The crack in my foundation

She stood there, ready and willing to follow his every command and wish. Just as a good General should. She no longer held the title or the role, but she had never truly given it up. She had always been dedicated to him, always would be. She watched as she stomped his way toward where she was waiting by the bones and remains of the wolves he was mourning, her ears flicking as he spoke to Azure as if he was laying there, condemning him for not being able to protect Zee either. It hurt. Everything hurt. She couldn't get away from the pain that followed her everywhere and she resigned herself to quietly help him pick up the pieces of his son, placing them a bit more gently onto the sled than he had.

Then it was time for Zee. She hesitated and watched as she picked up the skull by its antlers, watching with horror as the rest of the skull fell away from her horns and went clattering back to the ground. Swallowing hard, she stepped forward and carefully picked up the piece of Zee that had fallen away, taking it over to the sled and gingerly setting it down. She wasn't sure if Sirius would ever unfreeze from the position he was in, but she continued on regardless, moving the bones piece by piece into a pile on the travois until none were left. With the grim task completed she situated the travois on her back and looked back at Sirius, making sure he was actually following before she began to quietly pull the sled back toward the Armada.

For a long time she was quiet. There wasn't possibly any words she could say to soothe him. She knew that. But as they retraced their steps to take Zee and Azure home, she couldn't help but speak the words that were churning in her mind. She didn't look up at him as she spoke, instead leaving her tired gaze on the ground in front of them. "Zee... Zee is dead." It hurt even in her own ears, a fact neither of them wanted to face. "But the Armada is not. I'm not. Your children or not. Even if you don't want to live for yourself, at least live for us." She paused, finally pulling her gaze up to his face as she continued to trudge onward. "You've survived so much hardship before... we both have. And we'll survive this. You'll lose Zee, I'll lose Resin, and somehow... somehow we'll heal. You can't drive me away. I'll always be here for you like you've been here for me."


"Tamsyn" | "Blue"