Twig wasn’t the boys’s mom, she could try and be that figure to them but she would never replace Vail. However much they didn’t want to be around her she wasn’t going to let them go without. Every morning before the sun rose the Memoire girl dropped off a big rabbit or small game animal so her nephews wouldn’t have to worry about catching every meal. Dainty paws carried her towards the den now. Catching rabbits had been getting a little difficult with how overly hunted they were. This one had made it through all winter and was still a chunky thing. Twig was eager to leave it outside the entrance of the sad den Beat had created away from the one he’d grown up in.

She sighed heavily as she lay the gift down, her gaze lingering sympathetically at the entrance of the den before she turned away. She would respect their space and allow them to grieve how they needed. However much she wanted to wrap the boys up in her arms protectively. She couldn’t promise anything but her undying love. Likely they would face much more hardship during their lifetime.

Beat hadn't even been in his den the night before. He was often out wandering. If you were walking, you were harder to find. The emaciated boy was overly tired though and decided to come home for some much needed sleep. As he neared the hole that he and his brother had dug out for a den, He noticed the form of his aunt leaving a fat rabbit outside of the den. The boys brow furrowed. She shouldn't be so close to them. He began to walk away, but she turned towards him too quickly. "Aunt Twig?" He questioned her, unable to avoid it.

There was a lot that the child was unable to come to terms with. The death of his parents, his other aunt. Their ghosts plagued his mind. It had gotten so much worse after the strange woman on the plains had given him the mushrooms. Whatever had happened within his mind had opened a doorway. The faces of his dead family followed him now. He wasn't sure if they were hallucinations or real, but he could see them every time he shut his eyes and sometimes when his eyes were wide open. Thankfully, he couldn't see them now.

The boy waited for his aunt, though he wished she'd just leave. He didn't want her to catch the curse and die like the rest. It was his fault that they were dead, after all. Everyone close to him died except for his brother, but only because he was cursed too. He stood there, waiting for Twig to say something. Head lowered, eyes glassy, hips and elbows sticking out like bare bones. Hopefully whatever she had to say would be quick. The less time she was around him, the less time the curse had to take hold.

As she moved bright purple eyes fell on Beat and his dueling coat. Her features softened as he said her name with a question as he looked at her. He was thin, but he would be taller than her by the time he reached his first year. He looked pitiful, the poor thing was boney and unkempt. Her own caramel ears fell to her skull. She wished so bad that she could do better for him and his brothers.

”Hey, Beat.” She began softly, she hadn’t intended on confronting any of her nephews when she made her way here. ”I just brought dinner,” she knew they had been avoiding her, but she didn’t know the true reason. Obviously none of the tragedy they suffered was really their fault. ”But, you know I’m here if you wanna talk.” She offered softly, again, to maybe coax him out of his shell a little. Twig hated seeing them like this and hated that they had lost so much in their short lives. If anything wasn’t fair it was that all those important wolves had been stolen from the boys.

He hadn't been aware that she'd been leaving food for him. He hadn't exactly been around. Part of him felt bad that she was trying so hard, but the other part of him was glad that she was giving them space. Giving him space. "Thank you." Though he was antisocial and mopey, he wasn't without manners. His neglected stomach gave up growling, knowing that the action was futile. If he ate that whole rabbit now, he'd probably be sick.

Twig offered to talk and the boys ears pulled back against his skull. He knew that she wanted to talk. She wanted to be there for him and his brothers. Two-toned eyes cast to the side and his head sunk even more, if possible. "It's not a good idea. You should stay far awake from me. Forget all about me." It would be safer for her in the end. She could live to a ripe old age that way and he wouldn't be a burden on her.

Beat offered her a sad thank you as she told him about her offer of a rabbit. She hoped one day the struggle through this difficult time would make him stronger, and this sad skeleton of a wolf would be the proud descendant of those lost. She wasn’t helping that become reality either way, and she whined softly unable to help her step forward before she stopped herself. His words completely unexpected, she couldn’t fathom why he’d ask her to do something like that.

”How could I ever do that, Beat?” Twig asked him, restraining herself from approaching him further. She wanted to offer her comfort, she wanted him to lean on her, she wanted to remove his sorrow and allow him to enjoy his childhood. ”I love you, I can’t just forget you.” She coaked further, wondering what kind of thought process led to pushing away one of the wolves that cared for him.

Why couldn't she understand? The woman took a step towards him and he physically balked, taking a step back. Twig asked why she should leave him alone. Didn't she already know? Wasn't it obvious? Panic began to surge within his chest, his heart beating a mile a minute. They had already been near each other long enough. She was going to catch the curse.

His aunt said that she loved him and tears welled in the boys eyes. He loved her too. That's why he couldn't be near her. "Aunt Twig, if you loved me, you'd stay away from me." He began backing away. "I don't want you to die. I'm cursed. If you stay near me, you'll die." His voice lowered with his gaze. "Everyone does." The gangly child turned and began walking away. It was safest for her if he left. His heart was still pounding, but he wouldn't look back to see if she followed.

Twig halted even before she could react to his retreat, but as he desperately moved away from her Twig’s heart was breaking. She felt like she couldn’t do anything for the boy even though she wished to more than anything. She couldn’t bring his parents back, she couldn’t save Shaye, and she was all he had left besides his brothers. Of course all of Abaven was here for them as well, but she held a special responsibility none of them had. They shared blood and that meant something.

