The man was a drifter, always had been. Maybe he should have expected his own family to be similar, as it was he had lost track of more than just his eldest daughter. His wife and all of his children seemed to have scattered to the wind. He'd hoped to finally return home to his mother with grandchildren and a wife in tow, it seemed it was not to be.

Not the least of which was because the last place he had known his mother Ara to be was gone, the scent of a pack long since stale. So that had been that. His quest to try and find his wayward daughter hadn't been successful and his attempt to return to his mother seemed to have also failed. Hymn longed to be gone from Boreas again, his wanderlust stronger now more than ever.

He'd have to find his children and wife again, he didn't want to lose anymore of his family. That was his mission now as he wandered into the foggy forest. If it'd been him and it was his first time in these lands he'd want to explore the almost supernatural forest too.


—  hymn

I gotta whisper
'cause I can't be too loud

Being free from the pull of a pack was a strange feeling for Ara. For years now she had called Fiori home - even when she'd briefly drifted away from the group, she always found her way back to it, finding comfort in the familiar terrain. Those lands were laden with memories; it was a place where she had once found safety and comfort for her wife and sons, but now that both they and the pack were gone, nothing held her there any longer. She'd found comfort in Athena lately, a quiet agreement between the two of them to travel together and eventually find somewhere to settle down. It was a companionship she appreciated, one with no demands and with no expectations - and one she found herself grasping on to more strongly than she'd expected to. Neither of them seemed like wolves that were good at being alone, and the life of a rogue was not something she was meant to settle for. At least if they could settle somewhere, she might feel like a semblance of her formal self.. might feel like someone useful, someone who could contribute, rather than a ghost drifting on the wind. Finding a pack to call home, together, seemed like a natural progression of things. They'd both gone through too much to pretend that either of them could be alone any longer. Ara slipped away from the nook that she and Athena had been nestled in, finding comfort in the quiet solitude of early morning. Though she'd gotten used to traveling with another, she still enjoyed those brief moments of respite away from her companion from time to time. It was easy to find herself lost in her own thoughts then, wrestling with doubts and fears that had plagued her since her wife and sons had disappeared. Her wife, she hoped, was home in Ahlon by now - perhaps there were family there she needed to tend to. It was increasingly harder by the year to convince herself that Novel would ever return to her, and while she didn't worry so much that her mate had found someone else - if she had, she only hoped that she was happy and cared for - but instead she worried something terrible had happened to her. Perhaps she might never know, but it didn't stop her from considering the possibilities regardless. She was so deep in her own mind that a familiar scent almost went ignored by her. Occasionally she saw a glimpse of something she thought she might remember, or caught a scent trail that reminded her of her family; upon further inspection she always noticed it was jut a trick of the mind, so it was hard to give such signs much thought. But as she slipped through the rows of trees, navigating through the dense morning fog slowly, the scent grew stronger, and she wondered if she wasn't imagining things after all. Once she placed the scent to Hymn she felt her heart lurch in her chest. Was it - could it be? Ara had never worried for her sons quite as much for her mate - they'd always been restless souls, wanderers deep down, though they always found her after their travels. But itd been so long that she'd nearly given up hope of seeing them again, and she felt hot tears burn her eyes as she caught hold of the scent and followed it. As soon as she saw Hymn, she swore she felt a sob wrack her chest, rushing forward to wrap her neck around his in a tight embrace. "Hymn, is it really you?" Her head was spinning, and she had to pull back to get a better look at him to make sure she hadn't finally lost her mind.

The barest tinges of a familiar scent played at the man's senses but wrapped in up in his searching for his children Hymn hadn't paid it much notice, not until the pounding of paws fast approaching hit him and he turned in time to see a familiar figure rushing towards him.

And just like that he folded in upon himself, tucking neatly against her as she wrapped herself around him. His tail beat the air and as she pulled away he planted a quick kiss upon her cheek. "It's really me Momma." He spoke softly, he had never quite grown out of calling her that. He closed the gap again, this time he wrapped his neck around hers and placed a lick on her shoulder. "I missed you." He breathed, his deep voice a well of emotion.

