The girl was curled perfectly next to her almost twin sister, shaye was in her father's den which left Rhy to her sister's den. She felt a relief at the added company, the last two days she'd suffered from a horrible recurring nightmare that she hoped Motif might help her escape. Though as she fell deeper into dreamland it would bypass her sister and overtake her mind. Rhythm was in a beautiful field covered in brilliant flowers and butterflies as the sun played cheerily overhead. Alone in this field, which held a striking resemblance to the moon touched cliffs, were her and a young boy. She would only guess that he was Motif's child, were she not dreaming she would have known the impossibility of it. However in the dream she would accept these facts and know his name was Rider. The boy would lazily play in the flowers, chasing the butterflies that came for the pollen. Rhythm would watch him from a distance, feeling no threat in the meadow. Eventually the boy's attentions would focus on the most impressive of the butterflies. With massive iridescent wings the insect was difficult to ignore. Rhythm would watch as he chased it, not realizing the end of the meadow was an incredible cliff. The butterfly would lead him closer to the edge before Rhythm realized what was happening. Instantly she was on her feet, but as she went to run after him the meadow would grow longer. As she ran the blue of the sky would turn blood red. She would call out to him, but her voice was useless as she watched him tumble over the edge. Before she could move another step she was there, her bright blue and purple eyes looking down at the broken body of the pup. Rhythm would wake suddenly with a scream, tears pouring down her face as her heart raced and wished to jump out of her chest. Her breathing hard as she struggled to release herself from the nightmare she'd endured. "Speech"

It was still undeniably strange to have Shai in the same pack as her, to be so near him and so obviously, so vastly apart. Thanks to Shaye she knew some of his language, but Shai knew even more of her own. Having Shaye here in the pack once more was a blessing, and she saw the girl daily even if she was often out with Rhythm or her father, at least Motif could feel certain that her little girl had a lot of love in her life. Unaware of her sisters turmoil, she would draw comfort from the others presence, curled together with her sister, and here in her den she would carve out a little harmony in the chaos of her life. It was an easy thing to drift off to sleep with the presence of her sister all about her like a comforting halo of inner light, warming and soothing her even as she lost consciousness and slipped into sleep. She would wake with a start at the sound of Rhythm's scream, already scrambling to her feet, teeth bared, prepared to defend her beloved sister, and had a moment to look about her in bewilderment before she regained her senses and realized it was a dream. Seeing then how Rhythm had lost control, how tears poured jagged, glistening streaks down her cheeks. Immediately Motif was with her, pulling her close in a tight embrace, gently soothing and licking the girls forehead to comfort her and whispering in her ear. “Shh, shh, its okay sweetie, its okay” she promised, rocking them back and forth ever so gently as a mother would her frightened child. “It was just a dream, just a dream” she promised, “Do you want to tell me about it?” "Speech"

With her start came the awakening of her sister, not by her choice but she couldn't have stopped the scream if she tried. Motif was on her feet in an instant, ready to defend Rhythm from whatever unfortunate beast tried to harm her. The girl would shake visibly as she sobbed, easily guided into Motif's embrace as she calmed and realized Rhythm's distress. She'd feel herself become enveloped in her sister's embrace, she could come to cling to the other's muscular form. Comforting affection would be poured onto her as she cried into her sister's chest. The images of her dream still so vivid in her mind. Motif's voice was whispered softly in her ear, her words anchoring her to the real world. Her tears would stop as Motif soothed her, rocking gently as the images became easier to deal with. Her sobs would come to an end as she uttered a long sigh, catching her breath and nuzzling into Motif's neck fur. "He went over the cliff. He went over the cliff..." She would continue to mutter, not having quite the grip on reality that ceasing crying seemed to have brought. She could feel herself start to hyperventilate as she lost control of her breathing again. Why was she so panicked? Why did this dream disturb her so terribly? "Speech"

