As she raced back to Avalon from the eastern coast, all she could hear was the wet grinding crunch of teeth gnashing against bone. She stopped a few times to catch her breath and twice more to vomit, half from the effort she was exerting and half from nausea at that noise that she knew she would hear in her nightmares forever. Her body wasn't what it used to be - there was no fooling herself now. It all happened in one great blur. Distantly, she knew Jay was by her side, but she'd slunk into the shadows of the orchard as soon as they'd arrived and Theory respected her desire for space. Avalon was just as she had left it in the early hours of the morning to set off after Corvus. The sun had long set and she was arriving nearly at the same time she had departed. That strange, mute time between midnight and dawn. She stood still, every muscle quaking with exhaustion, and tried to rationalize what she had seen. It defied all reason and logic. All that she knew was that Corvus was dead. Not only dead, but massacred. She hadn't dared get close enough to try and salvage something to bury. There would be time for finding a headstone and arranging a memorial service... but her mind was racing, three thousand miles per minute. She needed to talk to her mate, her Thalia. She had always offered comfort in times like these where Theory had faltered. It was her god that she turned to when darkness eclipsed all else. Abraxas was a singular, guiding flame - it flickered, but for Thalia, it never went out. Theo stumbled through the orchard towards their den and stood quietly outside of the entrance, trying to collect herself before calling out for her in a hoarse whisper: "Thalia..." My guiding flame. She might have Abraxas, but Theory would always have her. "speech"

Whatever might be happening these days, Thalia wasn't sure- but she knew one thing for certain. Her God was behind it, in one way or another, as He always was whenever things veered from the normal course. While things unfolded, though, she slept soundly enough. She was blissfully unaware that Theory had risen so early, and while it wasn't usual she stray far from home these days, it was no cause for alarm either. When the sun set again, Thalia hardly had time to worry; fatigue gripped her almost as soon as she slipped into her den, and she immediately drifted to sleep.

Theory's scent reached her before her voice did, tinged with the scent of something sour that turned her nose. Had she been sick? Surely she wasn't unwell. Worry flooded her chest as she rose on unsteady limbs, still trying to shake off the sleepiness as she greeted Theory and tried to make sense of her expression. Visibly she looked unharmed, but something had happened... narrowed eyes scrutinized her face carefully. "Where have you been?" Her question was not accusatory in the slightest, but clearly she worried what had happened, what had taken her from home- and what made her face look so haunted, like she'd seen a ghost. Without waiting for her answer she leaned forward, brushing her cheek gently against Theory's.

She deserved the suspicion. It hadn't been so long ago that she'd been lost to whatever affliction had stricken her during the long night, and Thalia has always been naturally suspicious. Withholding. In some ways, it was a miracle they'd gotten this far, and it was a miracle she would fight to protect, most especially in the face of all this violence and uncertainty. Theory's eyes fluttered closed and she pressed her face firmly into Thalia's quiet gesture of intimacy, soaking it up and drawing the necessary courage from it. "Something terrible is happening," she said, her voice dry and hoarse still from the journey. Theory persevered, licking her lips and trying to string together a meaningful sentence. "I was restless before retiring for the night and found a scent trail of Corvus and Jay heading towards the east - it was acrid, tainted with fear. I followed it. It's unlike them to venture so far... I was worried," she steeled herself, looking away from Thalia as she tried to gather the rest of the mettle needed to describe what she had seen. How do you begin to translate that creature into words? "I made it past Abaven's old territory, towards the Moontouched Cliffs - " she couldn't help herself, her voice cracked and wavered on her ancestral pack's name " - there was an awful, cretinous thing rearing up as tall as the cliff. I've never seen anything like it. It was a mix of some strange water beetle and a gargantuan worm... it had hundreds of legs... sharp, gnashing teeth... I came upon the edge of the just as C-corvus launched himself at it. He was trying to defend Jay, and anyone else who had gathered. There were so many wolves there. I heard whispers, this is happening everywhere. Not just in the east. The worms, the monstrous things... they all look different, as if drawn from their environments. I don't know where they came from, I - " she was babbling, leaving out the most important bit. The tenderest, most painful part. "It killed Corvus in an instant along with several others. It feasted on their bones. I - oh, I feel sick again - " she wavered on her paws before she finally reclined into a seated position, every muscle still quivering with the exhaustion of the journey back. Theory gulped. "The children. We have to - I don't know, we need to do something. Anything. They can't witness that devastation, I-I won't allow it," she said, as if she could exert any control here. As if she was any more powerful than she'd been on the beach, watching her beloved friend and cousin shatter like dry kindling. "speech"

If Theory was gone for an extended period of time, she knew it was for good reason. Nothing could tear her from her children, nor herself; her devotion had been consistently proven since they'd reunited, and she had no reason to doubt her. If not for their children, she might wonder why she hadn't gone without her, but she knew the promise they'd made to one another was unspoken- their primary goal was to ensure their children reached adulthood and were properly self-sufficient. No, not just self-sufficient, but flourishing, surpassing both of their abilities.

