Whew... made it in time!!

A meeting? So suddenly? Skyfire wasn't sure the reasoning for it, but it couldn't have been good. Or maybe it was a good thing and it would benefit the pack. In any event, Skyfire knew she had to go, so off from her duties she went. Since meeting with Naiche and going through some training, Skyfire had bulked up a bit. Being so skinny and lithe made it so she was agile, but she wanted the strength to hold her own should it come to a serious fight. Now that she was in her adult stages, Sky wouldn't grow anymore and her body wouldn't change, minus the hormonal changes that may come with the seasons. In any case, Sky was adapting and learning all she could to be a better fighter. When she arrived, two charred objects lay on the ground in the middle of the gathering. What... the hell? Sky whispered in thought as her stomach dropped. Were those wolves? Black ears remained flatten to her skull, disliking what was before her. What was going on?

I can't destroy what isn't there

He let loose his howl, one filled with command and rage and possessiveness. His wolves. He called them to him, and they came. Ties of blood and family and loyalty pulled them to the meeting point. He did not look back at the cart and its terrible remains. The scent of burnt flesh had followed him, and only some of it was his own.

His daughter was first. The woman she had become looked up at him from lilac eyes and her mothers coat, and he fought to hold the anger that kept him upright. He let it sustain him, and bring the shape of wild things to his features.

He acknowledged his daughter after a moment, pulling his eyes to her and holding it as other wolves filled in. He did not answer her questions, it was not something he could speak of more than once.

He glanced to Gossy as she approached, acknowledging the younger daughter with his eyes, and nothing more. Aris, Briar…. Indigo. His eyes lingered on the deeply purple wolf. His boy, who had not come home to him once but for today. For this.

Hikaru and Mortis, the Girl Without Her Memory. Valor, then his General, Kotori, Natha, Stjarna, Ada, Acciona, Sedna, and Skyfire. Venom, Empress of Ashen appeared over their borders and attended his meeting. She had an open invitation to, always. His eyes did not linger, it hurt and burned and boiled to keep the eyes of those he loved. It was his duty and privilege to protect these wolves, all of them. He had failed.

He stepped forward, bringing the attention of the Armada to him. Unnecessary, the somber air had ensured everyone's confused and worried glances had landed on him. “Armada.” He called, his deep voice carrying over the silent crowd. “Today, two of our greatest have fallen.” his voice fell with a snarl, and there was something burning in his eyes. He stepped harder on his soot-marked paws and looked to Asla, to Indigo and Mortis, to his second litter, and to the pack that looked to him. “Zeitgeist Fatalis” Oh, how she hated her full name. “Zee.” he said, more softly this time. “and Azure Fatalis, were consumed in a fire. Today, I bury our dead. Tomorrow, we will speak of what this means to the pack.” his voice was gravely and dangerous. He could not be a comforting father. Not now, not today, he turned, and moved towards the cart, leaning forward, he kissed a bone. Lost in his thoughts of his dead and self-hate, before he stepped forward, moving through the crowd, and to a spot by the Obelisk. Then, silently, he began to dig.


"Speech"

"Aslatiel Fatalis" The words of her father hit her like a boulder to the gut. Aslatiel took a quick, hissing inhale and took a staggering step backwards. Swirling, galaxy eyes searched her father's face before they shifted to the burnt remains in the cart. No, it couldn't be. Panic ate at her, threatening to spill over, but she tamped it down, though her eyes remained wild. Like a switch, Aslatiel Fatalis shifted into auto pilot. She couldn't show emotion. Not now. The pack was looking to the Warlord and his Reaper for guidance. They needed to set the tone. Sirius spoke his piece then stepped away to begin digging a grave near the obelisk. Steeling her nerves, Aslatiel stepped forward and took her place beside him. She began to dig as well, her much smaller paws pulling away snow and damp earth. The words were a shock, but she couldn't think about them, she just couldn't. Not yet. Not now. Eyes still wide, she continued to help her father dig the grave for the bones that he'd brought home. They were in such poor shape... she couldn't help but ask herself how he knew that this was indeed her mother and brother? Later, there would be time to sort through all of that. For now, she dug.

