The time had passes and Tox had resurfaced once and then sunk again. This time, she intended to stick, to finish her God's work, then to die a worthy death. She returned to where it started, the land her father coveted - The Shrine. Though she and Obi had burned it down, and though her sister and Obi had passed here, Toxicity still considered the place holy. She understood the actions of her father, of Abraxas's attempt to cleanse these lands by fire. She got it now, and she intended to follow their path. Fur cropped short, darkened herbs tracing their way in ritualistic paths across her skin, eyes alight with that same fire Abraxas would use to rid the earth of its impurities, Toxicity Fallen arose to the familiarity of the shrine and drank deeply of its glowing waters to extinguish the fires within herself. ""

Her kite had been the first to tip her off. Modesty's brows pulled down as she set aside the feathers she had been gathering for Kenway and Jael to craft into whatever they were working on this week. Her antlered rabbit gathered up the bits and bobs and loped off to stash them away somewhere, while the bird landed on her small antlers and chittered in her ear. A small nod of her head was enough to send the bird skyward again, with directions to relay the news to her brother.

It wasn't a long swim to the mainland, but she was coughing by the time she hauled herself up on the beach on the other side. Modesty took a moment to shake out her fur and get her breathing under control again before making her way to the shrine, hurried and anxious steps skipping with uncertainty. She didn't want to get her hopes up, but she couldn't leave it up to chance either.

There, illuminated against the glowing water was the one wolf she had missed more than any other, for longer than she could remember. Her paws stuck to the ground, freezing her in place. Her voice caught in her throat, “M-mum?” Her eyes were blurring, but she worried if she blinked, Toxicity would vanish into the mists, or be swept away by some sudden breeze.

“Speech.”

He recognized the kite that landed not too far from him, he'd seen it many times over the years. However, he hadn't expected the news it would bring. Abandoning his herb gathering for the time being, he wordlessly gestured for Pollux to finish collecting up what they had managed to gather and return home. Hallux joined with his sister's kite to lead him back to the shrine, though he was at least somewhat skeptical about what he might find there. A long dead carcass, being consumed by the earth? A mad matriarch, come to raze the very earth on which they stood? He truly couldn't predict what he would find when he returned home.

Things had changed since they had last seen their mother. They had changed since Toxicity had vanished. Modesty had been blessed in many ways, physically and spiritually. She was a mother, she had a family. By comparison, the tenuous relationship he was building with the timid blonde male that may well be in the shrine proper at this very moment... well. He worried about what his mother would say about his failure to do his duty thus far.

He slowed as he approached the clearing, the familiar violet hues of the pool's waters reflecting on the pallid bark of the trees was unearthly and haunting. Just the setting for a resurrection. He took a moment. Caught his breath. Righted the delicate chains that strung across his slender form. It was still taking time to adjust to the sensation of his tail fur dragging across the earth with each step. The way his long coat now ruffled with the breeze of his movements. He cast those anxieties aside, and closed the distance. And there they were. Modesty was closer to him, though her back was turned. But he couldn't deny the sight of his mother, just as changed by the currents of time as her children. Bodice wreathed in dark dyed patterns and fur shorn close to her kohl hued flesh, looking as devastating and otherworldly as the day she had vanished.

For a moment, the godling could not find his voice. When it did finally return to him, whisper soft and dripping with disbelief, he could only utter a few words. "You've returned to us." he murmured as he drew up alongside his sister, the muscles of his limbs tensed to the point where he feared they might break. Two toned gaze drifted over the still-familiar form of his mother, taking in the weave of patterns on her fur and the glint of her eyes in the dim light of the whorling pond's waters.

"Pontifex" || "Hallux" || "Pollux"

The silence was broken by soft footsteps, a breath caught in a chest, and finally, on exhale, it called her name. No, not her name, but a name she hadn't been called in some time. Mum. It didn't surprise her, nor catch her off guard. Why wouldn't her child come to her here? It was God's will that they would meet again, and so they did. And so brought Pontifex from the shadows as well.

Toxicity turned slowly towards her spawn, older now were they than when she had them, though they stood before her as timid as a pup a season shy from yearling. A smile crossed her dark lips, "My children return to me, by God's will, and they are yet unharmed. Modesty, Pontifex," She looked at both in turn, "We have many matters awaiting our attention, from the past where we separated until now. Blessed be for keeping you safe, but how have you fared?" She spoke in the formalities of how she thought, her words to mortals not quite finding their rhythm for the time being.

