Rhyme’s slate marked form stood silently at the edge of the plains, blue and lavender gaze searched the ocean for answers. The wind whipped his fur around violently as the sun beat down over a cloudless sky. Imperia circled above as Solitude perched upon the man’s hips. Summer approached, the pups would be half a year old shortly after the solstice. He sighed softly, pushing down his own strife in life. He had to, the emotions could easily consume him and he had too much at stake to allow it to happen.

”Solitude, will you fetch Shaye for me?” He asked as he looked back over his shoulder at his raven friend. The large alabaster bird tilted his head as he contemplated his cooperation, but ultimately launched himself into the air with little prodding.

Rhyme watched him fly away, the sun’s rays glinting brightly off of the bird’s white feathers. He’d find Shaye quickly, no doubt. Rhyme turned back towards the ocean and watched as Imperia tried her hand at fishing. A nice distraction from the thoughts of Tana, and his pups. Noir, Theory, and Verse were without a mother. Though he was trying his best, Rhyme was not Tana and had a lot to do as alpha.

He wanted to talk about granting the pups more freedom as well, they already toed the line in the rapids. Rhyme was sure all the pups were ready to expand their exploring potential.

Shaye was on border patrol, blowing some steam as she ran the length of the border, occasionally stopping and taking samples of the scents just past her pack lands. Things had been quiet lately, like the world was still waking up from winter. She knew summer wouldnt be far off now, and the thought of her children growing filled her with trepidation. She still needed to speak to Rhyme about beginning Poems official training as heir to the pack. She wanted to mold the girl into a strong leader, and wanted Rhyme to show her the ropes when it came to being a warrior Alpha.

She paused at one point, and observed a speck in the distance. She couldn't make out its form yet, but it was moving in a search pattern across the sky.
The white shape grew clearer the closer it got, and Shaye stopped once she realised the figure moving towards her was Rhymes raven companion. She took a seat and waited a moment for the bird to clear the distance to the border, and in moments the creature was before her. "Guess Rhyme wanya me, eh?" She voices, and rose to her feet as the bird turned and began to head the direction it had come from. She followed after, falling into a tireless lope. The bird was of course faster then her, but it was easy to get the gist of the direction. She arrived a little after the bird, and would find him watching the ocean, where their land fell away to cliff side. She stopped beside him and glanced downwards. She could see his other raven, imperia hunting in the waves. "I see you found the beat view"
She commented, knowing whatever he had summoned her for would come without any promoting.

Solitude was quick in his task, and quickly found and convinced Shaye to follow him back to the border of the cliffs. The white bird took his place on Rhyme’s shoulders, the slate alpha had coiled his haunches to seat himself at the ledge. The large white bird settle for a moment as he watched Imperia and her fishing game, before deciding to join his mate.

Rhyme shifted slightly to watch Shaye as she appeared before him. She commented on the view and he managed a quick nod. The view, however nice, was not what he brought her to him for. ”I’ll go ahead and start with the difficult topic.” He started slowly while his blue and lavender gaze shifted from Shaye to the horizon. ”Tana.. is all but gone. I haven’t seen her, the kids…” He sighed heavily, his features shifting to the ground as he picked over his next words. ”Haven’t seen her either.” The tone of his voice said everything his words didn’t. Verse, Theory, and Noir were missing their mom. ”I’m really worried how losing her is going to affect them.” At least she had the decency to remain until they were weaned.

These days he hated the fact that Tana had birthed them. She tried to leave them twice, and succeeded on abandoning their children on the third try. He didn’t understand how a mother could so easily leave her kids, and without even a goodbye.