Motif would hold her for as long as she needed, and she would continue to whisper gently to her dearest sister as she attempted to soothe away the nightmare. She did wonder what could have been so terrible as to effect her sister in this way, and wondered if this was the first time whatever thoughts had caused it had bothered her. She would not let her sister escape for nights to come, until she knew she would be okay. She doubted anyone had hurt her to bring about this dream, Rhythm might have seemed a little distant of late, but that was just due to letting Motif deal with all her family stuff.. right? No, if someone had hurt Rhythm she would have told Motif, and the culprit would be sleeping with the fishes by now. Motif had asked her about the dream but Rhythm's response utterly confused her. “Who went over the cliff, Rhy?” she asked, still softly, still cradling her sweet sister. She could feel Rhythm losing control and Motif gripped her harder, keeping her movements slow and rhythmic however, and she moved from licking the girls forehead to grooming the fur behind her head “I've got you” she promised softly, wishing she could make this okay. "Speech"

She hadn't let Motif see the despair that grabbed her during the waking hours, but now it was easy to see the emotions normally closed away for no one to see. Her mind was nowhere near the right place to realize what she was allowing her sister to see the mess she had become. Surely she would attribute it to her dream only? Rhythm would continue mumbling, her focus becoming more clear as her sister held her tighter. Another question would leave Motif's lips as Rhythm mumbled, her words difficult to form as she struggled with her breathing. Her litter mate would continue to rock her gently, as soothing kisses were placed behind her ears. She'd stutter another helpless sigh as she sank further into her sister's embrace. She would quiet and a few more moments would pass as she tried to catch her breath again, wanting to forget about her dream, but at the same time tell Motif what she had experienced. Another sob would leave her before she could catch her breath, but finally she would explain further. "Your son," she would answer, finding herself almost afraid at what Motif would say to her. She would bury herself further into Motif's plush fur, needing all the love she could get. "He didn't know, he didn't stop!" She would try not to become hysterical again as she told Motif of her nightmare. "He fell.." she'd whisper as she realized how tired she was. "Speech"

Rhythm was a petite wolf, and not a fighter but she had always been strong. Well Motif would always protect her body, Rhythm had, right from the start, always protected Motif's heart and soul. It was shocking to see her like this, looking broken and uncertain and Motif would do anything to make the despair in her sisters eyes go away. She wished it had been a physical danger threatening her sister, something she could satisfyingly sink her fangs into. Instead, the girl stood helplessly at her sisters side, whispering in her ear, holding her close and promising that everything would be alright. Holding her so close, she could feel the girls uneven heart beat, feel the breaths that shook her as she struggling to bring them under control, to breath. When Rhythm finally controlled her enough to speak, the words where a physical shock to Motif, that she could feel right to her core. your son she had said, her tiny, helpless little boys, that had not survived their births. Motif dealt with that sorrow by pushing it from memory, blocking it out as through she could pretend it didn't exist, had never happened. sons? her mind said what sons? but her heart ached, ached so hard until she couldn't drown out the memories any more. The girls head collapsed over her sisters body as her own breathing came erratically from her body. “Shh, its not your fault Rhythm, it's not your fault, it was never your fault” she soothed, the words hoarse through her suddenly sore throat. No, the fault had been Motif's, never sweet, giving Rhythm. Now Motif thought she understood what was plaguing her sister, she had at the moment of their birth blamed herself, but had spoken no more about it after Motif and Bass both had shot that idea down, telling her it had not been. Clearly it had not gone away, only been kept inwards. "Speech"

She knew their deaths effected her much stronger than they should have, but she couldn't even imagine how her sister was dealing with the reality. Motif didn't seem distressed, and it almost seemed as though she'd forgotten about them sometimes. Why was it that they were all Rhythm could ever think about? As soon as she uttered who it was though Motif would become unusually still as she fell into Rhythm's form. The thoughts weighing as heavily on her as they did upon their sister. Motif's voice was dry as she tried to assure her of her lack of guilt, Rhythm indeed had bottled her thoughts on her sister's birth. She'd not directly associated herself with their death anymore, but she still knew she could have done more if she had been better trained. Maybe she hadn't been directly related to their demise but she still did not feel peace. She'd let her tears begin to fall again, her sobs welling up in her throat as she refrained from anymore words. If Motif allowed her she would easily have cried herself back to sleep in their sorrowful embrace. "Speech"

