The old beaten paths

As Sirius citied his age she could only nod with a deep understanding. She knew that feeling he spoke of–that age that seeped down into their bones and made everything just a bit more difficult than it had once been. She didn't like the idea of making the best of what time she had left and tying up any loose ends she might still have because that made the approaching end all too real, but it was a reality she was going to have to face sooner rather than later. At least Sirius was being realistic in his affairs instead of holding on far longer than he should.

They began to climb a slope and Tamsyn continued to follow along beside her friend as he spoke of Mortis' decline of the position, mentioning his focus on being a father. Her obvious surprise and excitement for the winged man showed on her face with a grin that pulled across her lips. She still remembered Mortis jumping from tree branches and surprising her and now that young man was a father. It made her wonder if any of his pups were as much of an adorable trouble maker as he had been. She didn't have a chance to share her excitement for Mortis though as Sirius went on to share Azure's disappearance following Zee's death. Her expression faltered and a frown replaced her grin.

"Azure is a strong, smart man. I'm sure he's alright," she replied after a moment of consideration. "Everyone deals with grief in their own way... I learned that for myself the hard way," she added more quietly, her gaze slipping away from him to look at the ground ahead of her. She was quiet for a moment before she looked back up at him again with a soft sigh. "I'm sorry that I never had the chance to give you my condolences when she passed. There's not a lot of things in this life that I actually regret, but letting things become so... tangled between us and letting that keep me away when all of that happened is certainly one of the things I regret the most."

Tamsyn Carpathius of the Valley