Both of their parents running off on some adventure wasn't conducive to that objective. One would always have to remain here, close to the majority of them, especially while they were still children.

Still, her eyes narrowed slightly as she studied Theory. Something terrible is happening, she started, biting her tongue against the urge to command her to speak more quickly. Was it their children? Was Avalon being threatened? Her stomach clenched with worry as she listened to her mate's tale, explaining how far she'd gone to follow the scents of Corvus and Jay.

What she explained almost didn't register to her as real. "This was a dream?" She asked, hoping, praying that it wasn't exactly what Theory was describing it as. Maybe if she hoped hard enough, she'd come to realize that this was all just a strange nightmare. A creature, as tall as the cliff, leaving destruction in its wake. Like nothing these lands had ever seen. Even the long night couldn't compare to this. She licked her lips nervously, though she felt the blood rush from her face at Theory's final admission.

Corvus, slain. Not just slain, but eaten.

In their world, wolves were the top of the food chain, but this shook things up. This... was something else entirely. Related to the strange spires that had appeared to the west of their homelands, and the tremors, no doubt.

"Oh, Theory," she breathed, with as much empathy as she'd probably ever mustered for anyone. There was no mistaking the love she felt for the other woman- it oozed out of every pore as she leaned forward, hoping to stabilize her as she reclined shakily backwards. She knew Theory needed her now, and she would be her rock, she would guide her. "We'll find Corbie, tell her what's going on. We'll call our children, and instruct them to stay within Avalon's lands for now, until we learn more, unless they're supervised by us and us alone, no exceptions," she decided with finality.

Despite her relatively calm outward demeanor, inside she felt her emotions rocking tumultuously. She was afraid, deeply afraid- she hadn't known much about Theory's cousin, but she knew he'd do anything for his family, and if he thought to throw himself at such a monstrous thing she feared what that meant. How many lives might be claimed in trying to destroy it. If it could even be destroyed. She gulped hard, silently.

"I... I don't know what this means, but I know He will show us soon enough," Thalia breathed, hoping to steady the only quiver she felt rising in her voice. Unless these creatures were sent from Him, or worse- some kind of theophany. It would almost make perfect sense that the physical manifestation of Abraxas would be something so malicious, something fueled by pure malice. The Fallen God was known for just that, or so she'd been taught.

The thought struck a chord of fear in her heart. She needed time to think, to pray, to understand, before she came to any conclusions.

"I think you need to lie down and rest. You don't look so well," she said gently, moving to help her inside their den and settle in on the bed of furs they'd accumulated since making this place their home. "My love- I am so sorry," she nearly whispered, her nose pressed firmly to Theory's cheek. She wasn't capable of feeling much for the wolves who had lost their lives to this creature, but Theory's pain... in that moment she'd do anything to take away her raw anguish.

