First Light

It was Harmony. It really was Harmony, but she was old and frail. Sparrow felt that their time together had already passed. If she was this old, then their father must have been equally aged. It somehow solidified his absence. He wasn't coming back.

Sparrow couldn't look away from Harmony, but she couldn't meet her gaze either. Emotions that Sparrow had been focused on shoving aside were suddenly being torn to the surface.

She swallowed them, deliberately and forcefully stuffing them down. She couldn't start feeling again. Not this. Not now.

"Pleased to meet you, Ms. Sparrow, and you, Rhea," Arpeggio said, snapping Sparrow out of her daze.

She nodded slowly, almost as if unsure.

Harmony said she shouldn't have left them and Sparrow looked away. Harmony asked if Sparrow would forgive her.

"You have nothing to be forgiven," Sparrow mumbled. "You did nothing wrong."

The words were mechanical. She felt that despite any feelings making her feel uneasy, it was easier and better to put them aside at this point. She felt disconnected, disjointed, from her own feelings. She didn't want to reunite with them. She wanted to be a cool and calm alpha. She didn't feel like Sparrow anymore. She was simply the alpha of Abaven.

"Come. I'm sure Lark would like to see you. You should meet the rest of his children," she said, finally looking up to Harmony. "You both are welcome in Abaven. This is your home."