i heard the church bells from afar Novella could only wait and see if the meeting had spurred on the wolves of Threar, encouraged them to become more active and helpful to one and other. Though she had worried about such plans and decisions prior to the meeting, the possibilities still bothered her slightly now, with no way of knowing just yet how effective it had all been. Only time would tell and whilst she waited to hopefully see it all unfolding, she would need to continue with her own duties and of course help others with their own learning. They had to take a certain amount of initiative though, they couldn't simply wait on her and Frith all of the time, there were things they could each do to improve their skills and help each other. She found a small amount of time for a breather between her patrol, coming to a stop along the shores of Fontamo Bay, mismatched eyes gazing out into the ocean watching the waves as they came crashing in and rolling back out in a similar hypnotising motion each time. If only her own worries would wash away quite so easily they too simply kept rolling back in, unsure if her pack would ever truly be as strong as it should. Her parents had both been good leaders in their time with their guidance would she have coped better, never allowed them all to fall into this dangerous rut? we found each other in the dark

round here the sky's a little closer a little closer to the ground With a wondering mind and paws as of late, Aslan hadn't spent quite as much time with his family as of late. Though he had been eager to explore and learn for himself anyway, the meeting had of course given him that little nudge, subtle little reminder of those within the pack that he left behind each time he went out adventuring. Trips could be more fun with company and his parents probably would have preferred him not to go alone, not that either thing was really stopping him just yet. He would certainly ensure that he had time for his family though and today had opted to try and accompany his mother on some sort of task. That morning his first mission of the day was to seek her out soon locating her pale figure not too far from the shore. Had he interrupted a moment of peace? All the same he continued towards her carefully, he truly did want to spend some time with her, even if it would simply be a moment of quiet watching the waves coming in and out of the bay. "Mum?" He enquired softly, hoping not to startle her too much as he approached from behind, coming up on her left hand side to hopefully take a seat on the ground beside her if she didn't mind his company for a while. it's hard for someone to get lost here harder still to get found

i heard the church bells from afar She hadn't sought to be fully alone at all and hardly was in a particularly private place right now, any of the pack could have walked past and joined her if they wished and sure enough one Threar wolf soon would try to do just that. She was of course glad to see it was her son, and at the sound of his voice her head would twist, glancing over her shoulder to look at him with a warm smile crossing her features. "Good morning Aslan" It occurred to her that his own little greeting had been more of a question than anything else, a cautious approach and she motioned for him to join her, he was of course more than welcome to if that was what he wanted. In fact she insisted upon that if there was something upon his mind, for as long as she could she intended to be there for her children. "Is everything ok?" we found each other in the dark

round here the sky's a little closer a little closer to the ground Much to Aslan's relief it seemed that he wouldn't in fact startly his mother at all, nor be too much of a pain either as she greeted him with a cheery welcome and invited him over to join her. Certainly pleased with the offer he needed no further prompting to continue over to her side and settle down beside her. "Good Morning" He responded, a proper greeting given now that he had gotten her attention. To his surprise a question was quickly aimed his direction, laced with a hint of concern. Had he worried his parents with his wandering trips? Had they perhaps learnt of Lux, the mountain lion seemed to be no threat at all though they might not have been too pleased about her presence so close to him and the lands of Threar. He still hadn't told anyone of her and for now planned to keep it that way, just until he was sure of her himself. "Yeah." He replied with a nod of his head, he certainly hadn't wanted to cause any alarm with any actions as of late, not the exploration and certainly not his approach to his mother now. "Why, am I too big to sit with my mother now?" He enquired, a hint of a cheeky smile upon his features as he tried to lighten the mood, teasing her about that little moment of concern. it's hard for someone to get lost here harder still to get found

i heard the church bells from afar Although Aslan may have been a little careful in his intial approach, he soon joined her with little prompting and his mood appearing to lift as well. Novella's own concerns began to fade slightly, though she still awaited his reply to her question, just in case there was something upon his mind. Instead however she was met with a far more light-hearted comment and reassurance that everything was ok with her son. "I had begun to fear you thought that was the case." She teased him in return, it'd been a while since they had sat together like this, both busy with something or other though she knew not all of what had taken up her son's time. "You'll never be too big for that though." She reminded him, a slightly softer tone to her voice. we found each other in the dark

