Leave a light on

Her whole focus had simply been on getting to Saracyn. Once she had finished her quiet, mournful project of making their children's tombstone, her mind had landed on that simple task and it wasn't until after she was leaning into his larger frame that she realized where they were. She had kept herself away from their grave and hadn't been to this secluded part of the island since they buried them, but as her dark gaze turned toward the ground as she leaned her head into the base of his neck she spotted the bald spot in the snow the size of his curled up form and the modest stack of stones they had first placed here. It quickly clicked together where he had been and as she felt the chill of his coat she began to realize just how long he had been laying here. Her already aching and broken heart hurt even more deeply while she lifted her forelegs to wrap them around his sides, pulling herself tighter to him as she felt his sobs and tried–probably in vain–to chase off even a little bit of the cold she felt on him. Without really realizing it until she felt her tears rolling down her cheeks, Avacyn began to cry along with him, her shoulders trembling with her sobs as she clung to Saracyn with their silent, wordless grief that she hadn't truly let herself feel.

There was no concept of time or how long she held him like that until she finally managed to slow her tears to shuddering, hiccuping breaths, leaving her face buried in his neck until she was able to blink open her sore eyes with an uneven sigh. Gently lifting her head from his chest while still keeping her paws wrapped around his sides, she tipped her head up to look at him again. "I'm so sorry, Saracyn..." she managed, her voice slightly hoarse. She wasn't even sure she could properly vocalize what it was she was apologizing for, but the guilt she felt was nearly as heavy as her grief. For being so distant when he had needed her most, for not being able to give them the family they wanted, for allowing any of this to happen in the first place... All of it. She wanted to undo it all, but the small grave site beside them was proof that it all was very much real. With a soft whine she gently nuzzled his cheek, pressing her nose to the edges of his matching, dimly glowing marking. "Please come back to the den with me. You need to get out of the snow and I... I have something that I've been working on to show you."

"Avacyn & Saracyn"