   

As Pontifex came to stand alongside her, she leaned into his flank, offering her support as much as seeking it. She wondered if this was another one of those times Toxicity would appear, only to disappear just as suddenly, like smoke in the wind, more specter than manifestation, leaving her daughter questioning if she had seen her at all. It left an uneasy feeling in her stomach, tying itself into knots as it so often did these days. “I searched for you, needed you. Where have you been?” It wasn't so much an accusation as a confession. How had she been? So much had changed, where did she start? “You're a grandmother twice over now, I lead a pack just south of here, I almost died and my mate fell in love with a dog.” It had fallen to her brother to bare the weight of her distress, it had cost him a new door to the shrine. Things had only gotten far more messy and complicated from there, she didn't even know where to start. “There is... so much, too much for right now.” Finally relief slipped into her voice, shoulders drooping moving to approach Toxicity with her head angled low to press her forehead into her mother's chest, if only to confirm she was really real, and that Modesty hadn't finally lost the plot entirely. “I've missed you so much.”

“Speech.”

The delicate godling readily accepted the reassurance of physical touch, leaned his far less impressive bulk against his sister's shoulder and allowed some of the tension to trickle from his joints and down into the soil. To hear the reverent intonations of his mother's vocals from across the small clearing was surreal after so many years without her. He remained frustratingly mute, wrapped up in the machinations of his own mind as it struggled to grapple with this sudden turn of events. The turn of speech was not entirely unfamiliar coming from the woman who had raised them, she had always been an incredibly formal and eloquent woman. There was an inescapable distance in the tone she used, the look in her eye as she addressed the two offspring who had lingered in the shadow of their own youths. Was this what it was to grow up? One's parents ceased to be parents, and merely became cohorts? Fellow travelers on the path of life?

In lieu of speaking up, he listened to his sister as she strode forth, a few short steps to bring her closer to Toxicity. Remained unreadable and eerily still as Modesty lamented their mothers absence, demanded an explanation in much more measured terms than he might have originally expected. While he was far more in the loop on his sister's life and its many goings-on, it was still jarring to hear her mention with the utmost disregard for tact that he husband had become enthralled with a dog. It sat strangely with the Abraxas wolf. Though he dared not add fuel to the fire.

Finally, all that needed to be said had been spoken. His sister leaned her great skull forth to gently press against Toxicity's chest and seek comfort from her presence. "I have maintained the shrine's structures in your absence, rebuilt what was lost in Ashen's occupation after our exodus." he was dimly aware of his own manufactured distance, the subtle shift of his tone as though he addressed a superior- which he did. Now that she had returned, the matriarch resumed her place at the head of worship. He was merely an acolyte in her presence, merely a squalling infant once more. He couldn't bring himself to close the distance between them, still frozen and staring with those eerie eyes of his at the woman who even now seemed like a specter more than she did a wolf.

"Pontifex" || "Hallux" || "Pollux"

A brief expression flickers across Toxicity's face as Modesty confessed their need for their mother. She started to say something, but no, that would be later. Modesty mentioned she had two litters and that her mate fell in love with a dog. The girl, seeming once more a pup, pressed her forehead to Tox's chest. Her heart thrummed, full, knowing her daughter had been living a full life. Not an easy one, but a full one. Toxicity lapped gently at the spot between her daughter's horns. "Mortals do not have the same values as us- do not feel the same as us. If he is good for producing children, that is fine, but do not be taken by surprised over his shortcomings." Toxicity lifted her paw to her daughter's chin, looking to examine her face more clearly. "If he causes you pain, dear godling, my daughter, kill him and carve your sigil into his very heart. Do the same to his lover, if it makes your mind sound again. Perhaps if they have offspring, you can raise them in His name... or cull them in the same manner." Satisfied with the paths ahead, Tox studied her daughter to see which she might entertain. The only wrong answer was to remain idle while a mortal wronged a god. Once more, Toxicity let Modesty's head drop and settled for cobbing the tufts around her horns as her eyes found Pontifex. Pontifex spoke with grace, a blessing in his words and eloquence. He told of his upkeep of the shrine and Tox let her eyes wander. Yes, he had done a good job. "You have become a wonderful priest to this blessed place," she said, giving Modesty one last lick to press her fur down just so before she stepped aside, and towards her son. Her steps were light, even, a gliding pace that held her aloft in the shrine's light. The invitation was there for physical closeness if he wanted it. And if he didn't, Tox glanced to the ground, her sigil already half carved in the moment it took her to consider her son. "Have you been blessed with children? Any followers as of yet?" she asked as she finished her sigil, the invitation for her children to add theirs open. "Have you heard of your siblings? Of those who banished us once long ago?" She asked questions for now, but her gaze held steady. She was not in a rush. They would also have their answers. ""

Her mothers advice washed over her, and she inhaled it, let it settle in her heart and gained a great measure of peace from it. She was right of course, Modesty shouldn't allow herself to get so caught up in these mortal concerns, and that was something she had lost touch with, in her mother's absence. The thought of them having children twisted her gut, but in a different way to what she might consider, and while her first litter had been a trial, barely more than a babe herself, she had grown to find that she enjoyed having children around, even if it did almost kill her the second time around.

