so this is love

She longed for the numbness to take her but instead all she could feel was the hollow emptiness Hattori created when he ripped their lives apart. Another wave of sadness washed over her as she disappeared into Plague’s embrace. Here below the surface of the earth nothing could come and get her. The rhythmic sound of the stream worked so soothe her tensions away as Plagueasked to bear some of the weight that lay heavy on her shoulders. He was much more even headed than she felt, and even if her features remained buried in his pelt she listened as he told her what to do.

Honesty, she just had to be honest. Could she really stand before her children and her pack and tell them their shogun and her husband had decided to leave them? Venom didn’t often feel overwhelmed but in this moment she was tested to her breaking point as her heart still tried to deny what happened. Her husband left her and the family they created.

Venom squeezed her brother’s neck tighter as she wished away the hurt and pain. He spoke to her softly, and did everything he could to ease the struggle she would ultimately have to overcome alone. But he told her to take some time to herself, that perhaps getting away for a little while would help ease the ache.

”Thank you,” she muttered into his neck, refusing to release her grasp on him yet. She thanked him for being here for her, for offering to take on her duties so she could care for herself. So she could be with the children Hattori left behind, his greatest gift to her. ”This is the greatest test of strength I have yet faced.”