Walk | Talk | Think The family moved away from Ebony and westward, destined for a new home and a new life as rogues. It had not been Tahlia's idea - as far as she was concerned, life in Ebony had been comfortable and perfectly contenting, but Bane had not seen things that way. He missed having his family close, spending less time overall with the children and even her as pack duties drew each of them into separate corners of the territory. She knew his time with them was growing shorter; each day brought more greying to his coat that was telling of his advanced age, and so she had agreed without too much of a fuss. He would have his family together again. She simply hoped that what the pack offered, a well fortified border and experienced healers, would not be terribly missed. She did not know how exactly it had happened, but the course they traveled as they went brought them further south, into territory strangely familiar and full of nostalgia. Tahlia could recognize the shift in the woods almost immediately, her expression, which had been determined throughout the majority of their travels, suddenly relaxing into a little smile. "Do you recognize these woods, Bane?" she asked of him, her partially clouded gaze curious as it turned toward her husband. "Do either of you older children know?" Had anyone else noticed? Tahlia continued to look for it, scenting absently for the pack's border but even within the outskirts of the woods that bordered the Range's main features it was still unidentifiable. Her brow furrowed above her eyes. Should it not have been apparent by now? They were close... Curious, confused, Tahlia drifted away from the family, drawn closer to what had once been the pack lands in search of the border that should have been there. What she found was stale, old, and abandoned. She stopped, taking a moment to make sure before she turned her head and called back over her shoulder. "Bane! The pack's scent... It's gone."

Destruction was hurting. Hurting so very bad. Where had he gone? The wolf who had become a light in her life, who saved her... literally saving her from the epidemic that should have taken her life. But Aiden was nowhere to be found. She searched, oh gods she had searched for him. Now she felt a hole in her heart. She had lost everyone whom she fought to hold together after Seracia fell apart. She was... alone. Tahlia and Bane were with their family in Ebony... and here she was... what did she have left? Destruction felt that uncertainty rising within her again... and she fought with herself. It left her wandering, searching for someone... something. ...and that was when she ended up back in her old homeland... The pack that claimed the lands was gone. She knew not what happened, nor did she care, but she sought only one thing right now. The woman would walk to the gravesite, thankfully finding it undisturbed. For a long while she had lay on top of the smallest grave, humming a lullaby. Dillinger... one of the greatest injuries to losing Seracia was her inability to come visit him. She had not been the mother he needed, but she prayed that she might get a second chance some day in being a mother. It was later when she left the graves that she caught the familiar scents. Tahlia, Bane, the children... why were they here? Worry pressed the woman onward, and Destruction would come upon them with concern in her single orb. "What happened...? Why are you all not in Ebony?" There was no betraying the worry in her voice, panting softly as she leaned on her good side, gaze flicking back and forth between Bane and Tahlia, praying that they had not been cast out. Speech

Bane stayed at Tahlia's side. For all intents and purposes, being her other eye in the lands of rogues. Since leaving Ebony the seven wolves had journeyed southwest in a meandering path through the lands locals, never staying more than a night in a named location. None of these places felt right, but as they all went further south he could feel a certain... rightness to it all. A place to stay seemed to be close, someplace familiar. And it caused the elder to give pause when Tahlia vocalized her realization before he did. Seracia, the lands of the pack he first joined and met his current mate by the lake. A bittersweet mood overcame him at the recognizing of the thinning trees and the clearing arrayed out in from of them where the pack's forest. The barn would be past the pines, as well as the wheat field and the clearing where the dead were buried past another set of trees. Bane felt a twang of his heart at thinking of the son he never knew, nodding his head at Tahlia's question. "I do. I remember it is where we said goodbye to each other." Bane murmured into an ear so that only she could hear right when she turned and asked their young.

Jakart and Nako both piped up. "Kinda." Was both of their answers, both yearlings looking about at what had once been home. The pale wolf watched his mate wander off purposefully and he sat, head laying between his forepaws as he rested. Word soon came echoing through the trees that Seracia was gone, Bane shooting to his paws. Sudden but welcome news. He knew of a place to stay in Seracia. A familiar den site to five of them, and the elder hobbled up to reach Tahlia. He reached her just as a black she-wolf appeared, the male stumbling as he did a double take at seeing who it was. Forbidden Destruction was here? The male found words to explain to Des after a moment, somewhat stunned they his family had run into its last member. "Des! We, We left though no fault of the action or our alpha deciding it be so. Ebony was dying ever since Raisa left. And I refused to die with it or that my family waste away in a fading pack. I wanted my young to make their own way in life, to be well entitled to their personal freedom that I feel they deserved and not tossed about from meeting to meeting in a pack that was crumbling each day." The old male looked at the hill a distance away against the mountainside, a slight smile creeping upon his muzzle. "And we've found an old home and old family members here." Bane peaked through the trees. His heart rate quickened as his memory finally realized which direction Des had come from and what was over there. "If it is your wish, godmother. You are more than welcome to stay with us." The old male titled his head past the ebony female. With a tensed up breath his rushed passed her, their pelts touching as he scampered away from his family. He just needed to know if the grave was ok.