round here the sky's a little closer a little closer to the ground She would respond with her own little dig at his absences though wouldn't enquire any further into them. It seemed Aslan was allowed to venture out a little more now and he guessed either they hadn't guessed anything about Lux or simply didn't mind her at all. Each meeting though neither were ever sure if they'd see the other again anyway, never exactly purposefully seeking each other out. "Good to know." He responded with another smile of approval. He hadn't thought there would ever come a time his parents would turn their back on them though the reassurance was nice all the same. His own gaze fell to the waves now, they were a normality in his life, he had grown up with them on his door step so watching them had become a regular thing from a young age. Despite that they still had both a calming quality and a invigorating invitation to come and play, all depending on your mood at the time. Today it appeared it was time to be calm, sit peacefully reflecting on things as the waves continued rolling on. "Are you ok?" He enquired after a moment, mismatched eyes now shifting back to his mother's form. He of course hadn't quite noticed the growing worries and stresses of his parents over the winter month, something hadn't seemed quite right but he was young enough and lacking the responsibilities meaning he was able be able to remain oblivious to the serious matters that had troubled them. it's hard for someone to get lost here harder still to get found

i heard the church bells from afar Her 'little' boy didn't seem to want to argue with that sentiment, much to her pleasure and for a few moments the pair would sit quietly, gazes drifting back towards the water to watch the waves together. She still wondered if there was something else upon his mind, though perhaps she was simply reading too much into this space of silence. It wasn't too long before he spoke again, repeating the question that she'd asked him. Eyes flicked back towards him, hoping that this wasn't because he worried she was becoming ill again. To be honest if she ever did, it would be better as well for more of the pack to be higher ranking members, more useful to help keep Threar running. "I'm fine." She reassured him. He didn't really need to worry about such matters, but then he was almost two years old, he too was capable of learning more about how the pack worked, had already proven this fact to her at a far younger age whilst he helped out during her pregnancy and the depression that had followed it. The problem was, no parent really wished to burden their children, these worries were mainly for the Authors to bear, Aslan didn't need to share in that. "I've just been thinking about the pack lately, I'm hoping everyone listens to what was said in the meeting." She settled for a condensed version in the end, he knew all that had been said at the meeting anyway, there was no more she was revealing just now. She had no doubts that her children would start to pick up the pace, they often worked rather hard in the first place though it was the newer members, those outside of the Destruction family that had really given her a cause for concern. we found each other in the dark

round here the sky's a little closer a little closer to the ground Aslan sensed some hesitance, a simple 'I'm fine' to begin with though after a short pause explaining a little more. She didn't need to be specific about which part of the meeting she meant, the meaning behind gathering them had been rather clear and now it rang clear here as well. "I'm sure they will." He offered her some encouragement, hoping to lift her mood and mind from the matter. "You were pretty clear after all." He'd smile lightly, not wanting to come across as too serious himself. Nearing two years old himself, he certainly found himself wanting to help out a little more if he could, such a desire had formed at an early age and though he had taken to exploring a little more now, Threar was still his home and centre point, he was sure that he would always return to the pack and his family. "Is there any more that I can do to help you?" Not just with pack in general but for his mother specifically. And, was there a way he could take her mind off of this for a while? it's hard for someone to get lost here harder still to get found

i heard the church bells from afar Although she had suffered tragedies, Novella couldn't deny the fact that she had somehow landed on her feet. She had her pack but more important than that of course she had her family, her husband and children were certainly more than she could have asked for each one of them so wonderful and here now was a little demonstration of that fact, her son attempting to reassure her and requesting ways in which he could help. At his age she didn't think she'd ever really contributed so much, so lost in trying to figure out a path of sorts and comfortable in her mediocrity. It was only when a title and pack had been thrust upon her that she had ever really considered advancing through the ranks, her children didn't seem to share that former attitude she'd had. "Just keep doing what you're doing." She informed him with a smile, though she had been briefly tempted, she chose not to mention her own past experiences within the lower ranks of a pack. we found each other in the dark

round here the sky's a little closer a little closer to the ground It seemed that his mother didn't have much more advice for him on the matter of making himself useful though honestly Aslan was sure he probably could be doing more for the pack in some way or another. He'd let the topic drop however, with such little said on the matter it seemed that his mother didn't really want to talk too much about it and instead he opted to enquire a little more about his family. With his recent little meeting with Psalm he was reminded of the size of the Destruction family, so many of them he hadn't met or heard of. A family history lesson would surely take her mind off of the more serious things plaguing her right now. "You once told me you tell me some stories about Ahlon and our family" He began, it was quite a blunt and perhaps somewhat out of the blue question but he chose not to beat around the bush in this moment and instead hoped that his mother too would recall the promise to try one day. "Do you think you could tell me something now?" it's hard for someone to get lost here harder still to get found

