The days were long, and the nights longer. Her garden had gotten overgrown by weeds as she struggled with the energy and time to care for the things she loved. It was hard to find the energy to face the day, when it was so easy to reflect on how much her life had taken a turn for the worst. It was too quiet in the pack lands now, and she missed the presence of the pack. She missed her children, one who was gone forever and the other whose explorations had taken him far from her. At her lynx’s insistence, she entered the greenhouse and surveyed the damage to her precious plants. It wasn’t long before she was knee deep in the work, pulling weeds and trimming dying plants. Ensuring energy for growing would be saved for where it was needed. She didn’t know how long she was at it for before her lynx came and fetched her. Silent and watchful, he dragged her from the greenhouse, and towards the edges of what had once been pack territory. ‘I’m not sure…” she said cautiously, coming to a stop at the edges. She didn’t want to leave, she couldn’t Dante was here. How could she leave her daughter? The lynx levelled his eyes at her, and she remembered how they had come to be together. Of the god she had angered. She swallowed, and nodded, following along after him. He bent her to his will so solemnly, she knew when he did so that he couldn’t be ignored. He led her from the pack lands, to the Steppe. A long and tedious walk where her mind filled with questions. When she arrived, the familiars there greeted her and thanked her for joining them to celebrate Samhein. Further investigation told her a little more about the festival and the thinness of the vail. There were mentions of wolves attempting to contact their loved ones, and at last she realised why the Lynx had dragged her here. A chance for her to find closure. She found a secluded spot nestled between some stones. Here she could block out the nose and pretend she was alone. Well. mostly alone. Her lynx sat across from her. His strange, glowing eyes settled on her, and she found herself looking into them. It was rare that she found the nerve to do so, but she found herself transfixed. There was so much colour and texture in those orbs, they almost seemed to glow. There was much of him that reminded her of the firefly man that had entered the world as messenger of her husband's God. It was after all he who had sent the Lynx to her. Why, she did not know. Guidance perhaps? Or a guard to ensure she did not stray again. She had angered him, and she would not easily forget it. For a long time she stared into his eyes, until movement brought her gaze downwards. Towards his paw, which held a plant that it took her a moment to identify. A mild hallucinogen. She frowned and looked back up at her strange companion. “Are you sure?” she asked softly, and he moved his paw closer. She sighed, and knew she was only along for the ride. She took the herbs, and closed her eyes, breathing softly as she tried to find a peaceful place inside of herself. Waiting for the herbs to work. After a time, she opened her eyes again. And the world bloomed with color. The strange light in the lynx’s eyes was intensified. It seemed to wisp away from him like a living thing. She looked at the fog of his eyes, and found herself lost in them in a way she never had before. Like there were world beyond his gaze. Or perhaps at least one other. As if his eyes were the vail that separated her from the afterworld. “”Dantalion?” she asked softly. “Dante, sweetheart, are you there?” she asked, her voice soft as she concentrated on her lost daughter. Picturing the girl in her mind. Remembering her sweetness, her courage, her love. Remembering who she was, and who Riva had lost. And she had lost so much in her life. Dante had been too much. The breaking point in what had already been a fragile heart. “Dante, please…” she whispered softly. Believing with all of her heart that her daughter was out there somewhere. Some part of her lived on, and that Riva could reach it. Here, in a moment in time when the impossible seemed possible. And that which should not be, could be. Already, she was here. A healer who had once believed only in what she could touch taste and feel, taking the plunge into the unknown and calling upon the memory of her lost daughter. In the hopes that there was something that she could connect to. ""

She heard the sound beyond. A voice that called to her, by a name that was not her own. She opened her eyes, and found herself in a land not far from the home she had once known. She didn’t know the passage of time. She did not know the wolf that stood weeping before her. It was clear by the name used to summon her, and the state the wolf before her was in that she had been searching for someone lost. “Hello. I’m sorry, I’m not who you called for” She said, her voice gently as she crouched before the tiny wolf. “But I heard your voice, are you okay?” "Talk" "You" Think

Riva paused, startled by the sound of a voice. Raising her head, she gasped at the sight before her. She could see all of the wolf, but there was a strange quantity to her. Her paws didn’t seem to quite touch the earth. She had asked for a ghost, and received one. Just not the one she had wished for. She wiped her eyes and tried to assemble her thoughts. “By now I shouldn’t be surprised… but I am. There is a beyond? Is it… Is it good?” she asked softly. She wanted so badly to see Dante again. To know she still existed in someway? Maybe that would ease her pain, if just a little. ""

Shaye settled across from the other wolf, letting her paws slide into the grass. Feeling it beneath her paws. It was strange to be so solid, and a large part of her wished to dash off into the night. To search for her family. Theory’s pack was so close to here. If she lifted her head and howled, would her daughters hear it? But she restrained herself, fighting the urge. She was not the only one here who was lost and missing something. Perhaps there would be time yet in this strange night. “There is something, but I can not guarantee everyone experiences it the same way. Time here is not the same as it is for you. Sometimes it's hard to remember…” she paused, shaking her head. “Tell me about the one you searched for. A… Dantalion, was it?” she asked, voice gentle. “Tell me what you wish to say to her, and I will pass it on. And perhaps, if you ever find yourself in Abaven you will tell my daughters, Theory, Motif, and Poem that their mother Shaye thinks of them still. Always and forever” "Talk" "You" Think

If the afterlife was hard to perceive, perhaps that was why she had struggled to connect with Dante. She wished she knew… knew for certain that her daughter was out there still. That she could speak to her. A young life, extinguished too early. It seemed this ghost understood her better then she would have thought. The woman - Shaye - she gathered, spoke of missing her own daughters. Riva rubbed at her eyes again, finding them damp still. ‘Yes, Dantalion. My daughter. She died in the long night. I don’t know of Abaven, but if I find myself there I will pass it on. I promise” she vowed softly, reaching a paw out to touch that of Shaye. ""