Albion again felt ashamed at the amount of time that he had been away from Elysium, but at least this time he had a valid excuse. Perhaps he should have said more when he left or sought out some help for his task. However he couldn’t change the past and what was done was done. He had overcome the threat to Avacyn’s throne. There had been a rumor that the alabaster male hadn’t been certain was true when he left and by the time he had found it in certain there was no time to return. He had no companions to make their way back to her highness and if he hadn’t acted in swiftness he wouldn’t have come out victorious.

Now the threat was no more and Albion could return to Elysium with the heads of Avacyn’s unknown enemies. Or th ey had at least been unknown to Albion. From a distant land he was certain, they had hatched a devious plot to end Avacyn’s life and reign. Then Albion had come in and did way with their leader and the rest had scattered. He walked proudly back into Elysium lands, head held high as he dropped his prize and called for his queen.


"Albion Klein"

Avacyn watched their pups go off on whatever adventure they would find for themselves this day. They were growing unbelievably fast and she felt as if she could hardly keep up with their never ending imaginations. She and Saracyn went their separate ways to divide and conquer the tasks that needed to be completed with the rest of their day. Even though the pack was probably at its largest that it had been in quite a while with Chimera's family joining their ranks, a large majority of those wolves were still either young pups or at the very least untested and untrained. It meant that a lot of work was distributed onto the handful of members that were up to the task so while she would love to spend her time focused on problems and issues more sizable than a simple patrol she knew that was valuable work to be done as well.

She had been doing extra patrols through the rock garden as of late since the founding of The Syndicate and that's precisely where she was when she heard the surprising voice of Albion calling for her. Her Advisor had not had his post long before vanishing once more and while she probably should have tried to find a different wolf for the role she had tried to keep the benefit of the doubt and trust that whatever had pulled him away was either a worthy use of his time or not his doing. Either way, she turned her path toward his call and picked up the pace to find him, the steel scales of her armor clinking lightly against each other with each loping step. Soon enough she spotted his pale figure among the large rocks and boulders and before she could address him she noticed what was laying at his feet. "Albion... What is this?" she asked with curiosity and concern as she looked uncertainly at the head of some unknown wolf that he had seemingly brought with him before she turned her dark gaze up to meet his.

"Avacyn Medacium"

The Klein Prince wasn’t forced to wait for very long when Avacyn’s slim frame came into view. She looked as curious as she should to see her advisor at the border after so long, with his severed head at his huge white paws. The foggy dead eyes stared up sightlessly as its jaws hung open in a forever smile from rigor mortis. Avacyn’s bright eyes lit when they fell upon him and his proof of deed. Albion’s lips curled slightly in a small smile as her curiosity brought her forward.

Her voice was concerned as she asked for clarification of what he had before her. Albion was not one to go on some murderous streak so he must have looked at least slightly out of place. Especially after disappearing without even a word so many months before. "Your prize.” He started cryptically. "Where do you think I’ve been all this time?” He was in much better spirits the last time they were reunited, now he had completely recovered from her rejection of their first agreement. "I had unverifiable information that there was a plot against you, and by the time I had confirmed that fact I couldn’t send word back to you.” He explained with an apologetic look. "So I’ve brought my accomplishment with you, and your safety is once again assured.” Not that he didn’t think Avacyn could take care of herself, but part of his duty was just this. To assure her safety and that of the crown.


"Albion Klein"

Avacyn raised a quizzical brow when Albion answered her question in such a way that only made her question him more. Before he gave any kind of explanation for the decapitated head that laid between them he questioned her instead about where she thought he had been in all of the time that he had been absent. She chuckled with a bit of exasperation and gestured out to the larger wold behind him with a wave of her paw, replying, "Anywhere but here, clearly," with a shrug. How was she to know where he had run off to? "I just hoped you were well and you had a good reason for running off again, which it seems like perhaps you did?" It was said more as a question than a statement with another nod toward her "prize" in hopes that he might explain himself more clearly this time.

Luckily he did just that, claiming that he had found out about a plot against her, making the slight smile that had pulled across her features to disappear with shock, her brows knitting together with worry. "Against me?" she asked quietly with disbelief, but he went on, pointing out that this head was a sign of his victory against this threat and that her safety was once again secured. She glanced down at the gruesome head as she processed this information, still reeling at the fact that there had been someone that had been a threat to her life at all. She had taken this position well aware of the possibility that someone might challenge her for her throne at some point in time, but who would want her dead? She couldn't fathom who might have been behind this kind of plot, but it seemed that the threat was neutralized before she could even find out about the problem.

"I... I don't know what to say. Thank you, Albion," she finally replied after a moment, going her head a small shake to clear it before she lifted her gaze back to his once more with a little smile. "I'm glad you're back. There's been some changes and movement recently that I could use your input on." She gestured toward the head and added with a bit of a chuckle, "Although I suppose he'll need to be disposed of first."

"Avacyn Medacium"

Albion wouldn’t have intentionally left her like that a second time With their relationship redefined he had absolutely no reason to, except for this. He had only been doing his job, and that included putting his life on pause and making sure that Avacyn had no contest to her rule. Of course he hadn’t been perfect in his pursuit, and could he have done it over again he would have told her, but here they were and he couldn’t change the past. She seemed a bit confused but she didn’t seem upset or angry with him as she asked for clarification, and even seemed surprised when he finally came out and told her what he had for her.

