The pale, rust spotted woman laid on her stomach while she watched the falls, thinking back to the falls that had once been a part of Fiori’s territory when she was young. That waterfall had been very different from the one she was currently enjoying, but it felt like everything was reminding her of her past these days. Finding Nausicaa had stirred a whole host of emotions that she thought she had finally moved past. Traveling across Boreas had only stirred these up even more and by the time they finally made it to Auster and found Philomena it was hard to not find reminders of things she missed dearly everywhere she turned.

She had greeted her daughter when they arrived, but soon slipped away to let her and Nausicaa reconnect. She was sure there would be plenty for Ulric and Philly to speak about as well so she would have her time with her daughter soon enough. For now she was content to rest by the pool of water at the bottom of this waterfall while she tried to untangle the mess of thoughts that this entire trip had pulled to the surface. It was all just reminding her of why she had left in the first place, but now that she saw her family slowly coming back together again she couldn’t bring herself to regret it.

Memento wasn’t sure what to make of her new family. She was surprised, perhaps a bit startled, that more family members had suddenly come out of the woodwork. Of course in their arrival the young lady couldn’t help but wonder if that meant maybe, just maybe, her other father would come home too. The female was happy to know she had a sister though, even if she was a bit older. Would Nausicaa really like her though? Would her uncle Ulric? Would they accept her daddy? She wasn’t quite a yearling, but Meme was getting there, and would soon be at her full height. She’d end up a bit smaller than her mother, more dainty, but Memento didn’t mind.

Now the orange and yellow that had begun to appear in her coat were becoming more vibrant than before. It stood out on her siamese-esc coat and more and more she was starting to show bits of her grandfather’s features. Her lighter build was a throwback to his own, as well as her white-ish eyes. It was funny how much of her lineage she carried with her, without even knowing.

With the wind blowing around her body Memento had, at her mother’s prompting, broke away from the group of her family to head down to the waterside to meet her grandmother. Her pawsteps were uncertain, ears flicking down to the sides, as she approached the older wolf. Memento took a breath, calling out to the older she wolf as the wind in the area picked up.

“H-Hey there…”

The peaceful area was doing wonders for her nerves. She had been enjoying the scenery and occasionally sneaking a peak across the water toward her children as they spoke and Nausicaa buzzed around them. Everything felt so calm here and it quickly worked the tension from her bones. Her mind wandered back to the days when her family had been whole and was living together in their pack, feeling a sad, longing fondness for those days. Despite the pain and sadness it had all ended up causing, she still wished she could go back and live it again. Just another chance to see Ganta again...

A timid voice caught her attention, pulling her gaze away from the falls until it landed on a young girl standing several feet away. For a moment, all Roza could do was look at her with surprise while it felt like the world slowed down for a moment. The girl’s likeness to Ganta was uncanny and when she saw his eyes in her she felt a pang of sorrow twinged happiness in her chest. She wondered if her grief riddled mind had finally snapped enough to start imagining him around her, but no, the scent of the girl told her that this wasn’t Ganta, but was most certainly her granddaughter.

Roza’s expression softened into one that purely showed her unquestioning love for her newly found granddaughter. “Hello, little one,” she replied with a smile, surprising herself with how thick the emotion in her throat felt. She lifted a paw to motion for the young girl to join her, saying, “Come here, sweetheart, I won’t bite. What’s your name?”

Her grandmother had such a nice, gentle smile… It made her feel safe. Roza had greeted her back and motioned for her to come closer… and that was what Memento did. The young one came closer, steps slow, a bit uncertain, but curiosity burned within her. “My name is Memento Mori.” The little one said softly. “Daddy Cel calls me Memento though… and mama calls me Meme.” The youth took a seat close to Roza and smiled a little herself.

“You have pretty blue eyes. I really like the color blue.” Meme shifted her head to the side a little and twitched her ears. “Mama talked about you a lot. She said you and grandpaw Ganta had a pack… and that I remind her of him.” Her smile brightened. “She seems really happy now that you guys are back. She’s smiling! I think she’s been sad since Daddy Pegasus is gone… but if you guys came here then he'll be back too.” Memento’s tail began to wag eagerly.

“You guys have to stay here with us. We can make a new pack! All of us, our family.” Memento’s eyes were shining. “It doesn’t even need to be all fancy with those dumb laws or nothin’. As long as we all have each other we have our pack. Then all of us can smile… mama, daddy, you, me… everyone.” Memento clearly knew nothing about how packs actually worked… but her mindset wasn’t necessarily wrong.

“Mama says grandpaw is in Somnium… that the pack was taken…” Her ears lowered. “Daddy Pegasus had a pack too…but not now. Mama didn't say he went to Somnium but... we're not really sure where he is.” Meme frowned, finally taking a breath so Roza might have a chance to respond to her burst of youthful energy.