She spared her brother the weight of another set of eyes on him as their mother questioned him, but of her questions, Modesty could answer one, "They moved, to the south, Chimera has returned and is leading there." Or was as far as she last knew. "I am unsure what happened to the rest. He was kind to me, extended an invitation to his home." One she had been tempted to take him up on. What her mother would make of the news, though, she would see.

"speech"

The willowy godling remained mute, listening keenly as his mother offered a solution to his sister. To slaughter her husband and his lover, branding their stilled hearts with Modesty's sigil to claim them in death. To take any children and raise them in His light, or snuff them out alongside the adulterers. As an outsider to the sociopolitics of leading a pack and tending a family, it seemed reasonable enough to Pontifex. When his mother turned her eye on him, the intensity of it burned in his chest. She asked if he had produced any heirs of his own, accumulated any followers. He swallowed sharply, fighting down the bile that rose in his throat. The reality of his failure to uphold their most basic tenets.

He shook his head mutely, two-toned eyes downcast and empty. Though he had welcomed Emile into the shrine, a tenuous relationship whose label he wasn't quite certain of, they couldn't have children together. The blond man was far too shaky and nervous still, Pontifex would never dream of broaching the topic of children at this juncture. He has considered simply acquiring a suitable she-wolf and doing away with her after his brood was delivered. That way there would be no threat of someone else encroaching on his partnership with Emile. The thoughts were quickly dismissed as his mother asked after the pack that had inhabited the lands, who had cast them out all those years ago. Of his missing siblings. He dared to lift his gaze from his mismatched paws to Toxicity's, revealing the sigil carved into the earth beneath her.

As Modesty spoke to the moving of the pack, Pontifex felt the urge to mention that he had rejoined them from a time. Invited by Hattori, prior to the koi king's own abdication of the throne and Venom's subsequent disavowing of her Abraxas heritage. But no. It felt like a betrayal now that he lingered just out of reach of the Abraxas matriarch. Perhaps some other time, he could find the courage to speak to it. Not now. Instead.. "Faith left the lands for a time, doing His bidding. I caught some traces of her scent a few seasons ago, but nothing recent. Patience never resurfaced after the Long Night began, I believe her to have rejoined Him in the next realm." the wraith spoke up, raising his eyes to his mother's to see her reaction. Would she mourn the loss of one of their siblings?

He tracked the way his mother stepped away from Modesty, drawing closer to him on phantom-quiet paws. For a moment, he worried she was ashamed, assessing him for weakness. But he saw the flicker of familiar affection in her eyes, and was all at once a child again. A nervous boy who wanted nothing more than her love and approval. And he took a slow stride forward, and then another. Until he was able to feel the warmth of living flesh radiating from her, and gently slid the side of his muzzle against her strong neck. Felt the pulse of blood beneath his cheek as he drew close enough to feel her embrace. Pontifex sought to loosely wrap his white-dipped forepaw around Toxicity's foreleg, create another point of contact. He would soak up as much of his mother's touch as possible, starved for it for so long. Etch this tenuous contact into his brain, in case it was the last.

"Pontifex" || "Hallux" || "Pollux"

Toxicity took in the words of her daughter. Chimera was leading the pack. Toxicity mused over the information for a moment. Venom was out of the picture then, as far as she was concerned. Her function had been to lead the pack to godliness and she had failed, now the pack had fallen to inbred paws in her place. A fitting end for such sinners. With a click of her tongue, Toxicity cleared her mind of the smugness that built. Such an emotion wasn't becoming of her status. "Then those who banished us have fallen. A mortal pack led by an inbred. May they die painfully and never know peace." Tox's tongue flicked over her lips briefly. "Being kind is something anyone can do. It is not a hard virtue to achieve. Still, perhaps your blessing will spare him some suffering from his... condition." She didn't particularly care which mortal her daughter decided to live under or with, as long as she didn't follow their whims. they were beneath her.

Her son stiffened under her questioning and Toxicity feared the worst. They were both older now, and yet they travelled alone, separated as a family. Alas, she did too, so she withheld judgement on her son's behalf. As Pontifex relayed what information he had, Toxicity's eyes drifted to the glowing pool. "Hm," was her only response. Cool as it may seem, she churned on the news. Two of her initial five remained. Their numbers dwindled. It was a failure on her part as God's Chosen and as a mother. She pushed it away for now, as she was so good at doing. She had to press forward.

She pulled Pontifex towards her as he finally closed the gap between them. She pressed into his side, a low voice, only for him in her chest, "I am so blessed that the two of you are alive." She held him close for as long as he would allow. Feeling that she was not alone, that the lineage lived on, that there was, against the odds, hope.