Walk | Talk | Think She had not gone so far ahead of her husband and children that she could not see the look of sudden surprise that stole across his face, or the quick way in which he dragged himself to his paws afterward. To confirm for herself - it seemed such a shock that the territory would be completely open and unclaimed like this; surely whoever had taken the lands from Destruction had stayed here? - she turned back to the lands, drawing in a few more careful breaths before she could feel certain of her own observations. Seracia, and whatever it might have become after that, was really, truly gone. From within the territory a familiar figure materialized, the large, dark colored woman cutting a path through the forest in their direction. For just a fraction of a second Tahlia thought she might have gotten it wrong - maybe the border had simply moved instead - but when she finally got a good look at the wolf she relaxed and called out to her. "Destruction," she greeted her, feeling relieved at knowing the woman had ended up somewhere safe and comfortable to live. Bane joined her then and took over answering Destruction's questions after she asked them. He knew his reasons better than any of them did. But she saw the moment he tensed, when his singular gaze slid past all of them and toward something further within the territory, and with welcoming words to Destruction he left them, surprising Tahlia at the suddenness of his departure. Her startled expression shifted from Bane's retreating form to Destruction then, and as she finally collected herself she managed to ask the questions that had been forming in her mind. "Is the pack truly gone? Is the Range really empty?"

There was somewhat of a relief, yet worry as well at Bane?s words. It seemed he felt that the pack Ebony was dying in the change of leadership. She had not known Raisa personally, though she had heard tale of the woman who held the pack. It was before her own fall... Arian spoke of having family there. It was ironic how those ties and twists in fate brought them all back together again. But he seemed happier, without any regret in his decision to leave the pack. Perhaps it was for the better. What she knew of Bane showed that he didn?t fit in the best in pack life, and with his advancing age he had less time to spend with his family. A family that had so grown. The little pups she once knew were adults, and the two yearlings were faces she did not know. Destruction would give a nod as Bane made the offer, feeling his thinning coat brush against her own. Head would shift, watching the direction he was going with understanding. The grave. There was much regret in her heart that she had never let Bane see their son even once. Allowed his life to slip away from her... Not to mention the fate of his siblings. The woman would give a small shudder, a pang in her heart before turning her head back to Tahlia. The dark woman would give a firm nod, speaking softly. ?Yes Tahlia, it is gone. I?m not sure what caused them to leave... But it is completely abandoned.? The woman would look over her shoulder, towards where Bane had gone. ?Judging by the direction Bane is heading I would assume he is going to the grave site.? The woman would shake her head slightly. ?Thank the gods the pack had respect enough not to tamper with them. They were all left just fine. I made sure of that myself just before I came here.? Tahlia would understand the meaning behind it... The son that she and Bane had buried there. The woman would move forward, giving a gently nuzzle to her friend?s shoulder. ?I?m glad to see you all again... And your new additions as well.? The woman would give a gentle smile to the children. ?I?m sorry that we?ve been separated so long... But I promise you it will not be happening again. I?m so glad that you?re all doing so well... And so grown... What on earth have you been feeding them Tahlia?? The woman would chuckle, good spirits rising within her heart. She was with her family again. She had somewhere to belong again. Speech

Her mood had hardly lifted. She moved along behind the trail of their family silently, gaze downcast. Occasionally the girl would glance back towards Ebony. Her heart ached for it... The friends she left behind. Would she ever be able to be a great healer now? Would her skills even be useful? A deep sigh would leave the girl, not even caring where they were going at this point. The trip southish had been, for the most part, ignored. Her gaze was mainly focused on the ground or what lay behind. She had been silent the whole trip, her family seeming so far away, even with her walking so close to them.

Ears would lift when they came to a stop, some stranger appearing. She was missing an eye, like her father, weight shifted much more to one side, as if she held some sort of injury. The girl?s faded blue eyes would watch the interactions between this woman and her parents, pressing into Anais with a soft whine of a question. ?Hey Anais... What?s a Godmother? Is she really part of our family...?? If she was, how come they had never seen her before?

Bane was sure Tahlia and Destruction were hitting it off as females tended to do. Probably introducing Kailos and Lior to their godmother. His purpose was different, the elder's faded paws bringing him closer to what was once the official burial grounds of Seracia. Only two wolves who's names he could remember were still resting here, their graves remained thankfully undisturbed in the grassy field on the edge of the forest. Adette and Dillinger. Gerhardt's mate. And his and Destruction's son. The elder wolf could still remember when Adette was killed by her mate after being driven mad by a cause that he couldn't recall. Or maybe he never knew. And the day he buried his son as clear as day, proclaiming Forrbideen Destruction godmother to all of his future progeny.

