Thanks to the torrential rains flooding the west of Boreas, the Rio Grande had swollen to grotesque proportions as floodwaters from the waterlogged upper west flowed downstream. To Tyrian the swirling, muddy waters had looked like wicked fun and he'd found the chance to tempt fate too good to pass up. Yes, the river was dangerous and yes, he knew it wasn't smart to mess with it, but the thrill of doing a bad thing had been irresistible.

He'd paid for his foolishness.

The last thing Tyrian had seen before the muddy water whisked him from the bank was his father's fear filled face as he dove into the water to save him. Even now that expression was burned into Tyrian's brain and flashed across his eyes every time he closed them. He hadn't known his father could feel fear.

The boy now lay draped across a gnarled root that hung over the river. His position was precarious but he was too tired to climb any higher. It had taken every ounce of strength to make it as far as he had and his struggle was easily seen in the many gouges that littered the root from his claws struggling for traction. Had they been regular wolf claws he may not have been able to snag the wood and haul himself out of the water.

Tyrian leaned forward and vomited into the water below. He was struggling to catch his breath but the sound of something moving across the spongy swamp ground filled him with hope so he managed to squeak, "Daddy?" Then a little louder, "Z-z-ahir?"

Rhyme led the two pups and Ignis back towards Abaven’s borders, the fiery boy had strayed a bit from the group at this point, but he knew either raven would have an eye on him. Even their son Edgar circled above the three wolves. He was the first to call out that he had seen something. The water of the swamp squelched under his paws as the slate alpha rushed forward to see what the piebald raven had seen.

”Daddy?” Blue and lavender gaze fell on the youngster as he held tightly to the branch that held him from slipping further down the river. Rhyme didn’t have time to react to the boy’s appearance, he wouldn’t have doubted their relation in a thousand years. ”Not dad, but I’m going to grab you.” He didn’t hesitate to go for the pup’s scruff. This was no tiny pup, but Rhyme struggled only minimally as he maneuvered the boy from the log to the shore. Icy paws struggled for traction on the slippery log, but his success was assured when the boy’s paws touched mostly dry ground.

While he had tolerated Poem’s presence and been on his best behavior while in his father’s Noir had enjoyed the trip over all. Ignis was cool, and he liked being around the older boy. He was stuck with his half sister and father when the sound of one of their ravens reached them. He didn’t have any real training with a raven yet, and as his father sprinted off Noir became more keenly aware of his lack of partner.

Poem was quick to follow, but Noir froze for a moment. He didn’t know what was ahead of them. Curiosity drove him though, and finally his dark paws raced after them, he gained much more mud on his pelt for the effort. Noir was much more bothered by this than the pup that had been found. He muttered under his breath, very displeased at this turn of events. He already hated this swamp, but finding some half drowned brat?

He huffed as he moved a bit closer, peering curiously at the fanged boy.

Noir hadn’t messed with her much on their trip, likely because their father had a close eye on both of them. They were a long way from home, and no matter how much training they had in their lives could make up for their tender age. Poem enjoyed herself, she learned much and seeing the world did the young she wolf well. This had been Edgar’s first long trip as well, and though he tried to keep up with his parents a lot of the time he was perched on Poem’s hips. She was still proud of him though, and even more proud when he was the first to spot another wolf.

Poem didn't notice that Noir was bringing up the rear, however she was acutely aware of his displeasure in the relationship she was forming with Edgar. The thoughts were far from her mind as her bright gze fell on the boy. She watched as her father pulled him from the water with ease, unaware at how much Rhyme actually struggled.

”Is he okay, Tato?” She asked, concern in her voice as she wished her sister were there. Poem had lost interest in healing as she found her place in Abaven as its heir. She knew her dad would take care of him though.

Though the face that suddenly loomed in front of him belonged to a stranger Tyrian was awash with relief anyway. The stranger grabbed him by the scruff and instinctively Tyrian reached up with his front paws and tried to hang onto Rhyme's face with his claws. He meant no harm, he just didn't want to go into the water again.

Up until now Tyrian had taken solid ground for granted. He'd thought nothing of it until the river had washed him away. More than once in the water he'd reached down as far as he could with his toes and felt nothing beneath him. That feeling followed the the inevitable dip under had scared him more than anything else because after the first dunk or two he'd known what to expect. What came after his head was underwater.

To say feeling solid ground underfoot again was a relief was an understatement. Had he been just a little more dramatic Tyrian may very well have kissed the ground or Rhyme or both. Instead he just collapsed into a shivery puddle and fought the urge to throw up again.

After a few deep breaths and a gag or two Tyrian had the presence of mind to sit up and look at the strangers. He sniffed and blinked water from his eyes before wiping at his face with an over-sized paw. "I'm okay," he said with a cough. "Really."