i heard the church bells from afar There would be another short pause before Aslan spoke once again, this time a completely different topic and a question that seemed completely random to Novella. She had no idea of course that Aslan had recently ran into Psalm and to shift from the topic of how he could help to asking about Ahlon simply seemed a rather strange link to the confused woman. A soft frown spread across her features in reaction, she could recall her promise, though now simply seemed like such odd time to bring it up? "I can try. What made you ask now?" Curiosity got the better of her and she couldn't help but enquire as to what had caused such a conversation to suddenly come about. "What did you want to hear about?" we found each other in the dark

round here the sky's a little closer a little closer to the ground Aslan should have realised that the question was bound to be a little on the confusing side, with his mother's reaction it was soon very apparent that was indeed the case. He probably should have explained it all a little more, the last time he'd asked they'd been grieving over the loss of his grandparents now however they'd just been talking about the pack and ways to help. Novella would prompt him now to explain a little further and he'd do just that. "I saw Psalm the other day." Aslan began simply. "I know the family is really big, I just wanted to learn a little more about it really." There were many Destructions that he had only heard of, many more in fact that he hadn't even heard of at all. Novella was only capable of sharing so much information about the family, but Aslan didn't realise that mother and son were in the same boat here; it was larger than even she could imagine. it's hard for someone to get lost here harder still to get found

i heard the church bells from afar Aslan and Psalm perhaps would be seeing more of each other in time, though the details still hadn't been confirmed nor had Novella even spoken to Ara or Novel again about the possibility of the two boy's joining Threar for a while. Only time would tell if that plan went ahead and in the mean time she would need to wait. It wasn't specifically Psalm that he wished to hear about though, Novella could only assume that the boys had figured out their relation to one and other or perhaps by some chance had even remembered meeting at a younger age; Aslan had once had that habit of wandering into Sawtooth lands after all, it was a possibility they had met before. "Well, I was born in Ahlon as many other Destructions were." It was only as Song left that they had begun to disperse with many of them being born in various parts of Alacritia now. Of course even before Song's first children had been born however there had been Destructions living and creating families outside of Ahlon, though Novella had never had the chance of meet any of her aunts and uncles or even any of her cousins from her mother's side of the family. She knew that the pack hadn't always been led by Destructions, her grandmother in fact the first to take the title though the story of how or why wasn't one that had ever really been shared with her. "Your great grandmother, Poem, was the first of our family to lead the pack though they never did tell me how she became an alpha." To be honest she wasn't entirely sure what he wished to know about the pack and the family she'd settle for explaining little bits and pieces, hoping it was enough for him he could ask questions if he wanted to and she would try to answer them as best as she could. "I guess it wasn't too dissimilar from Threar really, not when your grandparents led the pack anyway, they were very good leaders." Certainly more successful at it than she was with her own she felt, though such details she would leave out. we found each other in the dark

round here the sky's a little closer a little closer to the ground Aslan sat quietly as she began to explain a little more about the family's past, starting with the pack that he had heard of before though never seen. He knew that his mother had been born in Ahlon, that his grandparents had been the alphas and his Aunt Lyric now ruled there though beyond those details really there wasn't much at all that he knew of the pack and it's previous leaders. He wasn't sure whether to be surprised or not by the fact that the family had only reigned there for a few generations, though his great grandparents were news to him and it was Poem's name that he would keep note of for now. On she continued with a little more detail about Ahlon itself and the way in which his grandparents had led the pack. He certainly couldn't imagine it being too different from Threar, they had been happy enough here until illness struck and little did he know had played a part in helping Novella with her leadership role and shaping the pack. "What was Poem like, do you know?" Aslan enquired, had Ahlon always been the same or could Threar have been drastically different if Novel had been influenced by her mother in the same way that Novella had by hers. it's hard for someone to get lost here harder still to get found

i heard the church bells from afar It was Poem instead that Aslan would seek to investigate. In the same way she knew little about how the woman had come to lead, Novella knew very little about her. The family tree had once been explained to her a little, though not much of it had stuck, so many names and aunts and uncles she had never met nor was she ever likely to run into. It made sense that he would enquire though, he had known his own grandparents for a short while, it surely seemed logical that she would be able to share more about hers. "I'm afraid I never knew much about her, she had died before I was born." Novella explained, it was a shame, family was so important to her it would have been nice to meet more of her relations. "I know she and my grandfather had lots of children though I had never met any of them either, I don't know much of the family beyond your grandparents." "I know your grandfather had a much smaller family, one of his sisters, Arelahn, lived in Ahlon with us and two of her children, Satu and Cirala." She had heard of Dubara, but had never met her though the odd story had appeared about her in the past. To be honest she mainly mentioned Arelahn for the sake of bringing up Satu, it had been so long since she had seen her cousin and hoped that she was alright. "Both of them travelled to Alacritia, in fact Satu was in Sawtooth before it split into Sawtooth and Threar. I haven't seen either for quite some time though, I sometimes wonder if they went back to Ahlon as many of your aunts and uncles seem to have done." we found each other in the dark

