Hurt goes

Sota hesitated near the door of Audra's room. She was gone - he hadn't even had a chance to say goodbye, but sometimes that was just how death worked - and he mourned for her loss. She was someone Sota had considered a dear friend, though he hadn't spent nearly as much time with her as he found himself wishing he had. That was how that always worked, too. Even for a wolf that tried his hardest not to take anything for granted, he found himself wishing he'd spent more time with her.

Not in a heavy, all-consuming sort of way though. Audra was at peace now and after all she had been through it seemed like an act of kindness to let her rest. Not for the rest of the pack - already he was beginning to feel the ripple of grief wash over The Hallows, a loss that would never fully fade but he knew would lessen in time - but he was comforted by the fact that she was finally at peace.

Lowering his head, he released what he'd had clasped between his jaws. The gardens around the castle weren't exactly flourishing right now but he'd managed to find some slightly wilted daffodils, pretty in their own right even if they weren't perfectly bloomed. The gesture was not only for her, but for the rest of the pack as well. Even if her absence had left behind a gloomy, dark cloud, he was insistent upon brightening things up a little. That's exactly what Audra would've wanted, he knew that. Fighting back the faint tears that burned at the corners of his eyes, he arranged the flowers carefully around the door to her room before moving on to the next occupied one, dropping a few there as well.