Poem returned to the heart of Abaven with a sense of pride in her breast, she had done her best for her family and her pack. She felt strong, but she knew the feeling of being unstoppable was only an illusion. Her time with Sirius had ruined that for life. Poem couldn’t let her guard down, who knew when the next time someone would try and take advantage of Abaven would be. If you couldn’t even trust your allies who could you trust?

She tried not to take the raid too personally, she’d gained a lot of experience and they helped to prove their worth on the world’s stage. Abaven was no pushover. After everything the only thing she wanted to do was see Theory. The young Destruction skipped the infirmary and called out lightly for her sister, hoping she wasn’t interrupting anything important.

The major wounds she'd sustained consisted of some seriously deep bruising and a gash just above her nose. It had finally stopped bleeding just as she answered Poem's call. Things had just cleared up at the infirmary and she'd seen the Wintefell wolves off to the border's edge. She'd seen how little control Acere had over his own pack. Bellamy striking out of her own against Desolate proved that. Despicable. Although certain moments of the raid were etched into her mind - her own defeat was certainly at the forefront - she couldn't help but be proud of the others who had pulled through for her. Theory was glad to answer Poem's call. When she finally came upon her, the young alpha couldn't stop herself from beaming. "We really did it, yeah?"

She was coming down off the adrenaline high, besides fighting with Sirius for her sister’s freedom Poem hadn’t experienced such intense feelings. They’d managed to ward off their attackers though, and beyond keeping their hard earned supplies they’d sent a message to the world that Abaven was not a pushover. She hoped the news made it back to the lawless slavers that made Winterfell attack in the first place.

Theory was beaming when she arrived at her call, still battered and bruised after the big fight with Acere. Taking on such an experienced warrior was commendable and Poem was proud of her sister even if she hadn’t won. ”We did!” Her excitement was as obvious as her tiredness. Both girl’s fur was a mess and their efforts obvious in the dried blood on their pelts. ”I didn’t know if we could, but we did!” How great was this win for Abaven’s morale? She felt like they’d been lost for so long.

She laughed, breathless with excitement just like Poem was. They'd really come out on top. It was a much needed win for everyone. Theory touched her nose gently to Poem's, afraid of jostling any part of her sister that had been injured by the raid. The brawl had been so chaotic that she couldn't track of who got hurt where, but their healers had done a great job working with Winterfell to make sure everyone was taken care of. They were still capable of working with their allies, even their "allies." She could trust her members to be trustworthy and reliable, even in difficult conditions. "I'm so, so proud of everyone. Especially Motif... to join the battlefield like that..." She blew a sigh out and stared at the sky for a moment, lost in thought. "How are you feeling?"

Poem relaxed into Theory’s embrace and returned the affectionate nuzzle to her nose. She blinked away the warring emotions inside. She wanted to embrace the elation and the high of victory but the sunshine of joy was blocked by clouds of sorrow. What she would have given to have Shaye there to congratulate them, to be proud and victorious beside them. Poem tried not to shed her tears as Theo mentioned her pride in Motif. Their poor sister who had been through so much and had always been so much more timid. She remembered the day that Noir had been teasing her, he’d tried to attack Motif and Poem had stood in his way. She was a different wolf from that time.

How was she though? ”I don’t hurt too bad, a couple scrapes and bruises.” She told of her physical ailments easily, they would heal soon. Much sooner than her heart. ”Mom would have been so proud.” She whispered as blue and lavender eyes fell to her icy paws as tears pricked at her eyes. ”I miss her so much, Theory.” Like a switch had been flipped Poem forgot their victory. She mourned the fact again, knowing if she had only beaten Sirius that day she’d met him their family would have been complete again. Maybe her mother wouldn’t have gone that day. Maybe she would have still been alive if she had just been better. Could she make that confession to her sister? Would she blame her too? ”It’s my fault. If I had come back with Mo sooner…” Real tears fell from her eyes then and she buried her features into Theo’s dark neck.

