i've given you all and now i'm nothing

The heat of summer had seemingly arrived all at once, signaling that his children were well past their first year of life. And a great first year it had been, even with the raid that had reminded him of the harsh realities of life. Once he had recovered he had all but stopped thinking about it, instead focusing on the beautiful children he and Twig had created - and with the warm sun beating down on his back, thoughts of raiders and bloodshed were far, far from his thoughts.

He rarely went far from Avalon's lands these days. Living in the dead center of Boreas had numerous benefits, from the mild climate to the plentiful prey that surrounded them. Going far didn't appeal much to him, not when everything he needed was right here. His children were old enough now though to go off as they pleased without being chaperoned, which wasn't this overly-protective father's favorite thing in the world, but watching them grow and flourish was beautiful in its own right - albeit also downright terrifying.

The swamp to the south of The Orchard, usually full of dense fog, seemed a little less stifling today thanks to the sun's rays. He'd been idly patrolling the border, where the field met swampland, and he'd decided against venturing any further south… until he heard a call.

It took a long moment for him to really recognize the call that suddenly sounded out, breaking the silence and calling for him specifically. Not because he didn't know it - it was painfully familiar, and his heart surged with sudden nostalgia at the sound - but because he didn't necessarily believe it was real. Not that he questioned his hearing, or even his sanity, but he was getting up there in age and though auditory hallucinations seemed extreme, was such a thing really out of the question?

But Theory was dead, wasn't she? He'd looked for her for so long that it eventually felt like he was chasing after a ghost. Something he'd never quite find, no matter how hard he looked. She was here though, real or not, and his paws slowly began to carry him toward her. Ghost or not, he wanted to see her. She'd been his closest companion for so many years that even a memory of her was better than nothing at all, even if it was all in his head.

He moved slowly at first and then picked up his pace once a familiar form came into his vision. Even from a distance he could see that time had not been well to her, but he paid no heed to that. His eyes brimmed with tears as he closed the distance between them - at first hesitantly, and then all at once, aiming to wrap his neck around hers in a pseudo-embrace. "I never thought I'd see you again," he nearly sobbed, the sudden surge of emotion hitting him hard and fast.