There was so much he wanted to ask her, wanted to tell her but for the moment he was more than content to simply exist. "I promise this time I'll stick around."


—  hymn

I gotta whisper
'cause I can't be too loud

The truth was, Ara had been an optimistic sort of wolf as a youngster - always positive and seeing the good in things. Years of unfortunate events had molded her into much more or a realist - the painful memories she held with her each day were too numerous to count. The long period that she'd spent fatherless as a child, when her dad had been taken prisoner by the northern tyrant, to everything that Novel had gone through.. it was hard to stay overly positive about the state of things when she knew how much pain and misfortune existed in the world. Though she hoped and tried to convince herself that her family was alive and well, she no longer believed it like she once had - and so even when she pulled back from Hymn, an expression of stunned surprise painted her features. It was hard to remember how long it'd been since she'd seen him, but she was in awe of how old he looked. Ara remembered her surprise when he'd come home briefly, so many years ago - not all that long after Novel had left for good, after they'd started to settle more permanently in Fiori after wandering the lands together. Her heart ached for those days, but she wouldn't show anything but pure joy at seeing her son again. "I missed you terribly," Ara admitted with no hesitation, taking another moment to press her nose into his scruff and inhale his familiar scent. She'd promised herself she wouldn't get emotional - but his words made tears well up in her eyes. She stood strong, refusing to let them fall.. yet. "I truly hope you do. Things haven't been the same without you around," she admitted gently, knowing she wouldn't fault him if he decided not to. "I.. don't know if you ventured over toward our old packlands, but Fiori is no longer." Maybe he knew, or maybe he had no idea - she searched his face for any sign of acknowledgment or surprise at the news.

While his own mother marveled at the visible age upon his own countenance Hymn felt she looked no different than she had when he had been a pup. It wasn't that he wasn't aware of how old they had both become in their time apart, simply that to him she had always been one of the most beautiful wolves he knew. Which maybe wasn't saying much for the man who seemed to find the beauty in everyone he met but it was the truth, as it always was with him. No amount of age could change the way he saw her.

He simply allowed time to pass as they embraced, content to enjoy their reunion. He only pulled her closer as a response to her answer. Then she spoke of Fiori and he nodded slowly. "I checked for you there first..." He paused for a moment and swung brilliant blues towards her face. "Is there somewhere you're staying or someplace you're planning on going?" He hadn't missed the scent of another Fiori female on her coat, a vaguely familiar smell though he couldn't seem to place a face to it. He didn't ask her the millions of questions he wanted to, he just hoped she had managed to find happiness in whatever form that took.


—  hymn

I gotta whisper
'cause I can't be too loud

Being around Hymn felt remarkably like home - she suspected she'd always feel that way around her boys, no matter where she ended up. She hoped Psalm was doing as well as Hymn, but she supposed only time would tell if she ran into him again. Her expression was soft as she gazed at him, far more a man than a boy now, though it was hard to look at him any other way. He didn't seem surprised by the news, saying he'd searched for her there first. She nodded slowly in understanding, but his question caught her a bit off guard - where was she going? She hadn't truly decided yet. "I'm.. not too sure yet," Ara admitted gently, her gaze still seeking a reaction from him, if any would come. Part of her feared he would be upset with her for not staying in Fiori's lands, despite the years that had passed that had all but proven Novel wasn't coming back. 'I've.. been traveling with a woman named Athena. She was in Fiori for awhile - perhaps you remember her?" She eyed Hymn inquisitively. What she and Athena shared was merely companionship, an unspoken agreement between them that neither of them wanted to be alone any longer. It worked, and she tried not to question it too much. "We have plans to perhaps go north, and enjoy the snow awhile before finding somewhere to settle more permanently, together." Ara shrugged gently, hoping he understood how difficult being alone had been for her. She was too old to do it any longer. "But enough about me. What about my handsome son?" Her grin returned quickly, eyes gleaming playfully. "Where have you been? What have you been up to? Tell me everything!" If as though to prove she had nowhere to be, and wanted to listen so long as he would talk, she plopped down on her haunches on the damp earth and watched him.

