The rapids were dangerous. He'd been taught to not cross them, for the rocks that lined the river were slick and difficult to cross, and one small slip could mean death. Lark assessed the water quietly, finding it soothing despite being turbulent and unpredictable. The heat of the summer was here in full force and being close to the water was a welcome respite from the relentless weather. The boy paced aimlessly along the edge of the river, heading downstream from where he'd began. His gait was far more relaxed than usual as the Destruction boy wandered, content to lounge in the brief moment of solitude. For now, he would flop to his belly besides the strong rapids, letting his paws dip into the cool water, briefly losing himself as he became mesmerized by his rippling reflection in the water.

"It doesn't matter where I am, I know that I'm not perfect, and if I can't save people, what worth am I?" His time returning had been spent, remembering. This place was crawling with pups that tortured him only a little on the inside. Cute fluffy balls of fur like the litter he had tried to raise. Things turned out in a weird way, as he trekked near the rapids a scent filled his nose. It was that of a destruction, not Shrike, it must have been another one of Bass' sons because it was one he had no sented before. Alarm struck his heart however, the rapids were a dangerous place if you were not a good swimmer. As he came upon the boy, he would approach calmly. He was not his father, but he would still worry not only because he was a pup but everyone in Abaven was his family. He had already told Shrike he was like an uncle. So that was what he would be to the children if he could, even if not related by blood. The large forty inch tall wolf stood a few feet away from him. "Enjoying the river?" he asked with a smile, he would not scold the boy. Simply, keep a close eye on him. Speech,

For some time, he found himself mesmerized by the rapids. Part of him wanted to try to cross, though he knew slipping could mean serious injury or even death, something he would never do to his family. Even if he fell, he knew his voice could fall on deaf ears, drowned out by the roar of the river. It was a chance he was not willing to take. The serene moment was interrupted by the arrival of a stranger. Lark caught a whiff of his scent before he spoke, but he only turned to face him when he spoke. His scent was of Abaven, so the initial rush of protectiveness that flooded him subsided as quickly as it had arrived. "Yes," he'd answer quite matter-of-factly, finding the question strange. Why would he be here if he wasn't enjoying it? The child nodded slowly. "Who are you?" His demeanor was blunt and straightforward, his gaze wary as he watched him.

Lark was already so different from his brother. Quelt kept a smile on his face towards lark, shifting himself to look at the rapids. He remembered scolding ixionn here being so close to them. His heart ached a little wondering where the boy had went. The slate man would listen to the boys questions. "Quelt rivers, im a friend of your fathers who recently returned. Im like an uncle per say though not related by blood." His ears flicked. They were such bright children fire burned in their eyes. They would grow up to be strong, while his children hadnt even gotten into the world.

"Whats your name, son of bass and wren. You have some amazing parents." Wren and bass would always be role models towards quelt no matter how old he got. As seasons passed and his life moved along, he knew he belonged in abaven no matter what happened to him. His tail flicked a bit as he watched the boy.

He and his littermates, though fiercely loyal to one another, were drastically different. Lark was not at all timid like Finch, nor was he an herbalist like Starling; he was no where near as sweet as Sparrow, and definitely not as energetic as Shrike. Despite this, they were his brothers and sisters and nothing would ever change that, as far as he was concerned. When the man introduced himself, he nodded. A friend of his fathers. "Okay. Why haven't I heard of you, then?" he'd ask, the boy's question a bit scathing, though unintentionally so. He had been growing a bit more abrasive as of late, finding it difficult to think before he spoke, and even more challenging to keep a thought to himself when it had begun to burn on his tongue. Lark's head turned to the side as he eyed the man, honestly curious. If he was not family, why would he claim to be like an uncle, especially having not been around for most of his childhood thus far? He'd ask his name then, saying his parents were amazing. Lark would nod in quick agreement. Of course they were amazing; he wouldn't use such a flowery word to describe them, but it worked. "I know," he replied sternly. "I'm Lark Destruction." Though his surname was a given, it would feel strange to exclude it, for it was his name that defined him and shaped him to who he was becoming.