He would give a bare nod at her observation, before moving on the matter if why he brought her here. That told her a lot about his concerns, Skipping the banter as he did. She took a seat and looked at him, attentive and silent as he spoke. He would go on the conversation of Tana, and she sighed softly. This was her failure as well, Tana wasnt well in the head, and Shaye should have done more to reach out to her, to help her. She knew the woman had tried to abandon her children multiple times, so it shouldn't surprise her when she finally did exactly that. It did sadden her, and her mixed feeling moved together in her gut. Guilt, because a part of her had never liked the woman for having a piece of Rhyme. Guilt because she didnt know if her responses where in part because of this, or fully because of the way she had treated her children.
Also annoyance and resignation, with a touch of sadness at the knowledge that they had failed her.

"I see" she said after a moment, pushing past her feelings so she could consider his words. "We could.. start their official training, perhaps." She said the words as she thought them. "It would give them adult companionship and keep them occupied well they adjusted. What do you think? I've considered giving Noir a warrior apprenticeship, Theory a diplatmic one, and Verse as a healer. Of course, the final choice is theres, but from what ive observed of them that's where I believe they would fit" Noir worried her with his bullheadedness and his lack of compassion. If she had anyone train him it would be Odessey, the warrior healer would be able to reign him in. Verse she would consider giving to Epithaph, she believed that would be good for the both of them. Theory she would take herself. It just depended on what course Rhyme wanted to take with them.

Shaye seemed just as troubled as he did when it came to Tana’s disappearance. Her gaze grew distant as she thought over his words, they were received as well as they came. Rhyme hated that his pups were without a mother. They were getting older now though, which was the only high point. ”I see, we could start their official training, perhaps.” Rhyme perked and let his gaze rest of her features as he listened to the rest of her speech.

”I think it certainly would help. They’ll be excited to start real lessons.” Shaye’s assessment of his pups was mostly correct, but. ”Verse may follow Theory’s interest more than.. her mother’s.” He looked away, wondering if his tiny daughter would take up healing. She had been so interested in fighting, but now.. he didn’t know if he wanted to let her down that path. ”We will have to be careful about who we assign Noir to, one of the more experienced warriors certainly.” He mentioned softly, ”Theory seems to idolize you,” he chuckled softly at that. ”What about Poem and Motif?”

She paused, regret in her face at rhymes words. She hated to disappoint him, but... "diplomats need some fighting skills as well as the ability to travel vast distances and spend a lot of time alone. I'm sorry, I dont think she would be able to become one." She explained. Not with her health problems. It was all too easy to imagine her collapsing on her own, in the middle of nowhere. She would never be a fighter, she would lose her breath or have a fit in any match. It would be very easy to take advantage of a wolf like that in truth, she didnt have very many options for her future. If she didnt wish to be a healer, then shaye wasnt sure what she could offer her.

"As for Noir, I was thinking Odessey." She actually couldn't think if anybody else who might be able to reign in the strong headed boy. "I would take on Theory, and train her with Poem, since a diplomat would need similar skills... Motif hasnt got the same drive as her sister. I was thinking of offering her a diverse education and seeing what sticks." Her words where trailed off, and it was clear she was lost in her thoughts for a moment. "I'm placing Poem into the rank of Heir, I cant think of anyone better suited"

Rhyme felt himself bristle as Shaye denied the opportunity for Verse to learn what she wished. He already hated that he had to put a damper on her fighting training, but he knew that outside boundaries were just as detrimental as internal. He didn’t want to impose any limitations of Verse, she could do anything if she put her mind to it. Rhyme felt that way about all of his kids. He decided not to fight her on it now. When they got around to telling the pups they’d have another conversation about Verse.

She wanted to place Noir with Odysseus, which Rhyme couldn’t argue with that placement. The experienced fighter was patient and powerful. Two traits needed when dealing with his son. Theory and Poem would train together under Shaye, and Motif would be taught be everyone until she decided where she wanted to study long term. Poem would be placed in position of heir.

Their daughter did seem to be the best fit for now, and he would feel a tug of pride at how much she was growing. ”We will have to talk with all of them, make sure the mentors are prepared to take on their apprentices. The pups will be ready moments after we tell them. I’m sure all of them are looking forward to newfound freedom. We will see how well they handle their responsibilities.”

