Hate Me Today; Hate Me Tomorrow

Regret. The taste of it was so familiar to her now; it caught in her throat, refusing to let her forget. How many mistakes had she made? The former queen saw her adoptive brother's snarling face in her dreams. She saw the siblings that she had never been close to. She saw the anger in her daughter's eyes as she told her they were leaving the place they had always known as home. She was painfully aware of how far she was from her children, so many of them -- none has chosen to come with them to Ebony.

A familiar voice would pull her from the depths of her somber thoughts. Her body had been moving on its own, paws stepping daintily in front of one another as she trailed the borders of her new home. The stench was familiar, but so alien to her just the same. Nostalgia flooded through her, warming deep within her chest and making her heart beat ever so slightly faster. The sound of blood flowing rapidly through her veins made her head pound lightly, her mind whirling. A mixture of excitement and annoyance filled her being. Syrinx had returned -- but where had he gone in the first place? He was so elusive this last year, always just barely out of reach; and when he did make his presence known to her, he was gone just as quickly as he had appeared. He had yet to even meet her children, and had not even seen her husband since they were children. A exasperated snort fell from inky lips as she redirected herself toward the source of his scent.

His call sounded soon after she recognized his scent. He lingered near the lake. Slowly he came into view, a sight for sore eyes for the woman, despite his grotesque appearance. Epiphron was growing used to her siblings becoming more disfigured each time she reunited with them -- and so she gave no visible reaction to seeing him. Her gaze was intense and curious as she drew nearer to him. It was obvious that his flesh had been burned, and she cocked her head slightly to the side and she paced near him, not yet coming to a halt as sapphire blue eyes danced over her kin.

"So bold, daring to enter the lands of an unfamiliar pack," she observed with a bit of fire in her voice. "It seems my brother has not changed much." She could be frustrated with him, could even> be downright pissed off; but she would never deny her love for him, even if nobody else in the world understood it. A slight smirk played at the corners of her mouth and she pulled herself a single step closer. "Where the hell have you been, Syrinx?" Her voice was firm, but not at all lacking in warmth.