Gossamer glanced to Aris as her sister pulled along side her. She shrugged lightly in response. "No idea." She felt a bit better at the idea it was some random Hallows wolf, but if that was the case why had Sirius bothered to haul the corpse here? More and more wolves rolled in and Gossamer could feel a heavy shadow falling over the meeting. Tension held her body fixed as her father started to speak.

Her heart started racing, her body went numb as she heard her mothers name. No… no… a painful knot formed in her throat as her mouth opened and she tried to speak. Tears welled up in her eyes and her stomach roiled as her older brother's name was called. It couldn't be true. Her mind felt light, stunned, like it had detached from the rest of her body and in one fell swoop the painful knot ripped from her throat. "No! No, I don't believe it. It can't be true. This is some kind of test and I refuse to participate!" Tears streamed down her face as she turned and fled.  She couldn't take this, she needed to be alone.

-exit-

Just turning a year old, Aris and her siblings were basically still at the age where the adults were supposed to be invincible, all knowing beings who would always make everything better. Who were supposed to be unbreakable, unbeatable, and perfect. So as her father spoke, and then walked away, her first thought was not to comfort him, because he was supposed to be comforting them. For a moment her brain short circuited and she just sat there, staring blankly in shock - her gorge rose, thinking that the charred meat smell she'd been so interested in a moment ago was the meat of her mother, her big brother - before her mind kicked back in and she slammed that thought down and made herself take a deep breath through her nose, dragging the charred scent of death and cooked meat in. No. No. Her mother had always been there for them, always. She and Zee may not have always understood one another or seen eye to eye, but Zee was... is, always there for them. She knew her mother's scent as well as she knew her own, and she would swear on a thousand million of her ancestors' graves that this was not her mother. Oh, admittedly she knew Azure so little that she probably couldn't recognize his scent if he had pissed on a rock moments before she walked up, but Zee she could not ever, ever mistake. This was not her, and so it wasn't Azure either. It wasn't them so... why would her father be saying it was?

No, her first thought was definitely not to comfort her father, who had claimed her mother was dead and then walked away like their feelings wouldn't matter. No. It was rage, and it was betrayal, and it was pain, and like any animal who has been injured her first thought was to lash out. It was reflex to lash out at the one who caused the pain, regardless of who it was, even though it was her father who she loved and whom she thought loved her... maybe especially because she felt betrayed by the pain he was causing. Her ears falling flat to her skull, her spines rising high in agitation, she whirled to face where he'd gone. Digging a hole like he cared more about disposing of the bodies than about his children. Gossamer's voice rang out beside her, her denial echoing that stuck in Ari's own throat and loosening them. "It's not Mom!" she agreed, her own voice rising in anger. She was shocked to find her whole body shaking, trembling. She was never afraid. She wasn't afraid. Why was she shaking?

Tansy, crouched next to her in an attempt to make herself smaller, couldn't help but pipe up. "Where - where... Where is Zee's bird? Why didn't he come back?" Her voice was small and uncertain next to Gossamer's and Ari's own voices, but Ari could hear her just fine. If anyone would have noticed the toucan come back, it would be Tansy, who was obsessed with the bird but held back from eating it because it was Zee's mother's. And she was right, wasn't she? Even if he couldn't talk, if something was wrong, wouldn't he have come back? How had neither her father nor Tamsyn realized that? They had to have, so why the deception?

Ari advanced several trembling, stiff legged steps toward her father and Asla, Asla who was just helping him like the fucking hole even mattered. Why were the adults just walking away from them? Abandoning them like they didn't matter? "This is bullshit. You're lying! Why would you lie? Why would you fucking lie to us? Our mother is out there somewhere, not... not that meat!"