Hymn nodded blankly as his mother spoke of herself and Athena. He had vauge memories of a silver woman and her brood of children most alike in color, but he wasn't sure he'd actually met her properly, only a son of hers.

Still he accepted his mother's explanation well enough and as she turned her questioning to him a grin split his face he was eager to tell her the news of her grandchildren. He settled beside her, and began to speak.

"After the last time I returned I wandered for some time, but something kept nagging at me. The last I had heard of Psalm had been him telling me he was choosing to stay with the young woman he had met. Something had happened for him when he met her and despite myself I wanted to find whatever it was as well. As it turned out Boreas didn't really seem to be able to offer it to me. So I left."

He paused, glancing at his mother with a look of guilt."At the time it didn't really occur to me to say anything to you or Mom... And I wish I had... I went where the wind took me, saw many new places, met many new wolves but none of them offered me that spark Psalm seemed to have found.

"Then I met her..."He spoke the word as if saying her name was too painful and so chose to not use it at all.

"She was beautiful and alluring and though I didn't know it at the time broken. In hindsight I know she was pining after another man, she'd allowed me to stick around as long as she did because it boosted her delfated confidence to know someone wanted to be around her.

"Ours was a quick and unease union. She became pregnant and around that time I had become aware of the lack of reciprocation on her part. Still she was the mother of my unborn children and I couldn't abandon her or them.

"In that spring our daughter was born. Canticle Destruction. Around that time I had also met Oria and the two of us had begun to hit it off. Still I was loyal to my daughter and her mother. I don't know what changed, if she grew bored of me or if she had realized how much she was hurting me but one day I returned with food and she told me I was free. That she would raise Canticle til she was a year old when she'd let our daughter chose where she wanted to go. In the meantime I would be free to go where I pleased and meet who I wanted free of obligation.

"I agreed, and though I returned a few times while Canticle was still very young the truth is Oria and I began a dizzying courtship and I was loath to be away from her. I also regret not visiting my daughter more, if I had maybe-" Hymn cut himself off sighing.

"The agreed upon day arrived and I left Oria to visit the den I had left my fledgling family and found it... empty. The scents of my once mate and my daughter were gone... Stale. To this day I don't know if they left together or... Well anything. I wanted to find them, but Oria and I had started talks of starting a family and I knew I could not abandon that chance again.

"A season later our kids were born."He beamed down at his mother, eager to introduce his children to her, even if just in words."A healthy litter of three. Our two sons: Allegro and Octave and our Daughter: Novel, the third of her name."He watched his mother for a moment, curious to see how she'd react to that news.

"We talked and agreed we'd move our family back to Boreas. I wanted to find you and reconnect but we both agreed to wait til the kids were old enough to make the journey themselves. So here we are now. In truth some part of me is also hoping to run into my eldest as well though that has not happened either."

He looked at his mother, giving her some time to process the information he had just dumped on her before speaking again.

"I'll stick around here for a few days then go looking for my children. I'll cycle like that til you decide on where you are going, then I'll call my family together and they can decide what they want to do. I plan to stay with you but I make no mistake in assuming my children will wanna do the same, they may be struck by the same wanderlust I was at their age. Still I want them to meet you at least once."

