It had been a long time since she'd celebrated. Since Shaye and Odysseus' passing, happiness felt like a fleeting thing that she had no hope of chasing. When it was so far away, why even bother trying to catch it? Once she'd heard Winterfell would be hosting a seasonal festival, she knew that she should make an appearance. Not just for the sake of interpack relations, but for her own dreary mood. Theo had made the trek up north after encouraging as many pack members as possible to attend as well. Everyone could use a little bit of a boost. She knew that Ace's brood was young and Tyranis' children also resided in the north - maybe some of the orphans and Eulogy's litter could make some new friends. As much as she wished Abaven could meet all of their needs, she knew that socializing with other pups was important for their development. Rhyme had made a point to take her along to the Firefly Festival after all.

Theo padded through the tall trees. She'd been learning a little bit about herbs since meeting with Rhyme for training and was trying to stay alert for new and interesting plants. Snow still carpeted the area here, lending a peaceful blanket of quiet to the woods. Her pawsteps were muted and the sounds of woodland creatures seemed as if they were softer than usual. Theory smiled to herself before she spotted a wiry sapling that had been partially uprooted. From the scale of the snow drifts in the forest it seemed like this area was often hit with harsh winds. She approached it tentatively, wondering how she might successfully replant it. Snow had covered its roots.

She brushed the dusting of snow off and began to dig a small hole. Theory didn't recognize the sapling but it smelled strong and familiar. Some type of pine? Wracking her brain, she recalled that the sticky resin from these trees was often useful for binding wounds of making sure a concoction of herbs remained on the affected area. If she could replant it, hopefully it'd grow strong and serve the Winterfell wolves well in the years to come.

Desolate padded dejectedly after Theory and the others attending the festival. He'd not wanted to go, but his mom seemed to be nowhere to be found and the thought of staying at Abaven's lands when everyone else was gone to Winterfell territory was scary in its own right. Surely his siblings would be coming too and Desolate wasn't sure if he was happy about that or not. While he loved his littermates he couldn't help but get angry at them over the smallest things, and a part of him worried that one day he'd snap and hurt one of them and get in trouble by the elders of the pack. Though, maybe that would be the only way his mom would pay him any attention.

He filed the thought away for later and scurried up alongside Theory's large paws. She'd stopped to dig a hole, and the pup looked up at her in confusion, then around the near-empty woods. "This doesn't look like a festival. Why are you playing in the dirt?" He asked pointedly. Theory was alpha, so that meant she knew what she was doing, right?

Winter was super excited to meet new wolves, and according to her father, there would be wolves from all over coming by. He spoke alot about Abaven, a pack that he used to be a part of. Would she get the chance to make friends with them, too? At some point, she managed to wiggle her way out of her fathers grasp when he was looking and she bounded her way through bodies and trees. Bright lilac gaze looked all around at the new wolves and she wondered if there would be other pups that she could play with. While she had her siblings to play with, they seemed a bit distant since their mom left. But she didn't want to dwell on those things so she was always looking for something to do.

As she weaved in and out of the trees and pack mates and the like, she eventually spotted what looked like an adult and..."Oh!" another puppy! Her tail wagged as she bounded towards them, a big grin plastered to her face. They smelled a whole lot different than her own pack mates, but she didn't know which pack they belonged to. "That's because everyone is over that way," She said as she peered at them both. "Hi! I'm Winter! Do you know my daddy? He's the alpha! Who're you? Where ya from?" She had so many questions!

"Ah," Theo said, turning to Desolate to explain. Eulogy's absence was troubling but she hadn't wanted to worry the children. The festival seemed like the perfect remedy to an uncertain situation- at the very least, it would take their minds off of it for the time being. She hoped. "I'm replanting this tree here. The trees provide important resources and a buffer to the winds. Hopefully it will grow up nice and strong, just like all the others." Theory nudged the sapling into place and refilled the hole just as another pup appeared.

She smelled of Winterfell and reminded her of Ace in looks. Was this one of his children he had spoken so proudly about? "Hello Winter, I'm Theory and this is Desolate. I'm the alpha of Abaven and we've come to participate in the festival," she said. The Winterfell girl had a lot of energy. Having kids of your own sounded exhausting. She already had enough on her plate worrying about the youth of Abaven.

Desolate pressed close to Theory's leg as the other pup barreled in, her energy not like any he'd seen often from the other Abaven pups. His siblings were generally quiet, and his eyes widened as she began a slew of questions. Forefront in his mind was the girl's announcement of her dad, the Alpha of Winterfell. He didn't think it was fair that this pup had parents and they were royalty, when Desolate barely had a parent at all. "Dad's sound stupid." He announced boldly. "I don't have a dad, I'm allowed to do whatever I want." It was half-truth, and while Theory still stood beside him the little pup thought highly of his cousin and knew there was no way she'd make him look bad in front of the other child by exposing his somewhat-lie. He looked up at his alpha fondly before looking back to Winter. "I don't ever get in trouble, either." Desolate added after a pause, trying to think of more to say that could make his life look better then the princess' could be.