Unity in the Long Night

Tamsyn's ears perked when she heard Artorias calling for the pack, a bitter sweet pang hitting her chest. She knew the feast was coming from the preparation they had been doing, but as it drew closer she had almost begun to dread it. It felt like just yesterday that they were all gathering together as a pack for the first time with Resin presiding over the feast and now... Oh how much everything had changed since then. Resin was gone, her face scarred, her relationship with Sirius seemingly unrepairable, her heart filled with love from Kane, her children grown and developing lives of their own... It was overwhelming to think about. To think she would be walking into a feast without Resin there felt wrong somehow.

But she would go since she wouldn't dream of not being there to support her son at his first big event as the Aegis. She waited on Kane and walked with him into the grand hall, seeing all the decorations and supplies they had been gathering all put together for the first time. It was quite the affair to say the least and she was a bit in awe as she looked at it all. She found a spot for them to sit at one of the long tables, looking up at where Artorias had taken his seat in the large center chair at the raised table. She was proud to see him sitting there as much as it also hurt her. "I'll be right back," she said softly to Kane, giving him a smile and kissing him lightly before she slipped away to go greet her children. She reached Bowen first, leaning up to kiss her cheek affectionately. If there was one good thing she could take from the recent months it was the return of her ivory and caramel daughter and she was so happy to have her home with them again.

She walked over to Rudyard, giving her son a kiss as well and a smirk, walking up just in time to hear him ribbing his brother. "Don't cause too much trouble," she warned him with a chuckle. She still couldn't quite get the image of him laying in a pool of blood after fighting off the bear to save him or the sight of seeing him in the infirmary bed... She pushed the thoughts away, simply grateful that he was still here for her to fuss at. She moved around to Avantika next, giving her daughter a proud smile. Of course Tika wasn't hers by blood, but that had never really mattered. She reached up to give the young woman a kiss on the cheek as well, saying, "Congratulations on becoming Templar, by the way. I haven't had a chance to speak to you since your promotion." All of her children were doing such amazing things. Oh how she wished Resin was here to see them.

Finally she came back to Artorias, giving him a knowing smile before she reached up to wrap a foreleg around his neck and pull him into an embrace, having to stand up on her hind legs and use her other forepaw on the arm of the chair to balance herself in order to reach him and even then he had to stoop a bit for it to work. He had gotten so big and it felt like he just kept getting bigger. Sometimes she just wanted to rewind time and return him to the small, blue fuzz ball he had been riding on the back of a tortoise or swinging around a stick. "I'm so proud of you," she told him quietly where only he could hear. "And your mother would be too. You're going to do great." She gave him a sad smile as she pulled back to look at him again. "I'm going to go sit with Kane... It doesn't feel right to be up here without her." She kissed his cheek and hopped down from the chair, walking back down to where Kane was waiting and giving Ulric and Eska a warm smile as she passed. Coming to sit next to Kane, she leaned into his side, resting her head on his shoulder as she fought back the emotions that tried to well up in her.

Tamsyn Carpathius