Only the patches of grass betrayed what lay in these spots on the ground to those who knew of what lay underneath. Old friends and packmates. Young in their years and taken to soon. Bane's attention held for a moment on his own age and all that he'd seen in his ten years. The banishing. The eruption. A spree of flings that he'd had across this new land before meeting Tahlia by the lake in this area. The grass tickled his nose as he pressed the tip of his muzzle against Dillinger's grave and lay on his belly. How he wish he'd known his half-son. If he wasn't so weak he would've made his presence known to Dillenger and Des at a much earlier time after they had joined Seracia. "They would've loved to have been your younger siblings Dillinger. Of that much I am certain." Bane mumbled, sadness and regret clearly in his voice as he rested his head on his paws next to the grass cover grave. A few moments to themselves. Then he would return to his family and see about a den site.

Walk | Talk | Think She could hardly believe the words that Destruction spoke, that what had once been Seracia, that had changed under the hands of someone else's rule, was well and truly gone. A quick glance around drew about even more confusion. As far as looks went, the forests still reminded her very much of how they used to look when she had last called this place home, before her banishment. Surely they were still teeming with life and plentiful in game to sustain a pack if they chose to live here? And neither did it look uninhabitable, despite the strange structures that, if she remembered correctly, were still standing here at the center of the territory. "I can't believe it," she whispered under her breath, feeling a little surge of hope start forming within her chest. If it was free, and she and her family were looking for a home... Momentarily distracted by the new direction of her thoughts, Tahlia managed to give a minute shake of her head in order to bring herself back to the present in time enough to hear her dark-colored friend explain where it was Bane had hurried off to so quickly. Her single golden, seeing eye stared off in the direction he had set off in, grateful that neither he nor Destruction had been put through anymore stress with possible desecration to the graves but also a little put off by the reminder of the family the two nearly had together. But she was over her jealousy, she was no longer supposed to be concerned with those past events, those lost paths that neither had been able to go down. "I am glad this is the case," she added sincerely, remembering instead the little wolf that she had watched Loccian and Maverick bury here, the poor child the healer woman had taken in and lost so soon. No matter the child - whether an orphan or the illegitimate son of her husband - their loss was tragic. As the conversation moved on to the kid, she felt her good mood returning. She turned her golden and cloudy eyes upon her children with a look of pride, smiling as she gazed at them. "They have grown like weeds," she remarked with a laugh, "small one day and as they are now the next." It honestly did just feel like yesterday that they had been small pups, and now they were nearly two! "And I'm afraid you have yet to meet the youngest," she added, quickly pointing them out. "Kailos and Lior, this is your godmother, Destruction."

The dark woman would give a small nod. ?As am I. Had Dillinger been disturbed... I do not think my heart could have taken it.? There was a tone of sadness in her voice, and the female would gaze off in a direction alone, letting out a soft sigh. While she did not necessarily envy that Tahlia and Bane were together, as she loved both of them as family, she did envy the fact they had their children. They were her god children, and she loved them dearly, but it was different when it was your own blood that was running around you after all. But she would shake the thought. Lately she?d been thinking more of Dillinger. Of her unnamed pups whom she... Again Destruction would shake the thought. She would not go down that path. But attention was back on the youngsters and Destruction would beam. ?So it would seem. So strong these young men look, and Anais has grown to be the mirror image of her mother?s beauty.? Truthfully Destruction envied Tahlia?s looks. But she would never voice such aloud. At the mention of the two youngest she would smile at them, her single orb shining. ?Hello you two. I hope that I?ll be able to get to know you better as time goes by.? She would relax some, looking back to Tahlia. ?If I know Bane, he?s probably going to move you guys right back to where you were first settled here. Its ironic... Yet wonderful... To think this is the place where our family comes back together again.? Speech

With a heavy sigh Bane rose his head and looked back towards where his family had all met up. He had been gone for only a few moments, not enough to cause worry but perhaps enough to invoke curiousness as to why he was away. All to see if Dillinger and the others remained undisturbed. It was all he could've asked for that it would remain so until even the bones wasted away in their return to the earth. Wore paws rose his pale pelt from the earth, giving a shake to ride his hide of the grit. With a somber gaze he would turn away and start heading back. Through the pines he made his way back to his family, though with a slightly heavier heart at the knowledge that while in death, nobody would know the dead wolves of Seracia besides him and whomever was a member of the dissolved pack. And so they would rest. Bane taking up more cheery thoughts as he strode up to Tahlia.
Her warmth and presence was comforting, Bane looking at Destruction then at all the young faces assembled around them. "Well. Everyone is here and safe. And I know of a place where we can stay." Bane nodded, taking the lead to guide his family to their new home upon the hillsides of what was once Seracia.

-End thread-