She was soaked to the skin from sitting in the open rain, and she shivered violently as she walked through Abaven's territory. At first she was lost, she didn't know where to go, a part of her wanted to crawl into Rhythm's den for the safety and love that had always emitted from that place, some small unconscious part of her that couldn't yet accept her sisters betrayal, that the girl would be there no longer. When she found her paws leading her there she would turn away in disgust at herself – Rhythm wouldn't offer her comfort any more, she was probably too busy offering valentine 'comfort' at this stage to care that her siblings suffered. The next place her paws lead her would allow her a small, sad smile, as she made her way to Bass's den, but she knew she couldn't stay there – he would be too busy surrounded by the wolves he loved, by his wife and his children. She could go to Shaye but.. the last thing she had done before leaving Abaven was send Shaye to her father, and likely the two where curled up asleep together now, which was a place Motif did not belong – Shai was here for his daughter, not for Motif, the two where not a pair. She couldn't crawl to her empty den, she couldn't bare the reminder of how she would be the only one alone – Bass would have his family, Rhythm would have Valentine, Shai would have Shaye. Eventually she would make it to Bass's den, through by then her mind was a mess of pain and loneliness, as she scratched at his door and collapsed at the entry way, to broken to finish crawling her way inside. ""

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He had crawled back home as promised, after his run in with Cataleya on the way home. A sigh left his boyd as he flopped on top of the den, the cold stone numbing the pain in his body. If only that worked on the pains in his heart. But no matter, there was no reason to blame himself for what Rhythm had done. She had made up her own mind and there was no use in him dwelling in it. He wasn't a drama queen, he wasn't about to throw himself at wolves and sob, he was going to grow a pair and try to get over it. Try. It still made him bitter that she waited until after he was beat on to choose to stay there. What if he had gotten more seriously hurt? Pah... He couldn't even imagine how Motif felt though, Rhythm had been there for her when she needed it most -- when he failed to be there.

Speak of the devil... The chocolate brown form of his sister made her way towards his den. He watched her curiously, golden eyes shimmering in the darkness as he looked on as she flopped down by the mouth of his den. Chuckling softly he let out a soft 'psst' to try and draw her attention upwards. He offered her a small smile, quietly patting the cold ground beside him. "They were fast asleep when I got here, I didn't want to bug them," he whispered, longing for his sister to come up here and make him warm. It was chilly and damp, but at least the ran had stopped. Poor Moty looked as wet as a drowned rat, perhaps they could go and curl up in the den a few feet away from them... He had dug it out for the children to play in, and Starling kept a small collection of pretty flowers that he had found. "There is a den not too far from here if you want to go and curl up there instead of out here. Maybe you will dry quicker." He suggested, his eyes not leaving her collapsed form. She smelled of Rhy, and he didn't dare ask her how it went.

She had collapsed at the mouth of Bass's den and was surprised when his soft 'psst' whispered out to her, and she would look upwards, to find that he had somehow dragged himself onto the top of his den, despite his injures. Her first reaction would be to frown at him, for potentially worsening his pains, but then she would, finally, somehow, break out into a small smile. Already some of her mental weariness would lift away as she looked up into her brothers smile, and she would have the strength to jump and climb to be with him. She would immediately entangle herself in his form, squishing up against him so you couldn't tell where her fur stopped and his began, and she would immediately start washing away at the parts of his fur that where still damp. Bass and Motif had been insanely close at one stage, and well life had sort of gotten in the way, she always knew and felt the bond between them to be as strong as ever. “I don't know, I like it up here, it seems out of the way, private, yet open” she said softly, mumbling through her open maw as she continued her grooming. She spoke in a quite voice so not to wake the occupants of the den below them. Neither of them spoke of Rhythm, it was too soon to pick at that scab, and both their hearts where aching, so instead she melted into him and appreciated the peaceful moment with her brother, with things feeling strong and true between them. ""

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She jumped up beside him and squished right against him, causing him to let out a soft chuckle. There was no space at all between them, just how he had wanted it. He felt some of the stress start to melt away, even if her squishing him was a bit painful. He didn't care though, because he had a feeling that they both needed to be held. Pushing himself against her even further he let out a pleased sigh as she set to work grooming his fur. He knew that he should do the same for her, she was even more damp that he was, but it just felt too damn good. The will to move left him completely, and he wiggled his head downwards until it was resting on her brown paws. He let out a soft humming sound, pleased to have her here with him. He could easily forget about the pain of the night with Motif here at his side, and was so grateful that she was still here.