She shook her head as he tried to explain, cursed? Didn’t want her to die? Had the poor child been holding the weight of all the deaths surrounding him? He didn’t say anything more, sure that his curse would find a way to kill her as well. Beat turned to leave her and Twig felt her heart be pulled from her chest. ”It’s not true, Beat.” She didn’t follow him, the only things she could do right now was respect his wishes and hope that he believed her. ”Losing them wasn’t your fault. I promise I’ll be okay.” She couldn’t honestly promise, especially after the accident that took Shaye’s life. However, Twig was tenacious at the least and she wasn’t going anywhere anytime soon.

Even with her encouraging words she lingered behind, eyes soft and heart broken for her poor nephew.

Beat winced when his aunt spoke. He stopped in his tracks, looking over one pointed shoulder blade. "It is my fault. Everyone close to me dies." There was no way to convince him otherwise. Not at this point in his life. "If I'm not cursed, why are they haunting me?" The boy turned fully to look at her, anger and confusion in his glassy gaze. "I see them all the time. They follow me." The work that the healer had done on him made it so much worse.

A look of pleading exhaustion settled on the child's disheveled features. "I can't take any more, Aunt Twig. If you die..." He would kill himself. He would go to the nearest cliff and throw himself off. Or walk out into the sea and never come back. The boys fragile mind could take no more. There was a limit to everything and the child was fast approaching his.

He stopped and looked back at her, his emotions just as raw and his convictions as strong. He was certain that he had caused the deaths of his mother and father, as well as that of his real aunt. She worried more for the boy as he confessed to seeing the ghosts of his loved ones. Twig wasn’t sure if she had an answer. She wished she did, like she wished his parents were here to tell him it was going to be alright.

”I won't die. Not for a long time.” She assured him, feeling again the need to wrap him up in her arms and tell him that everything was going to be okay. ”Ghosts aren’t real, Beat.” She tried to assure him while backing away from the entrance of the makeshift den. ”Your mind is too tired and is playing tricks on you. Your parents, Shaye.. they all loved you dearly. They wouldn’t hurt you even if there was a curse.” She tried to explain and hope he didn’t see it for her grasping at straws like she felt she was.

She didn't believe him. That probably hurt more than anything she could have done. Beat cringed inward, his legs folding slightly, his whole body wobbling with the action. Tears surged forward, dripping down dirtied cheeks. He couldn't say anything. His voice was gone. He could cry, however. With a sob, the boy took off, running as far and fast away from Twig as he could manage. The heartbroken child crashed through the underbrush, branches grabbing at his fur. They scraped at his face, but he just kept going.

Beat paid no attention as he ran and so he didn't see the sharp drop off of a nearing gully until it was too late. Paw slid, trying for traction, but failing. He went over the side, landing on the rocky bottom in a heap. The gully wasn't deep and he wasn't hurt more than a few bruises, but the hurt in his heart surpassed anything physical. The child curled himself into as tight of a ball as he could manage and he cried. Gut wrenching sobs. He tried to bury his face beneath his arms to stifle the sound, but it was no use. He was broken.

She’d done something wrong, she could see it in his features as he crumpled and started to cry. Her ears fell back and she retreated a step, but it was too little too late. ”Beat…” She tried to keep his attention but he was gone, the boy turned and raced away from her. A heavy sigh left her lips as she accepted her failure. Delicate paws drew her after the boy, but she was too late to keep him from tumbling down the ravine. She gasped in surprise and raced forward, heart beating like made as she made her way to his body. She didn’t get too close, enough that she could see that he wasn’t physically hurt.

”It’s going to be okay,” she offered quietly. Twig wanted so bad to curl around him and prove that everything would be alright one day. There would be joy again and he needed to live for their memory. They weren’t here, but he was. He could accomplish so much in his future, but she worried he wouldn’t overcome this. ”I love you,” she called as she turned away, completely at a loss. ”Eat when you get back to the den, I’ll have someone leave you some herbs too. They’ll make you feel better and help you sleep.” She promised, regretting her inability to comfort him. This wasn’t a problem she could easily fix on her own. Maybe she would go to Theory or Corvus for help.

She offered him one more sympathetic glance and turned to give him his solitude. She didn’t believe he was cursed, but she respected that he needed his space. He wouldnt get through this alone, but she didn’t know how to begin helping him.

-exit twig unless stopped?-

So enveloped in his misery was the boy that he didn't even hear Twig approach. He didn't even consider her existence until she began to speak. She offered soothing tones and empty words, but she believed in those words, he could tell. He sniffled and his sobs turned into soft cries and whines instead. Part of him didn't want her to go. He wanted nothing more than to have her wrap herself around him and let him cry until he lose his voice and his eyes swelled shut. He knew that such things weren't possible however. He pushed her away because he loved her.

If she had come to him, he would have run again and so he was thankful that she kept her distance. Twig gave instructions and he would follow them as long as she stayed away. Before she left, he offered a small nod, his face still buried in his forelegs. He would do as she asked and try to eat. He would sleep and watch for the herbs that someone would leave for him. If he could sleep for a few days, it might help his mental exhaustion along with his physical exhaustion. He only hoped that the spirits of his parents and aunt would let him sleep.

Once Twig was gone and enough time had passed that the boy wouldn't stumble into her, he unrolled his balled up form. Now he was feeling the bruising from his fall. Looking down, he noted that he'd landed on some bumpy rocks. A frown was all the reaction he gave before climbing back out of the gully. He made his way back to the den that he shared with Tempo and threw himself in the farthest, darkest corner. Sleep found him instantly. He'd forgotten all about the rabbit.

-Exit-