Rhyme was less than pleased with the face full of sharp claws, he didn’t let go and managed to pull the young wolf onto dry land. Rhyme resisted the urge to pace as he lowered the pup to the ground and let him get his bearings straight. He really was half-drowned, and for a moment the slate alpha thought about attempting a maneuver to remove the water from his lungs. Poem asked if he was going to be alright just as the pup decided to right himself.

Rhyme wouldn’t be convinced the child was not blood related somehow. One of Chaos’ perhaps? Those fangs would surely lead him to believe. Likely he was swept down from Legion, and needed to be returned. They were on their way back from a trip, he really shouldn’t have been placed in the position he found himself now.

”Yes, I believe he will live.” He forced a chuckle as the boy tried to sonvince them he was okay. ”I’m Rhyme, and these are my children Noir, and Poem.” He gestured to both as he introduced them, leaving off their last names as he did so. ”What’s your name? Where did you come from?” Though he guessed half the answers already he would let the pup tell him.

Noir watched as his father pulled the pup from the water, his strength was impressive. Noir would work as hard as his father, and harder. One day he’d be stronger even than Rhyme! It was a long distant thought at the moment though as he watched the boy cough up the water that had been inhaled into his lungs. Noir didn’t know if he should be amused or impressed. Or neither, he was very much unimpressed, he’d been swept away by the river. Noir had known since he could walk what would happen if he tried to fight against the strength of such a current.

”I never got swept away by the water.” He interjected suddenly as Poem asked if the boy was going to be okay. Rhyme either didn’t hear him or ignored him more likely as his attention remained on the half dead pup. Noir knit his brows in frustration as he backed away, glancing as the pup stood up and gained more attention from Rhyme. Noir huffed heavily at all three of them.

Poem’s blue and lavender eyes remained on the fanged boy as he struggled on the ground, his effort to catch his breath obvious. She felt for him, and hated that he was so distressed. Dark ears lowered to her skull as she refrained from moving any closer. She wouldn’t be any help, and he needed his space to recover. Poem asked her question and suddenly Noir was there.

He was always trying to steal attention for himself, but she found her best course of action was ignoring him. Especially around their dad, he was already subdued because of Rhyme’s presence. She did so again now, and didn’t even look at him as he huffed dejectedly behind her. She did offer a big smile to the pup Rhyme had just saved as her father said her name. She was captivated by his impressive canines and amused at his attempt at a quick recovery.

The girl seemed nice so Tyrian smiled back at her. Being rather fond of attention, now that he had hers Tyrian was determined to keep it. Waterlogged though he may have been that didn't stop him from scheming. "I'm gonna be fine," he reassured her confidently.

Having just realized that he had a captive audience, Tyrian was determined to impress all three. He suppressed the cough that threatened to choke him again and then tried to bounce to his paws like he hadn't nearly drowned. Because his legs were still shaky he was only moderately successful, but he struck what he thought was a confident pose and ignored his shortcomings. "Tyrian Imperialis," he said proudly. "I'm from Legion."

The boy, Noir, as Rhyme had called him, said something about not falling in the water. The assertion that falling into the water was a dumb thing rankled Tyrian and so even though it was true, he took offense. He puffed out his chest and said, "I didn't get swept away. I was fighting a coyote and to kill it I tackled it into the river." It was a lie, but one he thought was credible. His father hated coyotes and would do anything to get rid of them so it made sense to Tyrian that all wolves would be that way.

The pup was quick to assure them he was going to bed fine, and likely he was. There was dry drowning to worry about, after a pup nearly drowns they could still have fluid build up. He’d need to be watched for a day or two, just to make sure he could adequately breathe. ”Tyrian Imperialis, I'm from Legion." Exactly what he expected. Trying to hide the exasperation from his not surprise Rhyme looked to the north. Had anyone noticed a missing pup yet? He wondered who the boy belonged to. Not that he had any right to news from… them.

He tried not to sigh too heavily as he half heard Noir’s statement through his own thoughts. He couldn’t bring him back to Abaven, that would cause who knew what kind of consequences. He also had no desire to go trotting up to Legion’s borders, missing pup in tow with two of his own and Ignis. Poem and Noir didn’t need to be around them, and what if they decided he had been the one to grab the boy anyway? Ignis would have to take the pups back to Abaven while he and this boy returned to Legion.

Rhyme zeroed back in on the conversation as Tyrian explained how he had found himself in the river. ”Once Ignis finds his way back over we can try and get you back to Legion.” He told both Tyr and his own two. ”Do you feel cold, or tired?” He asked the boy, at least they weren’t incredibly far from the pack.