Neither of the almost twins spoke after that, instead they held each other close and as she felt Rhythm shake and cry she struggled to hold in her own tears. She didn't want to weep, she could hardly bare to give in to that weakness, afraid that should she collapse then and let it all out she would never again manage to pull herself together, that she would forever after be a mess of regret and loss. Holding her sister close, and being in her sisters arms in return made her thoughts turn to Shai, of what he would think of the fate of her – their – stillborn sons, if he would hold her close and allow her to let out the sorrow. She pushed back the thought, knowing his arms where out of reach and that it was a comfort she could not ask for, which seemed only to make the growing sadness worse. Her breath came in little gasps, through her eyes stayed dry as she held her sweet sister close. "Speech"

Motif would hold the girl tight, Rhythm's sobs would continue for a while longer. Eventually she would quiet, falling back into a fitful sleep within her sister's arms. She wouldn't be woken by the same dream again, and the next time consciousness would take her would be in the morning as the sun offered it's bright rays into the den. Bright blue and purple gaze would blink open, still very much entwined with Motif's form. The terror of the nightmare would stay with her, but it seemed the daylight kept away the worst memories. A defeated sigh would leave her, the realization that Motif had gotten a peek at her inner most thoughts. Maybe she didn't remember. Didn't remember the scream she'd let out, the tears that had fallen.. SHe felt dehydrated from the liquid lost. She felt like a complete mess. Trying not to disturb her sister Rhythm would attempt to squeeze from her sister's hug, in need of some fresh air and water. If she got away some alone time as well. Maybe she'd disappear for a couple of days.. "Speech"

Somehow, the two would manage to fall asleep after their tears had run dry. The two where entwined together as they slept, and for it they both slept dreamless. She was mentally exhausted and drained and easily welcomed the bliss of unconsciousness, waiting until her sisters breathing was calm and even, ensuring she was asleep before allowing herself to succumb. She would not wake again until Rhythm's movements disturbed her, she would then open her eyes and blink sleepily at her almost twin, noting the daylight and taking in her sisters expression to see how she was now that morning had come. ”Where you going?' she asked gently, if somewhat groggily. "Speech"

Rhythm wouldn't notice her sister's consciousness until she'd slipped away from her grasp. She'd catch a glimpse of her bright eyes and knew her escape plan might be all over now. Ears would fall to her head as she looked back to Motif. She would beg internally that she had forgotten about last night, that nothing had happened and she could go on hiding her turmoil forever. The question would stop her, knowing this was the critical moment, what could she tell Motif that would reduce suspicion? Of course she would notice if she never came back to the den. "I was going to get a drink. Sorry I woke you." She'd put on the smile she used to subdue Shaye's questions, knowing it was almost fool proof. Though Motif knew her rather well it was likely she might even spot the white lie Rhythm wished to spin. Nothing was alright, and she didn't know if it ever would be but she knew she wanted to deal with it alone. She couldn't admit her sadness to her siblings. Not after what they'd said at the birth. "Speech"

She looked at her sister for any sign of the stress and sadness she had shown during the night, but she just thought Rhythm looked tired and embarrassed, and had no wish to push her sister. There was few things in the world that meant as much to her as her sister, and even then her sister was the one that had been beside her for everything, somehow Rhythm had always had the answers for her when she needed them and Motif wished desperately that she could in turn do the same for her sister, but Motif was a fighter, not a talker, so she smiled encouragingly at her sister and nodded her head. “See you soon, Rhythm” she said, putting as much love into those few words as she could before lowering her head to her paws again, knowing nothing else she could say or do for her sister but to give her time and let her do things her own way. "Speech"