First Light
03-29-2018, 10:24 AM
Harmony raised her head with some effort at the pitter-patter of little paws coming in answer to Arpeggio's call. A fond, though tired, smile crossed her muzzle as a young pup crept up closer to them. The markings under the girl's eyes - in another pack it would have been easy to dismiss them as coincidence, but they were too similar to the markings that ran in her family's blood, it would simply be too incredible a coincidence for an unrelated pup to be born in Abaven bearing them. And then... Immediately on the child's heels came a familiar face. "Sparrow," she breathed out a sigh of pleasure to see one of her nieces here, healthy and well. For a moment she wondered if the pup was Sparrow's, but her words to the child implied otherwise. The shock on Sparrow's face upon seeing her brought a pang of pain deep within Harmony's chest, guilt at having left them again, though not like she had years ago when her disorder had first taken a grip on her body and she'd left to protect them from it. She'd been selfish this time, leaving rather than face an Abaven without her brother there. "Oh Sparrow," she said again, her voice trembling. "Oh, I should have been here for you. I am so sorry, I..." She struggled to her paws with Peggy's help, then had to stand there a moment leaning on the girl's shoulder before the weakness passed. She was so tired, tired of this body that trapped her. But she couldn't leave this world without taking care of this one last thing that weighed so heavily on her. She had so much to say to the girl. She knew Sparrow had always felt alienated from her family, wished she'd been able to help her and her brothers connect the way Harmony and her own littermates had. She wished... "This is my daughter, Arpeggio. Arpeggio, this is your cousin Sparrow, one of Bass' older children." She closed her eyes against the tears that pricked at them, but a faint, tremulous smile touched her muzzle despite them. "I'm afraid I waited a rather long time to finally have pups of my own. I never thought I would, or should, have them at all. I'm glad I did though, I'm glad..." Her smile faded. "But I should never have left you and your siblings alone like I did. I was selfish." She opened her eyes again, watching Sparrow with a troubled gaze. "Do you think you will ever be able to forgive me?" |