It was a strikingly hot summer day. The height of the afternoon sun had burned away the typical fog from the swamp, leaving everything sticky and heady and uncomfortable. The air still held on to the moisture tightly - it felt as if a wet cloth was folding in on her, drawing closer and closer. Theory plodded quietly through the water, watching the ripples disrupt her reflection. She couldn't remember the last time she got a good look at herself. Time had not been to kind her. Her coat hung heavy and patchy on her frame, weighed down from a poor springtime shed. Unruly clumps of undercoat peeked through her typically sleek black fur. Above those patchy clumps on her chest, beginning along her neck and speckled along her muzzle was a wash of grey. She paused for a moment, allowed the water to still, and inspected what she saw there. Strange, not to recognize yourself. Theory's striking blue eyes found their mirror and stared back, dumbly. Who was that old hag? Her shoulders poked out at jaunty angles, her cheeks were just a touch gaunt. And that grey along the muzzle... She licked her lips nervously and tried to offer this reflection, this shadow of herself, a smile. It came out as a grimace. Theory rolled her shoulders back and set ahead, following the faint scent on the breeze. A familiar one, cemented in the recesses of her memory. It was growing stronger as she approached the other side of the swamp. The wetlands were giving way to swaths of grass and fertile soil - just on the other side of a small gulley, she could spy the sparse beginnings of an orchard. Little striplings, bending easily in the wind. The scent seemed to pool and mingle there. She could pick so out so many varied threads of it - like it, but not quite the same. Like the same melody but rearranged. A family. He must have a family She lingered then, her heart collapsing in on itself. She didn't want to cause trouble for him. But she wasn't sure what she wanted. Maybe just the comfort of a familiar face. It would be easier to turn around, retreat into the muggy swamp and try to make her way somewhere new... but she stayed where she was planted, teetering just on the edge of this pack's border. She was at a crossroads. No matter which way she chose, the rest of her life was waiting. Her mind was sound. She'd missed so much. She'd lost so much. Thoughts of Abaven would be a forever wound. Perhaps it would one day hurt less, but it would never close. It would never heal. This grief was her millstone to bear, tied around her neck until she choked. Was it selfish to do this? To appear as if a ghost? I didn't die. Not really. She could stand on this side of the swamp forever and remain dead, or she could step forward and call out. She could chose to live. She could chose to be remembered, and bear this pain forever, and be stronger for it. Wiser for it. Older for it. She could. Theory called out for Corvus.   "theory speaks!"

The heat of summer had seemingly arrived all at once, signaling that his children were well past their first year of life. And a great first year it had been, even with the raid that had reminded him of the harsh realities of life. Once he had recovered he had all but stopped thinking about it, instead focusing on the beautiful children he and Twig had created - and with the warm sun beating down on his back, thoughts of raiders and bloodshed were far, far from his thoughts.

He rarely went far from Avalon's lands these days. Living in the dead center of Boreas had numerous benefits, from the mild climate to the plentiful prey that surrounded them. Going far didn't appeal much to him, not when everything he needed was right here. His children were old enough now though to go off as they pleased without being chaperoned, which wasn't this overly-protective father's favorite thing in the world, but watching them grow and flourish was beautiful in its own right - albeit also downright terrifying.

The swamp to the south of The Orchard, usually full of dense fog, seemed a little less stifling today thanks to the sun's rays. He'd been idly patrolling the border, where the field met swampland, and he'd decided against venturing any further south… until he heard a call.

It took a long moment for him to really recognize the call that suddenly sounded out, breaking the silence and calling for him specifically. Not because he didn't know it - it was painfully familiar, and his heart surged with sudden nostalgia at the sound - but because he didn't necessarily believe it was real. Not that he questioned his hearing, or even his sanity, but he was getting up there in age and though auditory hallucinations seemed extreme, was such a thing really out of the question?

But Theory was dead, wasn't she? He'd looked for her for so long that it eventually felt like he was chasing after a ghost. Something he'd never quite find, no matter how hard he looked. She was here though, real or not, and his paws slowly began to carry him toward her. Ghost or not, he wanted to see her. She'd been his closest companion for so many years that even a memory of her was better than nothing at all, even if it was all in his head.

He moved slowly at first and then picked up his pace once a familiar form came into his vision. Even from a distance he could see that time had not been well to her, but he paid no heed to that. His eyes brimmed with tears as he closed the distance between them - at first hesitantly, and then all at once, aiming to wrap his neck around hers in a pseudo-embrace. "I never thought I'd see you again," he nearly sobbed, the sudden surge of emotion hitting him hard and fast.

Being a yearling came with plenty of freedoms that Jay was only now beginning to explore. Truth be told, she wasn't much of an adventurer, not in the way some pups tended to be. Avalon and its surrounding lands had pretty much everything she needed to be happy, at least as far as she was concerned, so why go far? It wasn't like she was lacking for anything, and certainly not for companionship, not when she had five siblings to keep her entertained.

She hadn't really explored the swamp south of the Orchard, not for lack of ability but mostly because it didn't seem to have much to keep her attention. The warm summer day that was upon them had a way of making her feel restless though, so her paws took her a route she hadn't gone before, past Avalon's borders and into the boggy marsh to the south.