—  hymn

I gotta whisper
'cause I can't be too loud

Ara wasn't quite sure how to place Hymn's reaction. She hoped he knew well enough that Novel would never be replaced - Ara had, by all means, grown up with the Destruction woman. She had spent years caring for her, protecting her, and raising their two sons together; no amount of time would ever make the importance of those memories lessen. Part of her knew he would understand that she no longer wished to be alone - not when life was so much more meaningful when it was shared with another, regardless of what sort of companionship it was. She was grateful when the topic shifted, though, and Hymn grinned and began his story. He spoke far longer than she expected, and she felt her heart lift as he told her everything, just as she had requested. It was good to hear Psalm had gone somewhere of his own accord, and she hoped he was faring just as well as Hymn. It was somewhat surprising to hear that Hymn had met a woman, and that they'd had children. It was hard to keep the tears from welling in her eyes, though this time they were happy tears. Grandchildren! She'd always hoped for such a thing but had never truly envisioned it; it made her spirits soar, a new passion for life blossoming within her chest. "Oh, Hymn," she breathed, moving to lean in to him again - overwhelmed with the news of grandchildren, and even more thrilled that he intended to move them here, and meet her at least once. "I'd love to meet them, though I won't be offended if they don't decide to stay," she assured him easily, understanding that remaining in once place didn't work for all wolves.. or even most of them, it seemed. Ara was simply happy to meet them, and happier that Hymn seemed inclined on settling down as well. "Will Oria be joining us as well, do you think?" Her smile grew, a touch of playfulness in her gaze - she was eager to meet Hymn's mate and the mother to their children, and found herself hoping he said yes.

Hymn was so happy to see his mother share in his joy, their family had grown in his absense and he had always regretted that she had missed the birth of her own grandchildren but he was glad he could at last share the news. She pushed into him and he gently nosed the top of her head, drawing in her familiar scent. It soothed him to once more find comfort his mother.

Ara asked of his mate and he didn't miss the playful look. He feigned a frown, furrowing his brow and sticking out his lower lips in a mockery of difficult thought. "Well last I checked that was certainly the plan..." He trailed off slightly, the teasing in his tone making it clear that he was certain that they would indeed both be staying with his mother.

His thoughts turned to his children again, and as they did he knew he needed to tell Ara one last thing. "Just in case you run into him without me, there is one thing you should know about Octave." He began, unsure how exactly to proceed, he loved his son obviously but even her sometimes was startled by the boy. "Octave takes after both his blood grandparents." He hated saying it that way, as far as he was concerned his children didn't have a grandfather to speak of, only two wonderful grandmothers but to lie about it wouldn't be helpful either. "Sometimes he's so much like mom I'm blown away. He's driven to help others and he's a meek creature, gentle as a butterfly. He cares so much and I know he'd do mom proud; he knows so much about herbs and the like, even at his age." He paused, his chest swelling with pride for his son. "But to look at him you might miss all that. He takes after him." He emphasized the pronoun. He didn't know if their biological father's name had ever even been uttered around him and he certainly didn't care. The only time they'd ever met Hymn had been much too young to know not to trust the brute and he'd earned a fang pressed to his throat for it. He hadn't said it then but that encounter had given him nightmares for weeks after, and he certainly wouldn't forget what the bastard had looked like. "You'd almost mistake them if it weren't for one particular marking, showing him to be a true destruction, under his right eye." He slowly eased a smile onto his face again, he certainly hadn't wanted to sour his reunion with his mother. "But he's incapable of hurting so much as a fly. He's smart too, much more than I am." He leaned into Ara then, a hint of melancholy in his voice. "They all are... I'd not be surprised to find they all make a name for themselves."


—  hymn

I gotta whisper
'cause I can't be too loud

I just got back from moving, please help me catch up by dropping threads I owe here. <3

Ara rolled her eyes slightly at his sarcastic comment, though her grin only grew. "Well, good. I can't wait to meet her," she responded earnestly, her gaze serious despite the jesting. She was happy he'd found someone to share his life with; hers wouldn't have been complete without someone to share it with, and at least now with one of her sons (and grandchildren) back in her life, she felt much more content. Her expression softened as he continued on, explaining that - though his personality was very similar to Novel's, a thing that warmed her heart - he looked much like him. She nearly cringed at the thought, thankful for the warning though she knew she would get used to it quite quickly. Ara was quick to nod, taking that information to heart while gladly moving on to different matters. "A healer in training, huh?" Her joy was evident at this news; she would love nothing more than to help Octave train, something she knew would've definitely made Novel proud. She truly couldn't wait to meet her grandsons and granddaughter, no matter who they resembled or where their interests might lie; though saying she wasn't particularly excited to meet Octave now would be a lie. "I do hope they do," she admitted with a gentle smile. "Though so long as they are happy, I'll have no complaints."