When asked about moving, she hardly stopped in her grooming to answer, saying that she liked it up here. "Ecco perché è il mio posto preferito," he said softly in Italian, the language just slipping out in his half asleep stage. He blinked when he realized that he had spoken in a different language that she wouldn't understand. He let out another chuckle, his eyes roaming upwards to smile sheepishly at her. "I mean, that's why I like it here. Its one of my favorite places to be. Its even better with you here." His voice was soft, and he meant every single word of it. Blinking sleepily he gazed up at her with adoration, lowering his head back on to her paws. This was the most perfect moment, and he couldn't have asked for it to be any better. There was one, but he refused to think about it.

She was extremely satisfied when Bass relaxed beneath her gentle caress, his head slumped down and she could tell by his breathing that he was calm. She rumbled softly in her throat in a loving purr as she continued to clean her brother. She was careful to move around his injuries, and was surprised by how peaceful she began to feel. Knowing Bass had been through a lot also, and was injured on top of that hadn't sat right with her, so being beside him healed her in two ways – it soothed the hole Rhythm had made, and it was rewarding to see Bass relax and enjoy her caress, and it gave her the sensation of being loved and needed. A soft and strange tongue escaped him as he lay there utterly relaxed and she paused, peering at him in confusion, before he explained himself. It brought thoughts of Shai to mind however, whose native language was still mostly strange to her, and with it came a wave of sadness – she had no clue if she would ever breach the space between herself and Shai. The wave of sadness was gone as quickly as it arrived as she looked into Bass's adoring gaze, and felt loved. She set about to cleaning him again, rumbling warmly and occasionally noising against him lovingly, and managed to carve a little peace in the turmoil her life had become. ""

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A soft sigh was whispered between his lips as she started to groom him more, although his ears fell slightly back. He had done this to all of them, without even asking how they felt. Should he have talked to Motif again before he made the choice to banish their sister? Unsure, his front legs cross in front of him as his head rested on them. Whatever the case was, he knew that he needed Motif now more than ever. Looking back up at her, he scooted a bit further away to put her grooming to an end. He knew that he hadn't even spoken to Shai since she had brought the male here, saying that he was here for their daughter. Eyes inspected hers, and he knew that she cared for this man. "I... I want to try getting closer to Shai. For you, and for Shaye," he said softly, pausing to think of what she had to say about that. "and I need you now more than ever. Motif... will you be my Kashkar?" It wasn't the rank that she once held, but it was still pretty high up there. He needed her support, her guidance, even more than he had realized. Yellow eyes met her same coloured gaze, waiting on baited breath for her answer.

"Speech"

She found comfort in grooming her injured brother, smoothing out his coat and hearing him relax, she hated to see him injured, despite the course being one that she would see him fight for over and over, one that she would fight for herself – family. But what did that mean when one fought and got injured for family, only for that family to then.. she shook her head violently, unwilling to let those thoughts return to her in this little slice of peace they had managed to carve out for themselves. Bass pulled away from her, and she looked up at him, wondering what was going through his head. He was looking at her, and when he spoke she would freeze, and then melt. She would blink back the teat that threatened to fall as she crawled closer to him and nuzzled his cheek. “And I need to get to know Wren and your children better, we are family, and our families family matters just as dearly” she whispered to him. She had been so afraid of how he would take Shai, and at first her fears had been realized, but he was willing now to get to know them both, to let them into his heart as well as his home. He wasn't finished surprising her however, his next words would be about leadership – not the position she had once held, but one that was still second only to the Alpha's of the pack. She blinked in surprise, her ambitions had been buried with everything that had happened in her life and she didn't know if she was going to dig them back out again, certainly she hadn't made any attempts to prove she deserved a better rank. “Oh Bass, but I haven't proved my worth of the rank. I would never turn it down, I want nothing more then to help you however I can, but are you sure you want to offer it?” she asked softly, she wanted the rank now that the idea was presented to her, she had held such a minimal presence in the pack of late and this would give her a push to put herself back out there, responsibilities to take her mind of everything else.. but, did she deserve it? ""

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