping in her lover's steps. She had to stride a bit further, little rabbit tail bobbing to and fro as she reached the little group. Looking around with a grin, it soon vanished when she saw Vitus. Letting out a yelp she jumped in and out of the snow, looking a little comical as she bounded towards the boy. If she didn't get to those wounds quickly enough, they would scar his perfect little face. "Oh dear oh dear, let Momma Ama look at those sweetie," she said softly, adding in her soft little licks on top of Athena's. The wound wasn't too bad, but she was sure that the cold was stinging the open flesh. She needed to close up the wound before it froze his little head, but she hadn't brought any herbs with her. Silly her! Looking up at Athena she pressed her nose to her cheek, tasting the sharp pang of Vitus' blood in her mouth. Turning her blue gaze back down she tsk'ed her tongue. "Come on love, I didn't bring anything with me. Wasn't expecting to have to heal any wounds," came her soft voice, concern lacing her sweet vocals. They needed to go back to their den, she had a few herbs stored there that could help him. "talk"

ooc: just gonna slip past Talvi real quick lol Athena's ears shot up when she heard a whine leave her otherwise silent son, her gaze turning down to peer at him. In all of his young life she had not heard him utter a single sound... until now of course. He went to press himself into her chest and of course she let him. She slipped a foreleg around his small frame and pulled him close. Her concerned gaze fixed on him while she let him silently cry into her fur. Briefly she lifted her gaze to look at Talvi to give her a grateful glance and mouth the words 'thank you'. She was grateful that her sister had been here to watch him till she arrived or at least would have taken him back to their den had she not found him. She gave her sister a small smile before looking back down at her son. Then her wife appeared, quickly hopping toward them and pouring love and concern over him as well. She smiled at leaned back so Amalia could get to him more easily. They were quite lucky to have a healer in the family now it seemed. Her tail thumped gently against the snow covered ground when Amalia turned up her face to press her nose to hers before looking back to Vitus and beginning to usher him off back to the den so that she could tend for him properly. Athena nodded in agreement and stood, gently nudging him to her paws and starting to guide him home. "Come on, sweetheart. It's not far from here. I'd carry you, but you've just gotten so big. You've grown into my little man now." "Talk" "You" Think