Leaning against the throes of reality a legend would return; hugging the moon-cast shadows as his hazy figure would limp with eerie presence, staggering and awkward, though by some supernatural means still managing to remain near-muted. The colossal monster would stumble with rebirthed purpose, a purpose that had ever-lurked beneath his devoted ribs. A voidness would dither scathed features, demonic and distressing to the inexperienced or the unsettled; damaged eye rolling almost aimlessly as it struggled to guide the veteran onwards, to encourage the ghoul towards his duties. It had been so long, too long, and he owed his family a debt. Memory faltered, empty void hovering dissonantly within his skull, an unknowing of recent events shuddering the man?s core. Though still he would pace, desperate to fulfil his last requirements, unwounded by the cruelty that had overpowered his body, only to fall short of his mind. An Adravendi had returned.

Erani

Moonlight touched the pale form as it made its way across a small meadow, a ghost among silvered grass, pausing to examine something, before moving on. A sound came from the form, a soft humming of a lullaby. Erani couldn?t sleep this evening. Several times she had tried, but every time she was nearly there, she jerked awake, neck prickling and tingling. So she?s risen and gone to take a stroll, hoping the crisp Autumn night air would clear the feeling of? Anticipation? Yes, it was something like that. An urgency. So her paws took the familiar, automatic path to where Cairo slept. It was a leisurely pace, and yet the urgency didn?t ease. It wasn?t fear, but it made her toes ache, and her hackles ripple lightly. She?d learned to pay attention to these feelings. They meant something, something important. Erani slowed as she reached the small glade and it?s patch of now flowerless herbs that marked the resting place of Cairo. She approached, lowering herself to lay nearby, and let the peaceful place flow through her, listening. Tell me what it is? A precise moment later the coincidental turn of the wind brought the scents of Autumn air and? She frowned, head lifting, before the scent truly registered. Then her eyes widened and she rose, turning into the scent wind, ears pressed forward, before she glanced down at the herbs. ?He?s come home.? She stepped out at a long lope. There had been something wrong in his scent. When she reached his location, she stood a moment, just staring at him. Luna, what had happened to him? He?d been gone for? Almost two years, perhaps one and a half? He?d vanished the night she?d been attacked when trying to find an herb that might save Guinevere I? She had a faint memory of his muzzle pressing into her neck, and a tongue over one of the bleeding wounds. An impression of a howl. Then departing paws. That was the last time Coeus Adravendi had been seen, alive or dead. ?Coeus?? What had happened to him? He?d gained so many new scars? an ear had been torn, and the other looked crinkled. There was something else. He limped badly? His leg? It was twisted, and her healer?s instinct knew there was no saving it. It had already healed, set wrong, and twisted? ?Coeus??

She had not known him, did not remember him in the least - and yet, she knew by instinct that he was family. Just how did he tie in with the Adravendi? It was a question that would buzz toward the back of her mind, and yet she would not ask those questions first, stepping forward to stand beside Erani. Her mother seemed to know this man's name, repeating it slowly on her tongue as if she was surprised that he was standing before her. What had happened to this man? It looked like more than a single simple fight, he was covered in the remnants of battles, scarred and tossed away. It hurt her heart, to see a member of her family like this, to see any lupine like this.

What had brought him this way?

If he had come for Cairo, then he would only find more heartbreak in Valhalla... silently she hoped that wasn't the case.

"Sir... Coeus? Would you like to take a seat?" He was pacing, and she hadn't the slightest clue what could be on the war torn lupine's mind. Perhaps if he took a moment and paused he would be able to think more clearly. "You're in Valhalla, my name is Chrysanthe Adravendi, and this is Erani - although you seem to already be acquainted." She would speak clearly, not wanting to chastise him even if she was worried. "Have you come here for a reason?" She honestly wanted to know, and hoped that she could help him further if he had.

Oh the torment the man had faced, the appalling events that had done so effortlessly to mar his once handsome form. He was but a mangled and torn parchment, scattered by the hungry spills of countless beverages and torn by the actions of clumsy fingers. He had been scrunched and tossed away, his body having faced such extremities it was a total wonder the creature were still breathing, functioning. His mind tainted only by injury, his lack of memory due to heavy concussions, and yet his sanity still managed to linger; barely hanging on by a frayed thread, dangling aimlessly in the breath of a toying wind. The silver would appear, and her scent would reach scarred nostrils; crawling his pipes and wandering about his troubled mind. He knew her; it would only take him a few moments to rediscover her name. Erani. She had been the woman he had sought revenge for, the silver queen he had found sprawled in a bloody mess before the confronting events that would occur barely hours later. But he wouldn?t bother them with her, no desire to cloud the beauties mind with guilt unless she so asked. She was aged now, though perhaps not as aged as he, still her femininity and regality would be apparent. And what of his brother? Had Cairo passed, or did he still wander the borders of his children?s land? He could expect no less. She would mutter his name and he would pause, wobbling slightly, a few metres before her twisting form, ?Yes, Miss Erani; if my wounded memory does not falter me,? he would gaze upon her with an empty void, and the relief he felt upon her discovery would be forced to contain itself behind closed windows. Next to arrive would be a girl, no, a woman. And a woman he would recognize. Though his memory were cluttered with missing pictures, darkened spaces, his brothers royal litter would be one he couldn?t forget. Though he did not know her name, he knew her face all too well, and oh how striking had she grown to be. She would ask his reasoning and tender him a seat, complying with the apparent queen he would thump awkwardly to his haunches, scarred features gazing upon her with his usual emotionlessness, twisted forelimb repositioning awkwardly beneath him. He had plenty to say, but respectfully he would answer her enquiry first, ?I know exactly who you are, Chrysanthe, though dare I say you have much changed since the last time I saw you,? his voice would rattle forth, rasped against his voice box, eerie, ?I am the brother of your father, Cairo. I had long ago promised him the protection and guidance of his children, ever dutiful to him as a great king, and as one not to forget such a commitment? I am unsure as to how long it has been precisely, but as you may have distinguished, I have seen great brutality upon my search for the new Valhalla, hence my apologetic delay to your family. I have come to fulfil the duty I had promised your father long ago, until my death.? A death that would be over-due, and very much welcomed. He had found his purpose once again, his requirements satisfied.

Erani

Erani felt a flicker of ice slip through her veins as she looked at the tattered and torn male who had been a strong, solid warrior the last time she?d seen him. Whoever had done this to him would pay, and they would pay dearly. Her healer?s mentality stumbled in surprise at the violence. But in truth, she had killed before. Boulder?s gurgling last breaths ran through her mind. She felt no pleasure at the male?s death, only a calm reassurance that he would never harm another wolf again. Coeus wavered to a halt, turning at her voice, though she had a feeling he knew she was there before she?d spoken. She stepped forward as he spoke. ?Your memory doesn?t falter. I?m here.? She paused in her approach as Chrysanthe?s scent reached her nose, head turning as the young Alphess spoke. Erani nodded, about to speak, but Coeus beat her to it, introducing himself. She herself hadn?t been completely clear on what Coeus? relation to Cairo had been. Now she knew. No wonder they looked so similar in coloring and build. Direct brothers. Oh it had been so long? ?It?s been almost? three years since I last saw you?? Deep blue pools rested on the male, and she felt the ice thread her veins again. They would pay. Protect. ?If I may, Chrysanthe, I?d like to offer your Uncle an Alcove in my den. I could use the extra company.? And she could keep an eye on him. Protect. She finished her approach, offering a shoulder on his lame side, looking at Chrysanthe for confirmation. Walk ---- "Speak" ---- "Hear" ---- Think