Rage made the scene swim before her eyes, made her miss Gossamer's retreat though if she'd seen she'd have been too far gone in anger and hurt to follow. Her instinct to pain wasn't to be flee, but to fight, and pain was ripping at her chest like her own claws.

Mortis sat in dumbfound silence as his father spoke. The anger was familiar to Mortis, who was accustomed to Sirius coming off the rails, but the words…

It took a long time for them to coalesce into something he understood. He leaned into Hikaru as he reeled from the shock of his fathers words. Mum Mortis had always been closer to his mother then to his father. Zee was patient, and kind, and loving. The things he found his father not to be.

When Sirius walked through the crowd, stiff and unyielding, to begin digging holes, his mouth dropped open. No, no.

Gossy said it first, and he rose to his paws, as though to go after his young sister, but couldn’t quite manage it. He was too shocked to move. It was Aris’s anger that finally broke his shell. He shook his head like he had taken a blow, and staggered over to the purple girl. “Aris, Aris” he said, his voice barely above a whisper. Broken, struggling. But it was his nature to shield his family. He didn’t care if Aris fought him, or tried to hurt him. He moved to here, and he grabbed her in a hug, wrapping his wings about her as he knelt on the ground. His own body shaking with soundless sobs. No, no. It couldn’t be true. He buried his own horror behind the action of helping another, as he pulled Aris to him. He knew, instinctively, that Hikaru would help him comfort his siblings.

"Speech"

The instant change in the air felt like a million weights dropping on him, it all seemed to click into place, the way the warlord had asked him about identifying the bones... His gaze instantly snapped to Asla, a flood of guilt washing over him as he realized he'd turned away from her right before a bombshell was about to be dropped... For a moment he remained where he was frozen, unsure how to even begin to react, finally joining the warlord and his daughter, standing across from Asla, not willing to break into her personal space right now but still desperate to keep helping, it was the only thing he knew... he had to help.

He too would help to dig the grave site for the all too few remains they had.

"Speech!"

TABLE & CODE © SKELLE 2020

Venom stood tall for Sirius, even as the rest of his wolves filed in the young Empress could feel the tension in the air just as much as everyone could. Her fur stood on end even as sunset gaze swept over the field to find Sirius’s hard blue gaze. There weren’t very many times that she had seen him like this. Venom was off a ways from his pack, keeping her distance as he began to speak. She grit her teeth as he spoke, feeling the collective breath stolen away from the wolves around her. As Sirius said his name Venom thought she had been punched in the gut.

She did her best to keep her height to her stance but the sudden realization, the revelation, that Azure was dead. Venom had to move on with her life after the last time he had visited her, but in that moment it was like she had his arms around her shoulders again. His comfort lingered for a moment before it shifted. His protective embrace was gone, and she was left with a spike deep in her heart, Venom couldn’t begin to imagine how Sirius felt, the only event she could compare to was the death of her father.

Venom remained silent as Sirius moved to begin to dig their graves. There were varying reactions, but the most heartbreaking was the reaction of their children. Siblings tried to be there for siblings and Venom felt out of place for a long moment. The girl got to her paws and followed to where Sirius and his attention was at the ground. Venom sighed softly but pressed forward, Even as he dug Venom placed a paw on one massive shoulder. There were no words she could give. Quietly she used her cat like paws to assist in preparing the grave.