"I wished and prayed it was a dream the entire time Jay and I sprinted for Avalon," she said, tears burning at her eyes. "I called out to Abraxas with all of my heart... it was comforting, to have something to turn to," Theory added softly, leaning into Thalia's touch as she helped her steady herself when she sat back. She felt so old and frail now. Corvus was just a touch older than her, after all, but he'd been so full of life. So excited to watch his children grow and flourish. Theory felt sick again at the thought. She needed to be around for her children. It was an all consuming thing, the next closest thing to a religion. Thalia understood it, too, and she had to believe it was part of what had finally cemented their relationship after reuniting. They were bound together now. There would be separating them from their children or each other without true divine intervention, and though she didn't know their God as well as Thalia, Theo felt certain that it would never come to that. When she thought of Abraxas, she thought of tenderness. Reverence. Compassion. The unyielding strength found in a mother's love and the sharp edge of a mother's rage. "Corbie... yes, of course," she murmured, trying to strategize. Everything still felt so painfully sharp and new. She had to focus on each second, each moment - imagining anything else felt too painful. Telling Finch? Vine? Corbie... we need to tell Corbie... Theory's thoughts spun in a maelstrom. Theo followed after Thalia, moving stiffly towards the bed of furs. She had asked so much of her body in the last few hours and it was finally refusing to cooperate. It had given all it had. Using Thalia to brace herself, Theo slowly lowered down to the comfortable furs and let out a shaky sigh. Rest sounded good, but in the same heartbeat, she knew it would be fruitless. How could she rest when Corvus was slaughtered (the sounds of the cracking bones still rang in her ears) and her children slept soundly, unawares of any threat? They had to stay that way. She desperately wanted their childhoods to be free of pain, even as she knew it was impossible to protect them. Wasn't that a mother's greatest trial? Grappling with the inevitably that, no matter what, this world would harm them in mind and body. She looked over at them, cuddled together in a blissful pile, and felt her heart climb into her throat. "I would be lost without you, still wandering somewhere... you have given me all I could ever ask for in this life. Everything I had hoped for and dreamed for." Her voice was soft so as to not wake the children, but frenetic with its intensity. With so many things uncertain, she felt it was imperative that she told Thalia in clear words how she felt. "In dozens of lifetimes, I could never repay you. Would you pray with me?" Theory said, her voice breaking at the end. "speech"

Thalia listened to her mate's words patiently, trying to wrap her head around what had happened. It felt so otherwordly, so surreal... her mind spun. Like Theory, she found herself grasping onto Abraxas, feeling the uncertainty and fear beginning to consume her. It was only staved off by thinking of Him, of knowing with Him she could always find solace and salvation. She took a few slow, deep breaths as she tried to steady herself, not wanting Theory to see that she too was afraid.

She'd handle the logistics of who to tell what to. She was strong enough to carry that burden for her.

Right now she only cared for making sure Theory was okay, though. She carefully helped her recline, letting her settle down into the soft furs. Thalia moved to curl around her larger form, not wanting Theory to feel that she was alone, even for an instant. She needed her now more than ever. "You know I feel the same. Without you, I had no purpose - have no purpose," she admitted softly. Since the moment she'd met Theory, that was how she'd felt, no matter how long she tried to ignore that truth. It came to light again immediately when they reunited. They were intrinsically linked, cosmically bound, and Thalia knew that truth as much as anything else.

Theory and their children were the reason she was put here on this earth. This was her purpose.

"Let us pray," she breathed, nearly a whisper, as she pressed herself tightly against Theory. "We will survive this, and our children will be stronger in spite of it all. Abraxas will see it done." Despite the fear and uncertainty, her words were spoken with unmistakable conviction.

And so Thalia thought of Him, thought of her children who had been made in His light, and she prayed as she felt Theory's trembling form close to her.

Her love's calm exterior helped ground her all the more. Here in the quiet, dim den that they shared with their children, she felt at peace once again. The dreadful things she had seen had taken root in her memory, but Thalia smoothed out the edges of it. Calmed her soul like a healing poultice made by the very best of healers. "Oh, Thalia... my love. Don't say such things," she whispered, even though she felt the weight and truth of it the same as her mate. Her purpose had always been external: living for Shaye and Rhyme, living for Abaven, dying for Abaven when she lost her mind... Thalia had been the singular most selfish thing she'd taken for herself in that life, which still felt some days like a far more distant memory. All she had left was that one, selfish thing. Her mate and her children that she'd surrender everything for, if only someone asked. She would give of herself until she had nothing left so long that they were safe, and she knew in her very soul that Thalia would do the same. "Our purpose is now. The children. Their future. Every moment leading us to this place in time was orchestrated for this," she whispered, her eyes shining with unspent tears as she glanced at their sleeping children. "It must be His work, all of it. My life has been too..." heart breaking, agonizing "...strange for me to believe in anything but divine intervention," she whispered. Theory closed her eyes and prayed alongside her wife, for whom she would cross hot coals and windswept wastelands (or wonder, for months, crazed out of her mind). "I swear I felt Him with me on the way home, but it was... softer than what you've described. It felt like a mother's voice, calling me back to you. Stern, but so very comforting..." she continued speaking in low tones lest they wake the children. "It felt more right to me than it ever had, as if He... as if this Mother was carrying me along on Her back with each step I took back to you." "speech"