What exactly she was going to do here, though, she wasn't sure. She spent a short while chasing frogs through the swamp, watching as they splashed in and out of the marshy water, but she grew quickly bored of that. Maybe a more challenging hunt might be fun? Maybe she should wrangle one of her sisters or her brother into something. Maybe a game or some kind of adventure…

But she heard a call that changed her mind all at once. Someone calling for her dad. Jay couldn't help but be curious, and she moved swiftly, gangly limbs carrying her from a deeper section of the swamplands toward the sound. Was everything okay? Who would even be calling for him? By the time she arrived she was panting and dirty, mud streaking up her legs and coating her belly, and her expression was curious as she watched her father embracing… someone. And he looked a little sad, which confused her even more.  "Who's this?" She asked, approaching with ears flattened, curious and admittedly worried about what might be going on.

She was overwhelmed with a strange feeling after the call left her mouth. It wasn't regret, necessarily, but the crushing weight of knowing she'd done something she couldn't walk back. There had been a chance for her to escape to the far reaches of Auster and bury the life she'd left behind until age finally reclaimed all of her memories one by one. The space of time between which she called for him and he arrived was almost unbearable. All of those months - years - that had passed felt like they'd passed in the span of a breath while this moment felt like an eternity. Then he was there, and he was wrapping her in a familiar embrace, and she knew once and for all that there really had been no other options. She might have made it another few months, whiling away her time in the oblivion of anonymity, but this moment would have come again. In every reality, she would have come back and called out. Everyone wants to be known. It was an incontrovertible fact of life. And he knew her. Really, really knew her. She felt unsteady on her feet. Vertigo, or simply the head rush of being back on Boreas' familiar soil, she wasn't sure. Theory leaned into his embrace, trying not to cry and immediately failing. "I could say the same," she whispered. There hadn't been much left of her just a few months ago, but she felt clearer than she had in the past year. She had been cured. And of course, she said the only thing that could be said: "I'm so sorry." When Jay arrived, she felt as if her heart had disconnected from her body. "Who's this?" She knew without being told that this was his daughter - not only was it there in the scent, it was written all over her lanky body. Corvus didn't need to claim her for Theory to draw her own conclusions. How did she even begin to respond? She had missed so much. Theory didn't even know where to begin. "I'm - " When was the last time she spoke her own name aloud? "I'm Theory," she finished lamely, tears streaking down her face. Corvus could lead how he wanted and she would follow that cue. What could she be to these children? "theory speaks!"

He wondered if she'd known just how long he'd gone looking for her, how he'd put his life on hold to search for her. It'd been ages, but he'd finally decided to settle down somewhere more permanent, knowing he couldn't go on looking for her forever. Part of him wondered if he should have, though - but surely she wouldn't want them for him either. Part of him hoped the topic would never come up. He didn't want credit for how religiously he'd searched for her, nor did he want to be wracked with guilt over not searching just a little bit longer.

Corvus felt her sway and his embrace only tightened, wrapping his neck tightly around hers as his tears continued to fall, turning a cry into a full-blown sob. He couldn't be mad at her, couldn't be disappointed she hadn't found a way to send word that she was okay. All he could be was grateful she'd returned. Grateful she'd get to meet his children. Grateful for a little more time with the few family he had left.

He pulled away just slightly when Jay found them, asking who this was. The concern and empathy was written plainly all over her features. "Jay, this is my cousin." Theory wasn't quite an aunt, but truth be told she as close as any sibling had ever been to him, so did the words used really matter? "She's your aunt." Was that okay? As if searching for her reaction, Corvus tilted his head back toward Theory.

There was so much to say, and somehow so little. All this time, when he hadn't been looking for her, he'd been trying to settle down. To raise his family right. There wasn't much more to it than that. "Why don't you go see where your sisters and brother are? Maybe you all could help me fix a den up so Theory can stay awhile," he asked, as much a gentle command as it was a question, pointed his cousin's way. Surely after whatever journey she'd mad she'd want to rest before... whatever came next. He didn't need to think about that. "I'm sure they'd be delighted to meet you. All six of them," Corvus commented, between bouts of sniffing back tears. "All girls except for one," he added, a little tentatively, hoping this wasn't an overload of information for her.

Jay was curious, but in a subdued sort of way. She didn't tend to be the overly nosy sort, learning that she didn't need to know everything and certainly didn't need to stick her nose in places it might not belong. Still she stood there, ears perking up when Theory introduced herself. She didn't know her name but not for lack of her father caring to tell her all about her family; she'd asked multiple times but he'd always said he'd sit and tell her all about their family later, which was far bigger than his him and mom and the rest of her siblings. Maybe he didn't want any of them going off and looking for them. Wanted to keep them all close to home, especially as they got older. That was the vibe she got, and she kind of understood and didn't make a huge fuss about it.

It didn't keep her from feeling any less curious though, and the feeling only grew when her dad explained this was his cousin, someone Jay could call her aunt. Her features brightened, joy written all across her lips as she gave a toothy grin Theory's way. So this was a reunion! How fun! It didn't explain a lot about why they seemed so sad too, but maybe they were happy tears? It seemed like they'd missed each other. "It's nice to meet you, Aunt Theory! Yeah, let me go find 'em," she agreed easily, giving a little play bow before scampering off and leaving the two of them.

-exit Jay-