He crossed back into Fiori's territory after his trip to visit Celestial and his first stop before he did anything else was to go find his mother. He had been all too aware of how quickly time was passing recently, but after visiting with Regulus and hearing the news from him he felt even more aware of mortality and how it was creeping up on him. He felt guilty for not checking in on Pip more than he had, especially since he hadn't seen her at the last pack meeting he called. He made his way toward her den first, keeping an eye out for her along the way. He was happy to see her of course, but the news he had to share soured his mood a bit. All the same, he felt like he had to pass it along. "Mother?" he called as he stopped a couple of feet from her den. He glanced around to see if she was somewhere nearby. Hopefully she would hear him so he wouldn't have to go searching for her. "Talk" "You" Think

Things in Fiori had been rather peaceful for quite some time. Not that the lack of activity had been such a bad thing.. it was certainly better than things being too busy or too chaotic. Still, not having anything to worry about often made time drag on slowly. She was grateful for any company she was given, and as soon as she heard the shuffling of paws outside her den, followed by her son's voice, she couldn't help but grin. Her tail waved gently behind her as she pulled herself onto all fours. Briefly stretching her stiff limbs, she slipped out of the entrance to her den. Her smile widened at the site of Leo, leaning to press her nose to his neck in gentle greeting.  "How's the weather treating you lately, Leo?" She asked him gently, tail batting gently against the earth. He didn't seem outwardly stressed, and hoped he had only come for some company, not because he had any bad news.

Leo smiled softly when he heard a soft shuffle from inside his mother's den. Ah, good, so she was here after all. His smile widened a bit when she came out to greet him, happy as he always was to see her. He pressed his nose gently into her neck as well while he settled back onto his haunches. "Well, I'm certainly not sad to see summer go, I'll put it that way," he replied with a chuckle. Summer was never a fun time living in the mangroves. The humidity around here was just about suffocating at times. It wasn't bad enough for him to want to move, but it still made autumn and spring his preferred seasons. "Sorry for not checking in with you, mom. I feel like time has just been getting away from me lately. How have you been feeling?" He still couldn't shake this guilt over not spending time with her before now. He didn't want to start out their conversation with the news from Regulus and set a sad tone for the whole thing so he saved that for later. Really he was much more concerned about her and how she was doing than he was spreading bad news. "Talk" "You" Think

Epiphron was always happy to see her children. She wished the few that she hadn't seen in such a long time might someday appear again, but she knew wishing for things that might never come wasn't something worth spending much thought on. Their paths had clearly taken them elsewhere - she was grateful though that some of her children had remained. It meant a lot that Leo had taken to heart what she'd taught him about family. Family was important; at least those that were loyal, and she was grateful her son had not forgotten that. Her smile grew at his words, nodding in agreement. "Nor am I," Epiphron agreed readily. She had never been a huge fan of the cold, and was grateful her children hadn't decided to move north. The warmer lands here agreed with her much better, but fall had always been the most pleasant of all the seasons. This one was proving to be particularly mild, the summer heat seeming to cling on for as long as it possibly could, and for that she was thankful. His apology brought a soft chuckle from her throat. "I'm just glad you're around at all, my son," she dismissed his words with a shake of her muzzle. She didn't expect to see him every day, or even every week if he proved busy. Socializing was only one small aspect of existence. Truthfully she saw so few of her children that she was glad that Leo and Amalia were a constant presence in her life, however scarce they might be. She always knew where to find them. "I've been doing well. What about you, hm?" It'd been awhile now since the loss of his mate, and she hoped he was faring well. Epiphron knew even time couldn't ever fully heal those wounds, even if they did make things easier.

Leo nodded knowingly when his mother mentioned that she was just happy to have him around. Roza was the first of his children to leave the nest and he was already missing her presence. He hadn't seen most of his siblings in ages. He was grateful for his children that were still staying close to home and for Amalia staying with them here for so long. His love for his family ran deep so having them around was really important to him. That was probably why he spent so much time and energy on keeping the pack alive so they would all have a home here. "I've been doing pretty well," he replied with a soft smile. In his attempt to hold off any bad news for as long as possible, his smile widened a bit as he added, "Actually... I don't know if you've gotten a chance to talk to her yet, but Carletta... I really like her. I think I've fallen in love with her. You know I wasn't sure if I would after Svetlana, but... I do." His tail wagged against the ground at the thought, feeling more and more confident about admitting it out loud. Now he just needed to get himself to admit it to Carletta herself. "Talk" "You" Think

It was a rough thought that she might not see the rest of her children again. Epiphron wasn't an idiot; she was well aware that the vast majority of her life as over. She had long since learned to let go of her regrets and to hope that the family that she had left, the ones that were still around, were faring well - wherever they might be. She couldn't deny her gratitude that her son had stayed here to rule this pack, a safe place for any Adravendi kin to return to if they ever needed. Hearing that he'd been well made her lips quirk up in another small smile.  "I'm glad," she admitted easily, exhaling softly. There was little more than she could ask for, for the few children she'd maintained touch with to be leading fulfilling lives. It was funny how time had calmed her aspirations, though she wouldn't have it any other way. It was a far more simple life than the one she'd led in her younger years. Hearing Leo talk about falling in love only brightened her features even more. "I'm happy to hear that,"" she replied, a touch of playfulness audible in her voice. "Enjoy it, Leo. Don't question it too much." Life was too short to really wonder - if he was happy, so was she. Lightly she leaned to nudge him, happy to hear his admission. "Have you told her yet?"