He bristled at her words, and she was glad he didn’t protest then and there. She wouldn’t be easily convinced that Verse would be able to take on the duties needed for that position. If she could prove herself capable, and that her condition was manageable, Shaye would consider it. But in truth, Shaye did not think this would happen, making it a moot point.

Everything else she stated, Rhyme seemed to agree with. “Sounds about right” she said with a laugh, letting herself get distracted from her thoughts on Verse. “If you talk to Ody, I’ll talk to Epitaph” she suggested. She knew the man had been hesitant when she had first mentioned him taking on an apprentice. Now she wanted to give him two… but she knew he would be up for the job. He was wonderful with children, and she knew he could do so much.

“How they handle this freedom will determine how much more we grant them, I imagine there will be training-related reasons for them to to be escorted out of the pack lands ever now and then” she commented thoughtfully.

Shaye managed to chuckle softly despite the rough topic. Rhyme might have been protective, but he wanted his kids to be self-sufficient. Verse may have been born with disabilities, but Rhyme was there to help her get past them. He wanted her to think she could do whatever she dreamed of as long as she worked for it. Shaye gave him his assignment: speak with Odysseues. Rhyme wasn’t sure about what words they might share, he hadn’t talked to him since before the debacle at the battlefield. Rhyme pushed the thoughts away. It didn’t matter, they were still pack mates.

”They’re growing up too fast,” he told her as he mused softly. It seemed like just yesterday they were little fuzzy beans at the side of their mothers. Eyes and ears still closed to the world. They still retained much of their innocence, but it didn’t match the state they’d been in as newborns. Before they knew it they’d be yearlings. The thought was oddly horrifying, they were his babies and he wasn’t ready for them to grow up.

She looked to her Alpha partner, her eyes kind, and a little sad. They had a great deal of history together, and no matter how that dynamic might change, she knew she could always rely on him. If things had been just a little bit different.. But alas, things where the way they where. It was for this that the thought had come unbidden to her in the first place. The idea was potentially terrible, and she couldn’t see it as being received well, and yet she had it anyway. “If they ever need female guidance, any of your children can come to me. I know I’m not the mother of the three, but they are children of Abaven, they are your children, so I will always love and look out for them.” she told him gently, unable to fully form the words as they had come to her. She would step in as their mother, if they needed her. She wondered if any of them blamed her for Tana’s absence, and they were old enough now to likely hate the idea, still, it was there, and she spoken a small part of it to Rhyme, letting him know where she stood. Noir, Verse and Theory might not be hers, but they were a part of her life, and she felt the desire to let him know. "Speech"

He couldn’t help but watch her as she looked upon him with a sad kindness. Rhyme’s lips pulled back softly into the semblance of a smile. Being with Shaye had become a bit more easy now that things were starting to settle down a bit. Abaven was slowly coming into balance and it felt good knowing they had found the right track. They might have disagreed fiercy from time to time, but at the end of the day Shaye was the wolf he could trust the most. The only adult he could really truly count on in his life. He would always love her.

Rhyme’s vow replayed in his head, all the promises he made to those he loved seem to crumble in his paws. He’d been made to eat his own words too many time. Promises not kept returned to haunt him frequently.

As he watched Shaye her words would come as a surprise as she offered to be there for his other three children. He knew Theory looked up to Shaye, Noir seemed… indifferent at best, and Verse seemed afraid of her.

“..I will always love and look out for them.”

His lips pulled further back into a smile, glad to hear that she would happily delve so deeply into his kids lives. If they wanted her that was. ”It’s good to hear that Shaye, I’m.. so concerned for them.” He finally tore his gaze away from her. ”More freedom, and having a mentor to also look out for them will be good for them.” None of this would replace their mother, but hopefully the sting wouldn’t be as bad.