It was only a matter of time before thoughts of Shaye overwhelmed them both. How could they revel in this victory without reflecting on their losses? Theo couldn't help but wonder how it might feel to stand shoulder to shoulder with her "mother" and strategize how to move forward. They had the victory, she'd publicly severed their alliance with Winterfell, but now what? She was at a loss. Shaye would know what to do. A relieved sigh escaped her as Poem reassured her that the injuries she'd sustained were minor. Healing was still on her mind, but so much had come up lately that she'd pushed any personal training that wasn't combat related on the back burner. Now they had time to spare and were left alone with their grief. Like a thorn buried deep somewhere between her paw pads, Theo had been able to ignore it so long as she didn't take a wrong step.

As Poem collapsed into her chest, her own resolve wavered. Theo gulped, training her eyes on the sky and willing the tears not to fall. It was her turn to be strong. It was her turn to lead. "It's not your fault, Poem. You did everything you could have. You did everything right," she reassured her. What else was there to say? In her heart, Theory knew words couldn't help. There weren't enough words - or the right words - for this kind of hurt. "I miss her too, but like you said, she'd be so proud. You and Mo are incredible." Not many wolves could come back from what they had endured and continue on.

She felt so weak when she wanted to be so strong for her sisters and Abaven, but it was so easy to succumb to their sorrow. Poem didn’t want to bring her grief to her alpha sister, who already did so much for their pack, but as she cried out and made her confession Theory joined her. The two sisters could mourne together and hold each other up. This wasn’t showing weakness, this was sharing in emotions and that realization helped to heal Poem’s heart. She was here for Theory as Theory was here for her.

Her sister reassured her, and Poem clung to Theory for all of her worth. She loved and adored her sister, but in those moments her feelings were so much more clear. Her sisters were everything to her, and even through this painful loss they were still together. ”You’re incredible too Theory. I couldn’t step up into Mother’s place like you have. I don’t think anyone could.” She encouraged her sister as tears fell down her own cheeks. She nuzzled against Theory’s cheek, lending her strength as she took from Theory as well.

She gulped as Poem mentioned their "mother" and allowed Theory the gift of sharing in the title without corrections. Not "Poem's mother," just "mother." For just a moment she struggled to breathe as she let her sister's words pass through her ears and sink into her heart. Although they were both crying, this was a victory of sorts. They had made it through the worst of it all - she hoped. Although winter's chill threatened their moment of peace, all that existed was the warmth of Poem by her side and the strange lightness that her words provided. "I only ever did what she asked of me. I... I wasn't ready. But she did everything she could to prepare me," Theo choked. "I'm forever grateful for that." Shaye's imprint of her life was indelible. There was no way she would be leading the pack, being as brave as she could, or wearing the familiar blue feather otherwise.

Theory and Poem were sisters, the girls didn’t care that their mothers had been different. Had Theory asked Poem would have told her she never considered them to be half sisters, there was no such thing between them. They were close and Poem would never deny Theory the chance to call Shaye her mother. She deserved that.

Poem let out a heavy sigh as she leaned heavier against Theory and she told her she only did what she was told. That she had never been ready, but really would they have ever been truly ready to lose Shaye? ”I’m glad I have you, Theo.” She spoke softly, ”Abaven is lucky to have you leading us.” She shifted slightly to nuzzle her sister’s cheek. ”I’ll always be here for you to rely on.” She promised, knowing that Theory already knew that fact.

Everything in her got weaker and softer when Poem spoke. Abaven is lucky to have you leading us. Was it true? Did she really believe that? Her sister wasn't a liar and she didn't speak without thinking, but Theory could hardly believe her ears. It felt like she'd been waiting for someone to say it for so long. She'd been struggling to do her best, but since the raid was over, she felt like she'd been just muddling through it all. Nothing came easy any more - but with Poem and Motif by her side, her burden was certainly lessened. Theory swallowed hard and blinked back tears that still managed to slip past her lashes. Dark tracks made their way down her muzzle and slipped off of the tip of her nose. "Thank you. Thank you," she said, her voice stuck an octave higher than usual. "I needed to hear that. Of course I knew it... but I also needed to hear it," she whimpered. Even though she felt weak, she knew her sisters would bolster her up. She could do this if they were by her side. She could do anything.