Leo smiled and nodded in agreement to his mother's advice. If there was one thing that Leo was the master of it was over thinking everything. His feelings for Carletta were certainly one thing that he had been dwelling on for quite some time. He needed to stop questioning it and just accept it as reality. It certainly wasn't a fluke at this point. He knew what love was at this point in his life. It wasn't like he was a young kid that didn't know what it was like to really love someone other that his family. He was almost seven years old and had already loved a mate. He could do it again, couldn't he? The way he felt when he was around Carletta was just too good to pass up. He gave a small shake of his head "no" to Pip's question, saying, "No, you're the first one I've actually told. I've been planning it out for a while and trying to imagine how I would tell her, but I haven't gotten myself to do it yet." He shrugged and gave her a small grin. "You know how I get wrapped up in my own head. But you're right. I need to just stop questioning it and tell her." Speaking of telling others news... "There was one other thing I wanted to tell you, mother." "Talk" "You" Think

Love wasn't something Epiphron thought she'd encounter again. Not of the romantic sort, and she was pretty comfortable with that fact. Maybe if something interesting came along she might be open to the idea, but truthfully there were few wolves outside of Fiori that she encountered anyway and settling down with anyone didn't sound that appealing. Fiori was where she wanted to remain for the end of her days, and she wasn't open to the idea of anything else. A smile touched her lips again at his admission. "Well, 'I love you' is a pretty good start," Epiphron teased, her tail batting gently against the earth as playfulness sparkled in her blue stare. She knew what he meant though, regardless of the teasing. Saying those words for the first time could be daunting, even if they were quite simple in principle. The fear of reciprocated feelings was very real - she remembered that worry well. She couldn't help but let her head tilt in surprise when he said he had something else to tell her. Her ears flicked atop her head, curious. "What's that?" Epiphron asked gently, wondering what it could be that she had to tell her. Hopefully something good; she didn't like the thought of her so bearing bad news.

Leo grinned and gave his mother a playful glare at her teasing. "Well, I'll certainly try that one. He knew what she meant though. It shouldn't be this hard. When it came down to it the only thing holding him back was himself. All he had to do was stop overthinking everything and just tell her. If it turned out she didn't feel the same way then he wouldn't really lose anything. If Carletta did feel the same then he'd have everything to lose if he didn't tell her. He turned the attention away from himself as his mother asked about the other news he had to share. His expression grew more somber while he tried to figure out the best way to share what he had to say. "I went to visit Regulus and check on Celestial recently... I'm sad to say that Surreal and her mate have passed away. Surreal has been sick for a while and I'm guessing her mate hadn't been in great health either. I just wanted to make sure you knew." He hadn't been extremely familiar with Surreal, but he knew his mother sincerely loved all of their family like he did. The last thing he wanted was this kind of news to travel through the grapevine and have her hear it from someone else. "Talk" "You" Think

The thought of her son falling in love again certainly warmed her heart. She could wish little more than for her children to be happy, and she was grateful Leo had found a sliver of that happiness for himself again. His reply to her statement made her laugh, a gentle bubbling from within her throat. No matter how hard it might be to tell Carletta he loved her, she had little doubt he would find the right time and place to tell her - phrasing wasn't that big of a deal, either. Epiphron braced herself as he started to speak. He went to visit Celestial, and both Surreal and her mate had passed. Quietly she bowed her head, a moment of silence for their fallen family. Though Epiphron had never been terribly close to Surreal, in a way she had been like a distant sister - in many ways, Erani had been the closest thing she'd ever had to a mother, given her birth mother had passed away so young. She thought back to the last time she had seen Surreal, not long after she'd given the pack to Leo. "A shame," she uttered quietly, realizing how this news made her mortality seem all the more real, suddenly. "Do you know how her children are doing?" Her expression softened, hoping they were faring well, though she hadn't gotten to know them either.

Leo let the silence settle on them while her mother dipped her head. He had never really known Surreal very well, but to him family was family, no matter whether they are by blood, adoption, marriage, or even just close, dear friends. He was proud of his family and he had spent most of his life keeping this pack going simply to provide a safe place for them to live. He knew that Surreal and now Regulus had done the same so he had respected Surreal and her side of their family no matter how well he knew them. His mother's voice pulled his gaze up to her own again and he smiled softly as he nodded. "It seems so. Regulus is leading Celestial of course and from what I could tell from the scents there was still a fair number of their children in the pack. I think one of their children might have gone off and made a pack of their own as well, but I haven't gone to introduce myself just yet." He paused for a moment and smiled a little more surely. "I like knowing that our family is so widespread and strong. Three packs lead by Adravendi wolves... Not direct relations, I know, but it still makes me proud." "Talk" "You" Think

Epiphron was proud that her son had grown to value family loyalty above all else - she wondered sometimes the lengths that she herself would go for family. She had even stood by Syrinx's side until the end, despite how hated he had become. For her children, she had no doubt she would do the same, morality be damned. She hoped all of her children had the same kind of loyalty instilled in them. Her expression brightened a bit at her son's words. Two packs ran by family? Adoptive family, but family nonetheless. While she had dreamed of her children all having packs of their own someday, fierce empires to be feared and respected, life had not turned out as she had pictured it - and that was perfectly fine. To know at least Surreal's son had a pack of his own, and perhaps another might as well? She was pleased. "That's nice to hear," she admitted, her voice a bit wistful. "It makes me proud as well. And it seems you'll see your own children leading soon enough, too." Briefly she smiled, letting her muzzle fall to rest on her outstretched paws.