More and more wolves came, some she had never seen before, some she hadn't seen in a long time, some from their pack and even some from others. She looked up at Indigo when he walked in and managed to give him a small smile in return, happy to see her brother again after meeting him in The Hallows. She glanced toward them all as they walked in, the crowd getting bigger and bigger around her. She saw Naiche go over to Tamsyn and spotted Kotori as he went to sit near their father. Her brows lifted with surprise when she saw Mortis and very nearly gave into the excitement of seeing her brother again after so long, but the heavy feeling in the air around them suppressed it. Her attention refocused on her father as he stepped toward them, her ears perking to listen. She felt frozen as the words were spoken to them, hearing them, but not really understanding. Her mother and brother... were gone? She looked at the pile of bones, behind him, her mind spinning. She barely felt Marigold press into her side as her companion caught up to her, everything sounding like it was buzzing in her ears. How could they be gone? They were just going on a trip... The voices of her sisters snapped her out of the trance, her turquoise gaze darting to Gossamer first as her sister immediately declared this to be some sort of test, claiming it couldn't be true, before she stormed off and disappeared. She hopped to her paws to try and stop her, but she felt like she was moving in slow motion and any attempts at words died in her throat. Aris only made things worse, yelling about how their father was lying, cursing at him, denying that these bones could be their family. She watched her sister with horror, completely disappointed in them, shocked that her siblings would speak to their father like this when he was clearly so broken and devastated. There was no reason for him to lie. He wouldn't tell them these things if he didn't truly believe it. She watched Mortis wrap her sister up in a huge, winged hug and she finally tore her gaze away, looking back toward the bones as others began to move forward, joining her father and Asla in digging the grave. She felt like she was lost and numb, floating in place without a direction of where she should go. If she felt like this then she would only imagine how her dad felt... He had loved their mother so much. She hovered uncertainly for a while, glancing around at some of the other wolves. She finally spotted Indigo and started to gravitate toward him, moving to his side just out of lack of knowing where else to go. She couldn't bring herself to move toward the grave or the bones so she hung back, just waiting and watching with sorrow creasing her expression. "Briar" | "Marigold"

Natha blinked in surprise at the news. Zee and Azure had perished in a campfire accident? How on earth had that happened? She couldn't imagine being caught so unawares and she couldn't help but wonder if something else had happened.

Immediately after delivering the news Sirius turned away to start digging. Gossamer protested and took off while Aris yelled her own denials. Natha didn't think much of it as grieving took place in a number of different ways and she wasn't one to deny them their form of grieving for decorum. Still…

Natha couldn't help but note that Gossamer's path was taking her near the food storage den. Call it a mother's intuition but she had a feeling the girl wasn't going to just go back to her den to have a good cry. She padded over to where Sirius was digging with a few others. "I'm sorry for your loss, I'll keep an eye on Gossamer." She wasn't built for digging anyway and didn't know what else to say. Words weren't going to make anyone feel any better at this point.

-exit-

Stjarna could only stare in shock as the news was delivered. Having never met Zee or Azure the news didn't cause a significant amount of pain to Star personally but they still felt terrible for the wolves affected, especially the little ones. Star flinched as Gossamer and Aris spoke, the pain evident in their words but Star had no idea what to say. Sorry seemed so empty and hollow. Star looked to where Sirius had started to dig as well as a few of the other wolves. Silently, they moved to join in, clawed paws digging into the soil and moving it aside.

Indy leaned slightly against Asla, knowing they couldn’t have a true reunion right here and right now. Despite that he felt relaxed and at ease beside her. Like he hadn’t felt in a very long time. He could see the inconsistencies within his father, the pain rolling off of him in waves, but Indigo never expected the words that he would say. Nothing could have ever prepared him for this news. The announcement that they had lost both mother and brother hit Indigo very hard. Consumed in fire.

Indigo was frozen as he tried to comprehend what was said, as he tried to accept the words he had been told. His mother, the sweet woman who called him her flower, who was always there to build him up when he felt torn down, was gone. A deep emptiness opened up within his belly as Aslatiel left his shoulder and followed after Sirius. Indigo didn’t and couldn’t move. His eyes fell to his paws, he couldn’t bring himself to look at the cart.

Denial and ruckus erupted all around him. Young wolves ran off and the family struggled to accept what they were told. Movement caught his blue eyes as Briar approached him bashfully. Indigo felt lost, he couldn’t imagine how his younger siblings felt. Indigo opened up and offered the girl his affections. He hadn’t been here for his siblings in their early life, but he was here now. For as long as Briar needed him.