Avacyn didn’t recognize the wolf any more than Albion had, of course she had the more difficult time of trying to identify a severed head. She didn’t seem to quite believe him at first, but then again he hadn’t believed to begin with either. However, she came to accept what he told her much quicker than he had. "I’m just sorry it took me so long, and I wasn’t able to inform you.” He went on to tell her as she thanked him. Avacyn also mentioned that he was needed, but that the head might need to be disposed of. "Perhaps we should gift him to Scylla.” He offered jokingly as he gestured for her to begin as they could do both at the same time.


"Albion Klein"

She offered Albion a smile and waved off his apology for not being able to tell her where he was while he carried out his mission. "It's alright, I understand the situation you were in and how imperative it was that it was handled quickly. I'm just glad that you made it back." To her mention of disposing of the brute's severed head, he suggested that they gift him to Scylla and that caused her expression to falter, her ears flicking back with a bit of awkwardness. Gods, how long had Albion been gone? Had he truly been gone for the whole affair of the surrogate litter Scylla had carried for them? She supposed he had been. Time passed far more quickly than she realized at times.

"That's one of the things I need to tell you... I would love to gift him to Scylla, but I'm afraid she is no longer here... and that she might have wished you let them kill me," she admitted glancing away with a frown. She hadn't seen the Klein woman since shortly after she gave birth so she truly had no idea how Scylla felt about them now, but if her coldness that day had any indication it probably wasn't very favorable. She didn't want to air all of the skeletons in her closet to him, but he also deserved to know what all led to this. "Leave him, the scavengers can have him," she decided and nodded back toward the central part of the island before she began to walk toward the lake with the hope that he'd walk with her as she talked.

She kept her gaze on the ground in front of her as she walked, explaining to him in careful, measured tones. "I didn't tell you when I found you back in the spring when I made you my Advisor, but the previous autumn I had been pregnant with Saracyn's pups. The pregnancy caused me to be very ill and the pups were eventually miscarried and stillborn. Because of that I knew we would have to rely on a surrogate if we were going to have a family. Scylla agreed to be our surrogate, but I believe that in the process her feelings ran deeper than she had anticipated and so she asked to be released from the pack as soon as the pups were born. I accepted her request and we have not seen her since."

There was a pause while she let Albion absorb this information and by then they had reached the shore of the island lake. She turned to face him and brought her gaze up to meet his. "My ravens did catch sight of her within the last couple of days near Valta's lands, but I haven't had a moment with everything else going on to be able to look more into it. I'm not sure if she's decided to join the pack–though I doubt that since they are one of our allies..." She frowned a bit with thought and hesitated before she added, "I would understand if you wish to leave the pack to be with her. Familial ties should come before any other obligations, though your presence here would be sorely missed."

"Avacyn Medacium"

Again Avacyn was quick to wave off any apology he might have had. He grinned slightly at her, appreciative of just how easy going she really was. Though how she followed up Albion couldn’t have expected in any way at all. Scylla was no longer in Elysium. The grime fell from his features and he went deathly quiet as she explained just what had happened. They would leave the head where it lay and continue on, Albion somewhat uncertain as they strolled forward.

Instead of starting with why his sister had gone Avacyn spoke about herself, how she and her brother had lost their first litter of puppies. Albion was quite surprised, and offered a look of condolence. Avacyn blamed herself for the loss, but she had been proactive about it too. She went on to explain that Scylla had agreed to be a surrogate.

He couldn’t say that he knew his sister’s mind, further yet he couldn’t admit to being as close as they once were. Still, he couldn’t have guessed she would do something like that. She explained what happened, that afterwards Scylla couldn’t stand to stay in Elysium and was now somewhere around Valta.

Albion didn’t know what to do, or say. He remained silent and still for a few long moments as he digested her words. "I’ll at least have to go speak with her.” He admitted ot her as she released him should he so choose. She knew the importance of family, especially to the Klein siblings. "I’m not certain what I’ll do yet though. With my father here it would be difficult to take up the life of a loner.” He went on, still uncertain about all of it.

"Albion Klein"

As she had expected, as soon as Albion heard that his sister was no longer a resident here his mood shifted and before he spoke she felt like she already had her answer. It was a lot to process and she wanted to give him whatever time he needed to decide, but she already knew what he would pick. It was the same choice she would have made if the roles were reversed. She would go across the world to be with her brother and she had no doubt that Albion would do the same to be with his sister.

When he indicated that he would need to speak with Scylla, but that it would be difficult to be a loner when his father was here, Avacyn nodded with understanding. "I hope you find her," she said genuinely. "I'm sure Scylla doesn't want my concern, but I do worry about her and I hope she's well. She gave me a favor that I'll never be able to repay and no matter how it ended I am eternally grateful to her." Without her she wouldn't have Fever, Daemon, or Thyrus in her life. She couldn't imagine a life without their children now.

There was a hesitation before she added, "Thank you again for what you did for me," giving him a grateful smile. There was still a small part of her that wondered over the "what ifs", wondered about a lifetime where she and Albion could have been together or she could have had both him and Saracyn. She couldn't let herself regret her choices because that wasn't a healthy way to live, but she would sorely miss having him here. There was a bit of sadness in her gaze as she told him, "I will assume that you will stay with Scylla unless you tell me otherwise after you speak with her. You and your siblings are always welcome back in Elysium whenever you need."

"Avacyn Medacium"