The closer the young girl got, the more Roza saw the traits that had been passed down to her from Ganta. It was hard to not feel like she was looking at a ghost, but she tried her best to not think too much about that fact so that she could listen to what her grand daughter was telling her. The joy she felt from listening to the rambling, excited speech of a pup was immeasurable. She remembered when her own children had been just as talkative, thinking fondly of how innocent pups were. It made her worry for her daughter when Memento mentioned that Philomena was smiling again now that they were here and made a note in the back of her mind to check on her as soon as she could - really check on her. She knew all too well what it felt like to hide her emotions and build up walls for the sake of her children and family. She wasn't sure what all had transpired in her daughter's life in her absence, but she was determined to find out.

It seemed like even though Meme was young she certainly knew quite a bit about what was going on around her, or at least enough to make Roza's smile falter. She smiled sadly when Memento frowned and lifted her paw, motioning for the energetic pup to lay next to her. Once her grand daughter had settled beside her Roza let the moment of silence linger for a beat longer while she brushed the longer fur away from the girl's face in the same way she used to do to Ganta and to Philomena, trying to ignore the lump that swelled in her throat. "You're right, your grandfather and I did used to have a pack. I miss it very, very much. Your great grandfather used to have a pack too so there has been a lot of packs in our family over the years." She was wistful as she spoke, her mind drifting away into her own memories.

"Maybe we will have a pack of our own," she added with a small smile, never one to discourage a pup's ambitious dreams. "Either way, we're not going anywhere. I've missed your mother a whole lot and I'm so excited to get to know you and your sister better. Hopefully your other siblings will come back soon so I can meet all of my grandchildren and we can play so, so much." She had always wanted more children, but that opportunity had never come. Her heart still wasn't in one piece from Ganta's death so she hadn't allowed herself to attempt loving again... Now she had her grandchildren to dote on and love and that was enough for her for now. If she never got to be a mother again, she was just as happy to be a grandmother.

Meme was a bit surprised as Roza reached out to brush the long fur away from her face. It allowed Memento to see Roza a bit more clearly and she was quiet, ears perked as she listened to her grandmother. It surprised her to hear that there had been multiple packs in their family over the years. Maybe it was destiny that she owned a pack one day too? Or at least was part of one! She was ambitious, certainly, but she didn’t think she’d mind following one of her loved ones in a pack. That couldn’t be so bad, right? The girl wiggled a little, keeping close to Roza as the older she-wolf said they weren’t going anywhere.

“I’m glad you guys are going to stay.” Meme said happily. “It’s a little strange, meeting family now but…” She smiled brighter. “A good sort of strange! Nausicaa looks fun~” She took a breath and looked out towards the falls. “I know they’ll be back.” Her voice was quieter now. “It’s a gut feeling. They’ll be home. Not sure when… but… they will. Dad too.” She twitched her ears and glanced at Roza with a grin. “Then we can all hold you to the promise of play.” She frowned a little as a thought crossed her mind.

“But… something is bugging me, grandmaw…” Memento lowered her gaze.

“Why… did all you guys leave in the first place? Did mom do something bad?” Her voice was quiet. “Is that why I only have daddy Cel now too? Cause mom made daddy Peg mad?”

Roza was glad to see so much optimism in the young girl. It was something she certainly needed more of and it was nice to have the reminder of such youth and hope. Even though it was very clear that a lot had happened in such a short time for the pup, it seemed like she was still quite hopeful about it all... or at the very least she wasn't quite old enough to fully understand everything that has happened. Either way, it was refreshing. Roza laughed lightly when Meme insisted that they would hold her to her promise to play once everyone was together again and she returned the grin. "I'll be looking forward to it!" Her head tipped a bit when her granddaughter's expression darkened a bit until she heard the girl question why they had left. She wasn't entirely sure what to say about the men she asked about - they weren't names she was familiar with, but she was sure she would hear about them from Philly at some point. At the very least she could be honest about where she and Ulric had gone. "No, no, your mother wasn't the reason your uncle and I left," she insisted, immediately wanting to comfort the sweet girl in front of her. "Your grandfather... He was taken away from me far sooner than I was ready for. Your mother and uncle were still very young and I had a very hard time taking care of them on my own. I was very, very sad about your grandfather passing away and I just... needed some time to process everything far away from where it all happened. Your uncle is very protective and wouldn't let me go on my own. I didn't want to leave your mother, but I didn't want to take her away from her home either." She hoped that all made sense. It was hard to explain what grief could do to someone to someone that hadn't experienced it yet. "I believe your sister Nausicaa simply got lost and fate landed her with Ulric and I. I'm glad she found us. It made me realize how much I missed being with my family and I'm glad we were able to bring her back to you and your mother." She smiled, hoping to inspire Meme to do the same. "I'm not sure what happened between Peg, Cel, and your mother, but... just remember that none of it is your fault, okay? I never want you to feel like any of your family being here or not is your fault. All I want you to worry about is enjoying being a young woman and spending plenty of time learning about anything and everything you want to learn about. Everything else will fall into place." "Speech”Think