The pup seemed to take to Poem pretty quickly, before he spoke Noir glared at her. The half drowned boy didn’t have to try hard to get the attention of the other two wolves. Though Noir did attempt to interject and add his own two cents. This boy was an Imperialis, a fact that still made him feel weird. Now that he was older he questioned the reason for its removal from himself. Though he hadn’t brought it up. He shook his head of the thought as Tyrian made an excuse as to why he was in the water.

Noir didn’t believe him, he was probably making it up so he didn’t look like the fool he was. Noir probably would have done the same thing but never would he admit to that. Though he wanted to interject Rhyme was doing a better job than Poem of ignoring him. The young Destruction tried not to sulk too heavily behind Poem as his father spoke.

”Yeah right, so where’s the coyote?” He mumbled, sure that no one had heard him.

Poem was thrilled that she was able to coax a smile from the fanged boy, his blue eyes lingered on her as he tried to assure her that he would indeed be alright. She was impressed when he stood up, and did her best to allow him his own space to recover. Tyrian he had the same name that Tato told Noir and his sisters they couldn’t wear anymore. She tried not to think about it, but deep down she knew there was more family out there. Why they weren’t in their lives she couldn’t say, but she guessed grandmother rhythm lived with them.

Her eyes widened a bit as Tyrian explained how he’d gotten in the water in the first place. She and Motif had taken on a honey badger together, and Noir and Ignis had just fought a bear. They hadn’t seen any coyotes. Though there were coyotes in the story her mom told about the fluffy sheep skin in their den.

When she heard Noir mutter in the background the last thing she wanted to do was doubt the boy in front of her. Especially over Noir, but the way he said it.. did the boy really fight a coyote? Rhyme seemed to have barely heard what he said as he went on to tell them what he planned on doing.

Poem looked back over to Tyrian, ”So, did you get the coyote?”

Tyrian rolled his eyes over to the boy and gave him an exasperated look. "Still in the river probably," he said in his best 'duh' voice. Even though there was no coyote Tyrian was still indignant that Noir didn't believe him. It was a good story and he was a big strong man. It was totally plausible that he could knock a coyote into the river.

To the girl he shrugged good-naturedly and feinted modesty. "We wrestled in the water and then hit rocks and I don't know what happened to it. I bet it drowned." Also 100% plausible, the river was full of rocks and coyotes were dumb as bunnies.

Wait, what had Rhyme said about taking him home? And what about being cold? He'd been too concerned with correcting the boy to focus on what the grown up said. "Who's Ignis?" As for how he was feeling, Tyrian had an audience to impress so even though he was both cold and tired he wasn't going to admit it.

Even though he was soggy and bedraggled Tyrian beamed up at Rhyme as though he was the picture of health. "No I feel fine. It was just a little water and uh," he said in a 'not to brag but...' tone, "it got my blood up so I feel great. Ready for round two." He was paraphrasing something his dad had said once. It felt like the kind of thing a grown up who everyone took seriously would say which was why Tyrian had said it even though he wasn't 100% sure what it meant.

Rhyme focused more heavily on the boy, looking for any sign of distress. He wasn’t about to be responsible for the death of the boy because he wasn’t treated properly after pulling him out of the water. Despite everything Rhyme couldn’t wish harm on the Imperialis pup, even if he didn’t carry the name they were still blood. Tyrian was innocent of any wrongdoing. The slate alpha put on a smile as he shifted subtly to sit closer to the pup, offering himself as warmth without vocalising. Rhyme had no doubt the pup was cold.

”Ignis is my recently graduated apprentice, helping me keep an eye on Noir and Poem during our trip.” He answered before the boy tried to convince him of his shape. He sounded (and looked) too much like Valentine as he did it. Rhyme shook the thought from himself internally as he looked around for the Praetor boy. The sooner Tyrian was home, the better for everyone. Surely Rhythm would be able to get him back to perfect condition.

”Let’s just wait here instead of going again.” He chuckled softly as he looked over to Poem and Noir. ”Do you want to do a little scouting? See if you can’t find Ignis’ trail. Don’t go more than a couple miles out.” The second part was issued with a sternness that didn’t often enter his voice. ”And be careful.”

Noir couldn’t help himself as he side eyed Tyrian with scepticism, he hated that Poem was egging him on as she asked about its demise. He couldn’t help but give her a sharp look from behind her back. He shifted to look disinterested as Rhyme moved closer to Tyrian, the boy didn’t notice the shift as he tried to look busy. He lifted his nose and looked to the forests behind him. His father eventually addressed him, mentioning scouting.

The blue marked boy turned back towards his father and half drowned pup and frowned, but nodded. Offering Poem a scowl before he pushed passed her he made for the woods. The sooner he found Ignis the sooner they would be able to get rid of this boy.