round here the sky's a little closer a little closer to the ground Unfortunately it seemed that he wouldn't learn any more about his great grandparents or even the many great uncles and aunts, he would hide any disappointment very well, instead focused on the fact that even without names the mere knowledge of these wolves extended the family tree a great deal. Somewhere out there lived more family, it was unlikely of course that he'd meet them though the sheer idea of so many Destructions living within the world was still an astounding and exciting thought to the boy. Aslan had learnt that his own father's family was small, only himself and his mother though it seemed his grandfather hadn't had much more family around him. Satu and Cirala were new names to him, the former of course had played a rather important part in his life even without him knowing, she had prompted Novella into starting a relationship with Frith and which had of course led to the creation of himself and his siblings. Even without that knowledge though, the fondness in his mother's voice as she spoke led to him hoping to one day meet the pair. "Do you think you'll ever go back to Ahlon?" Aslan enquired, with so many Destruction wolves making their way back there or leaving Alacritia in general he couldn't help but wonder if the thought had crossed his mother's mind as well. it's hard for someone to get lost here harder still to get found

i heard the church bells from afar Aslan's next question was something that Novella had considered from time to time. Initially she had believed that coming to Alacritia was a short little trip, a fun journey before she went back home. It had taken her quite some time to officially decide to stay and join Ludicael, and that choice most definitely influenced by her siblings in the first place. Now they had gone, why didn't she follow them again? Many of her choices had been based around her family, and even now that continued only now she had Frith and their children to consider and though they were not her own boys, Novella wasn't sure she could leave Féli and Sorrel given that the rest of their family had. Threar too, she had responsibilities as an alpha and couldn't simply abandon her pack. "Maybe one day." She responded, she would never say never, Song after all had returned to Ahlon in the end and by the sounds of things she'd originally left with no intentions of going back. "This is home now though, so certainly not any time soon." we found each other in the dark

round here the sky's a little closer a little closer to the ground Although he had asked, it was a question Aslan assumed would need a bit of thought and yet his mother's reply came rather quickly. Perhaps it was something that she had thought about though not something she could say she seriously planned on doing. A part of him was a little curious, intrigued to discover what Ahlon was like though the other part of him was certainly glad that they weren't about to be uprooted any time soon. He did like their home after all and still had plenty more to explore around Alacritia. "Why did you all leave Ahlon in the first place?" Aslan asked, given that so many of the family had apparently travelled here at one point surely there was some reason they had all made the decision? There were obviously reasons that had taken them away from Alacritia as well but given the scattered disappearances and the fact that not all had left he could only assume it was for personal reasons more than family ones. it's hard for someone to get lost here harder still to get found

i heard the church bells from afar Aslan was full of questions today it seemed, though his little investigations into the Destruction family history were distracting Novella from her own concerns about the pack, instead happy to share what she could with her son and a little amused by his sudden interests. She wasn't sure how much to share with the next question, whether to give him the entire story behind it or simply summarise that Song had left first and they had all followed. "Your aunt Song left first." Novella began. "She'd had a bit of an argument with your grandparents." Somewhere in the middle it seemed, she wouldn't tell him what it had all been about but the important fact was that even though they had all fallen out they'd made up again in the end, it'd be a good lesson though one she hoped he would never need. we found each other in the dark

round here the sky's a little closer a little closer to the ground So they had left in pieces as well, not all arriving in Alacritia at the same time? That wasn't the most shocking detail however, even with a few guesses it was unlikely that Aslan would have ever guessed the real reason as to why the Destruction family had begun their journey to Alacritia in the first place. A small gasp of surprise would sound from him as his mother explained there had been an argument within the family. For starters, he had never witnessed any sort of real disagreement between any of the Destruction wolves and the idea that his aunt and grandparents had fought was a shocking one. Novel, Dutiron and Song had never seemed like the type to be easily annoyed either and for Song to have left because of it, it must have been quite a serious argument. "Really?" He enquired, disbelief apparent in his voice. "What about?" it's hard for someone to get lost here harder still to get found