"It doesn't matter where I am, I know that I'm not perfect, and if I can't save people, what worth am I?" Lark's question did not strike Quelt as odd. Especially since it was a very valid question to ask. Quelt had been gone almost an entire season of their life searching for his previous mate and unborn children who he now assumed were dead. Thinking about it made him recoil, but he took in a deep breath and simply settled himself in front of the small pup. The forty inch male outstretched his paws, relaxing his shoulders as he felt the water of the rapids spray against him if only lightly. "Your father is a busy man, he probably didn't have time to be telling stories about me while doing his alpha business and taking care of his family. I wasn't around during your birth because someone important went missing, I never found them so here I am." Quelt explained to the boy. "Well Lark, tell me what you were doing here so close to the rapids if you don't mind me asking?" he was now extremely curious. If the boy had wanted to jump in, Quelt obviously wouldn't let him. He remember the same situation with Ixionn and Levi. Only Denki knew where the boys were now. Darrah was here and their sister he had sadly heard was missing, same with the other little girl. Maybe he wasn't meant to have children, that was why it had been so difficult to raise adopted ones all the same. Speech,

While his straightforward nature could easily come across as rude, he was simply brash -- not to mention stubborn, and fiercely protective of his family. It struck him as strange at the number of self-professed family and family friends that his father had, that he had never really seen before. Lark narrowed his eyes instinctively as he studied this man named Quelt. If not for the light scent of Abaven that clung to his pelt, he likely would've already called for his father about this unfamiliar man. But he had no reason to do so, it seemed. "I guess," he'd reply a bit dismissively.  "Who went missing?" It had to have been someone pretty important to make him leave Abaven for so long, right? He stretched his limbs subtly as he shifted his weight from one side of his body to the other, eying Quelt still a bit unsurely. "I was thinking of trying to cross, but it seems dangerous," he'd offer, testing him. If he truly was a good friend of his father's, how might he react to his admission that he wanted to do something that could potentially hurt him? Still he lingered a bit closer to the rapids, shifting to eye the flowing water with interest.

Quelt would watch the child a little carefully now, he did stay closer to him. Those waters were dangerous for someone so young. Maybe he wouldn't have been so opposed if he was older and much more strong but even then it was a task. These waters that marked the territory was like a barrier. Who went missing? Well, it made his fur prickle a bit at the subject. "Her name was Venus, she was the previous Kashkar of Abaven also my previous mate. She disappeared after becoming pregnant with my children, they would have been your age by now if she was still here." Quelt explained a little sadly. Though then it changed again when Lark answered his question previously. "I had to stop my adopted son from jumping into these rapids. They definitely are dangerous, I wouldn't recommend jumping into them it's difficult even for an adult to get across." Somewhere between that, Quelt did try to situate himself between Lark and the rapids. Getting close enough to if he jumped he would grab the boy by the scruff, hopefully what he said would have discouraged him regardless. It was hard getting back into the swing of things when you came back. Especially when you weren't as close to your best friend as you used to be. Speech,

Lark was sure that someday he would cross the rapids. Perhaps not today, as he doubted his father's friend would let him do something so foolish, but eventually. Lark's ears would perk as he listened to Quelt speak, preferring to seem a bit disinterested as he gazed upon the flowing water, though he was actually quite attentive to his words. "I see." His reply was short and quick. He'd never heard of Venus before, but it seemed she'd taken Quelt's children away. That seemed like a pretty awful thing to do. His brows furrowed as he thought about it. He continued on to explain he had to stop his adoptive son from crossing the rapids. Lark's gaze would lift to find Quelt as he moved closer, which wasn't surprising given his admission that he wanted to try crossing. The last thing he wanted was to be pulled away by the older male.. how embarrassing that would be. He'd fall silent then, deciding today was definitely not the day to try crossing, no matter how intriguing the thought was.

Lark definitely was not as vocal as his brother. Yet Quelt understood it, after all every child would grow to be different. Now was the time for Quelt to get involved in his friends lives, while he was gone Allen had grown close to Bass leaving him feeling replaced even though in the back of his mind he knew this was not true. A small smile grew on Quelt's face. "The key to swimming is strength and agility, have you climbed a tree before?" he asked the young one as he looked at the small tree line that they had among the rapids. Drinking the water from the ground as they usually did. "Climbing a tree can strengthen your muscles, and in most cases it's an excellent skill to learn to help survey the land" Quelt would move over to one of the tree's so that Lark would possibly follow him. Though it felt awkward if Lark knew how to climb tree's already. He didn't know what Bass had taught him, nor any of the other members of the pack with how close most others were to each other. Speech,