stay out of my bay

They were victorious! What might otherwise feel less thrilling if done alone felt infinitely more enjoyable with his cousin's company. They could keep Abaven safe and prosperous - he knew that deep in his soul, despite his own fears of his shortcomings. He'd do anything for his family and for his pack, and he knew now more than ever than running away wasn't something he could do anymore. They needed him, as much as he needed them, and that was a fact he wouldn't soon forget. "We'll be lucky if we don't turn into fish at this rate," he muttered, though his words were followed by a low laugh, his spirits high despite the truth behind his words - he was quite sick of fish, but he wasn't going to complain, only in jest. He continued to chuckle softly as he lapped blood from his lips and assessed the pile of fish at their paws.

Her question didn't really catch him off guard. It wasn't infrequent that they talked about serious topics like this - Corvus had grown quite fond of being a shoulder for Theory to lean on, and vice versa. Her honesty with him was something he deeply appreciated, and wouldn't take for granted. But he hesitated in replying right away. What had Abaven been like when he was young? Sometimes it was hard to remember. "It was... a lot different," he started, almost tentatively. "Remembering my whole family together... that part was nice. My mom and dad and Aiden, and our sister Rhea." He wasn't sure he'd ever spoken to Theory about Rhea; she'd been gone for almost as long as he could remember.

"But I remember my parents... not being very happy about how things were, on top of not being well, health-wise. I'm sure you heard that a family named the Abraxas occupied Abaven for awhile? Before Shaye came?" He didn't know exactly what she knew about that period of Abaven's history. They hadn't been cruel, but they'd lived with worries of what might happen if they didn't quietly agree to their occupation; they simply hadn't had the numbers to fight back, as far as Corvus knew. Abaven had grown stronger since then, even with his faulty childhood memories he could be certain of that. "Things were a lot different then. My aunt Sparrow tried really hard to keep everyone motivated, but... I don't know. I think everyone was kind of afraid then. And we all just felt defeated." That was really the only way to describe it. "But we've grown a lot stronger since then. We have fighters who wouldn't let that kind of thing happen, don't we?" Part of him always remembered those darker days, even if no real cruelty had been inflicted on them - it had been implied and for young Corvus that had been terrifying enough. He was trying to convince himself of that more than anything by asking Theory, trying not to sound too worried at the thought.