Poem was feeling more impressed with the boy’s show, but even she still had her doubts. She heard his shrill call for help, that sounded much different to his boastful words now. Poem still smiled and nodded appreciatively, just in case he had actually tumbled in with a coyote. The conversation was quickly taken over by Rhyme as he was the adult. Noir didn’t offer anymore commentary and Tyr asked and answered her father’s questions.

Rhyme eventually called for them to go seek out Ignis. Poem offered a quick nod in acceptance of the task as Noir shoved past her. She did her best to stand firm and not be affected by the move, but her balance was still disturbed. She said nothing as he loped away, but her icy paws carried her a little slower. She looked back to the Legion boy and offered another smile.

Tyrian watched with no small amount of disappointment as the other pups prepared to leave. After Noir shoved by Poem and left, and the girl was left alone he said to her, "I hope you get him back good." His dad had told him over and over family was important. You took care of family. Sure, sometimes you chewed on them when they were stupid but that was only because they were stupid and needed a good chewing. Otherwise you had to be better than friends because who did you have if you didn't have family? "Bye Poem."

And then it was just him and Rhyme, and it got very quiet. He was really disappointed that the pups were gone. Although he didn't feel quite up for playing, maybe he would have if given a bit more time. He would have liked to play with them. The only pups he'd gotten to play with so far were his siblings.

A shout in the distance brought Tyrian's head around. He listened with rapt attention, his head tilting as he considered the voice, and then brightened visibly. "Hey I think that's Zahir!" Another voice then, this one deeper and clearly yelling his name, wafted through the trees. "And that's my dad!"

He took in a deep breath then bellowed, "OVER HERE!"

Had he not been so scared Valentine would have been furious. The only reason he had been so far away from the boy was because the goddamn leopard who insisted on following his son around had been glued to Tyrian's side. He'd thought she'd been up to the task of minding one small child. Hell, he watched three no problem. Valentine ran along the bank frantically sweeping his gaze from the water to land and back again as he looked for his boy. He was afraid of what he might find, but too scared not to look as though his own life depended on it. The memory of his son disappearing below the water's surface played over and over in his mind. He could see Tyrian's flailing paws as they slipped under as vividly as he saw the ground in front of him. "Over here!" Upon hearing those words Valentine's heart leaped into his throat. He ran flat out as fast as his legs could carry him in Tyrian's direction. Vines and tangles of grasses battered him as he plowed through the swamp, but he neither felt nor saw them. He could think of nothing else but the boy. And there he was. A bubble of relief exploded in his chest. Seeing Tyrian, muddy and bedraggled as he was, lifted a weight off his shoulders. Valentine rushed to the boy, blind to his surroundings, and enveloped Tyrian in a hug. "Ah, kid. You scared the shit outta me. You trying to give me a heart attack, is that it?"  he said in a relieved voice. A scent, strong and out of place, jerked Valentine out of the fog he was in. He looked up sharply and his eyes settled on Rhyme with no small amount of surprise. "Rhyme?" he said incredulously. It wasn't meant to be a question - clearly it was Rhyme - but it came out sounding like one anyway.

Rhyme stilled and remained silent for a long time as his kids wandered off a little ways. His eyebrows knit, and he was so focused on how he would explain having the boy and showing up in Legion he hadn’t thought of how bored or restless Tyrian might get. He still had some recovering to do, but it wasn’t really fair that he was left alone with the alpha lost in thought. Not that they remained that way for long, Rhyme didn’t notice the sound of voices but the boy did.

The slate alpha looked up to she Valentine appear to rescue his son. He didn’t know who he got pregnant at his advanced age, but it certainly wasn’t Rhythm. He felt his brows furrow together at the sight of them. Again he felt the raw emotion of loss and rejection and he barely stifled his hackles from raising. He wouldn’t make a scene for the boy. He couldn’t give Valentine anymore ammunition to use against him. Running to his father that night so long ago had been a mistake. He wished he could beat his younger self, but he’d been naive. Would his family still be in such pieces if Valen never knew of the mothers of his grandchildren? Could he have felt the same pride in them that Rhyme did?

Internally he shook himself of wishes and maybes. He wasn’t a part of them anymore. ”Tyrian is as healthy as could be expected after being fished from a river.” He said, ignoring the implied questions. ”Watch him closely for a few days, Moth.. Rhythm will know the dangers to look for.” He had nothing else to say to Valentine, ”be careful, kid.” He added, feeling a strong affection for his younger brother and a deep pain that he couldn’t know him better. ”He wasn’t kidding about that heart attack.” Rhyme didn’t aim to linger after his parting words to the boy.