The Unraveling - It Rises

She'd been restless the last few nights, unable to tear her eyes away from the reddened skies above. Thalia had taken to praying more often, more fervently than she had before, and most nights Theory joined her in earnest when before she had simply quietly observed. There had to be answers for why this was happening. She was a pragmatist, but even she had her limits. Earthquakes, wildfires, volcanos - all things she'd experienced in her lifetime. All predictable, natural disasters, borne of the elements themselves. The Long Night had defied her reasoning, even it it still had all of the elements of something borne from nature. Rocks. Mushrooms. Spirits... Her lost memories... Each thing drawing further and further away from the natural order of things. Spirits were comforting. She hoped to one day greet Shaye on the other side of her life, after all was said and done. Who could argue that there was no God in the face of all they had seen? And so the Long Night had cemented her decision.

God was real. Abraxas was real. Her children would be raised in the faith and she would walk by their side, guided by the love of her life. They would make sense of this all together, as best as they could.

Now that her children were just a little older, she ventured further from Avalon's lands than she had in a long time. It was brought on by Corvus' hurried departure, but she had lagged after him. She'd gone to visit him in the night and found him gone, his den nearly cold. It didn't take long to catch his scent, and she'd woken Thalia and told her she was going after him. Family was more important to her than ever, and she'd been a fool not to see how the last few years had aged them both. They had twin grizzled muzzles now, staring back at them like strangers when she caught glances of reflections of themselves in still water. How quickly time had passed. She still felt like the little girl Shaye had sent to meet her shy mentor for lessons, and so she trailed after him now, some ghost of her younger self joining him on this patrol like they had traveled through space and time back to Abaven.

Her heart climbed higher and higher into her throat as the route crystallized. It took them past everything: the Rustling Thicket, Monument Rapids, Serpent Plains... She wasn't prepared for the pain that lurched through her, as if her paws were freshly burned by the wildfire that had raced through the thicket. She felt all of it acutely. Theory slowed her pace to reflect. Later, she would realize this was her first mistake.

If she had been quicker, less absorbed by the past she couldn't change, maybe she could have stopped him.

As it was, she appeared late at the edge of the shore as if she'd walked through a dream. Distant, still lost in some reverie of all the lives she'd lived until this very moment. She was distracted. Allowed her internal life to consume her. It was how she'd lost Abaven, and it would be how she'd lose Corvus.

The scent hit her first. Worse than any low tide she'd ever smelled, it burned her nostrils like wood smoke. Theory's nose wrinkled, lips peeling back in a grimace. It hit her in the back of the throat, heavy enough that she felt like she could taste it - and there it was. The source of all of this, the uneven choppy tide, the crowds gathered at the base and top of the cliff that now came into harsh relief: a monster. Or a God. Her mouth dried out. She caught sight of Jay, already retreating back towards the edge of the beach where she stood, and she stepped into her path to stop her from leaving.

That was her second mistake.

If Jay had left, she wouldn't have had to see what might come next.

"Jay - w-what is happening? What is going on?" She stammered, her eyes flickering crazily across the shoreline to take it all in. That's when she caught sight of him, her brave cousin - forever and always putting himself in harm's way to protect others - streaking across the beach and towards that wretched creature. "Corvus!" She screamed, but her words were hoarse and the wind stole them from her easily. Everything was chaos and stench and disbelief. Theory stood rooted to the spot next to Jay on the periphery of the shore, her mouth parted in abject shock. She'd had nightmares that seemed pleasant by comparison to this.