Grief had turned Eligos into a creature he could no longer recognize himself in.

Everything that made him who he was - the thoughtful, logical, loyal wolf to whom his family meant everything - had been buried beneath the avalanche of his anger, his hurt, his abandonment, his... his grief, that was all-encompassing. The wolf that was Eligos would never have left his brothers to grieve alone and unsupported. Eligos would never have abandoned them while they met with the rest of the pack to give them the bad news. Eligos would have spent extra time patrolling and meeting with the rest of the pack to make sure that everyone was safe and getting what they needed to heal from their loss.

That was Eligos.

This wolf was a feral thing, wild with grief and rage at the world and the gods who had taken his hero, his father, his everything from him. It had raged through him like a wildfire, burning away everything.

And like a wildfire, when the blaze had faded it left behind nothing but ash. This new Eligos who stood at the temporary borders of his pack was empty and lost, a barren apocalyptic wasteland. He had taken pains to correct the unkempt appearance he'd allowed himself to go to, because that was what was expected of him, but the wolf behind those blood-red eyes was dead and uncaring as he gazed at the ruins of everything he'd ever known. His father was dead. What could possibly matter in the wake of that?

He raised his muzzle and called out softly for his brother. He didn't step within the "boundaries" of the temporary land, staying well outside of it. He had no desire to see any of the rest of the Empire. Though he felt emptied and uncaring, something told him that it would take only a spark to reawaken that conflagration of grief again. Better to... just not care.

A familiar voice calling from the border brought Pyrrhic at a run. Like Felicity, Pyrrhic hadn't seen Eligos since he'd told them of their father's death. They needed their space and Pyrrhic could respect that, and neither were fools so during the relocation process when neither showed up he hadn't worried. They could take care of themselves. But knowing that didn't lessen the relief any when he heard his brother's voice.

Pyrrhic slowed to a walk when Eligos came into view. Seeing his brother again sent a fresh wave of grief rolling over him. His gaze fell to the ground as he fought to rein the sorrow in. After a beat he turned his attention to Eligos and gave his brother a sad smile. He was happy to see him; happy to see he was well and that he hadn't fallen victim to the many natural disasters that now lashed Auster. "You made it," he said with a relieved sigh.

Eligos' jaw clamped down on the expected grief that tumbled over him at the sight of his brother, and for a moment as their eyes met all the grief, the rage, the loss, bled through that gaze before iron control slammed the doors shut on it and the gaze went flat again. He took a breath, let it out, and was able to meet his brother's eyes again when Pyrrhic brought his own gaze back up. "I apologize for any worries my absence may have caused," he said with stiff formality, but softened after a beat. "I am sorry, Pyrrhic. I should have been here to support you." Regardless of his own grief. What would their father have said about him abandoning his siblings - their family - their pack - when they needed him? He gave the briefest little shake of his head to bring himself back to the moment. He tried to return his brother's smile, though it came out as a more grim expression than a smile had any right to be. Risen had been hard enough to ride herd on under his father's firm rule, and he had no doubt that the inevitable chaos of the change in leadership had sent many of them scattering to the four winds like startled cats, even aside from those who had been swallowed by grief as he had. He had to find out how far his brother had gotten in gathering them up once again, see where he would be needed. They couldn't afford a moment of weakness right now. "How bad is it?"

Aureus had forgotten where he was going. He started walking and he just kept on walking, not giving much thought to where he was going. Kali trailed behind in silence, knowing better than to interrupt Aureus. The Abraxas had no idea how to process his grief but at some point he was spurred to motion and set out wandering. He was on his way back when he heard his brother's call in the distance. Eligos? Aureus picked up his pace, navigating carefully through the brush and the runes until he found Eligos and Pyrrhic. He didn't bother with a smile, he just couldn't quite bring his face to contract in such a way. Instead he cleared his throat and walked forward. "I'm glad to see you're well Eligos. Have I missed much?"

Pyrrhic blinked slowly in response to Eligos' formal tone. He hadn't been expecting that and it showed as his smile faltered and then faded. "It's alright," he replied quickly even though he didn't quite believe it in his heart of hearts. "Grief works us over differently. I know that." There was a difference between knowing it and feeling it though; and Pyrrhic knew it intellectually but didn't quite feel it emotionally.

"It's um..." he took a deep breath and let it out in an explosive sigh. "Bad. Basically all of the older ones are gone. Just up and left." Typhon, his mate, Mephistopheles, and on and on. "Or died," he said softly, thinking of Kasdeya and Apollo. "It's just us and some of the yearlings now."

He shook his head angrily and said, "I suppose this is for the best. I know where their allegiance lays now." Bastards, all of them. The only one who had bothered to come to him and tell him about her plans was Felicity. The rest, as far as he was concerned barring a damn good reason for disappearing, could go fuck themselves. The grace period he'd allowed for catching up had end.

Eligos didn't say anything to his brother's assertion that it was alright, and took Aureus' appearance as an excuse to gloss it over completely, because there was a rather uncomfortable feeling that he auspected might, if he actually looked at it, turn out to be guilt. "Aureus," he greeted quietly, meeting his eyes to avoid needing to meet Pyrrhic's identical gaze knowing that the guilt would bloom into being despite Pyrrhic not deigning to accuse. He knew the truth, though - that he had betrayed them by leaving, whatever Pyrrhic may graciously say.

His brother's description of the pack's current situation was sobering by itself, and the change in focus allowed him to cram the inconvenient emotions back down enough to look back at him. It made for grim hearing, though it was what he expected. A frown creased his brow. A pack of yearlings and young adults, abandoned by the elder wolves who had claimed loyalty to them. "We will need to remedy our sutuation before the northern packs take advantage of our weakness, of course," he said slowly. "They had already begun to see us as easy prey, thanks to the actions of our beloved uncle Archon, and will likely not hesitate for long before they strike." He glanced northward, then back to his brothers. "Forgive me for my bluntness. What does the future hold for the Abraxas? What is our plan?"

Eligos greeted him and Aureus couldn't help but feel he'd stumbled into something. Pyrrhic skipped the pleasantries and instead spoke of the absences that Risen had suffered. Most of their older members had left and there had been deaths as well. The most notable to Aureus had been the loss of his mentor Apollo. He kept silent while his twin caught their brother up on the situation. It really was just the three of them now as their sisters had both left.

Aureus nodded as Eligos spoke. They were in a vulnerable situation for sure and as their forefathers had run on a campaign of domination there would no doubt be plenty of wolves seeking revenge. He barely stifled a growl at the mention of their beloved uncle Archon. In his opinion if Archon hadn't been fucking around with his stupid cult then Malleus would have had no reason to call him for a talk. Malleus would not have been at the volcano. Malleus would not have died.

"You ask the big questions, Eligos. I honestly don't know. I barely know what to do with myself but I suppose we need to ask ourselves… do we want to continue our forefathers mission? Right now… right now I wonder if we should forge for ourselves a new path?"

Eligos spoke truth and inwardly Pyrrhic commended him for his ability to think critically in a time like this. He'd been here for a few minutes at best and he already had a better grasp of their situation than Pyrrhic had the first couple weeks of his rule. The far reaching effects of the volcano had been a blessing and a curse as Pyrrhic felt their uncle's allies in the north would have struck by now if not for the natural disasters that continued to thrash the lands. He nodded in agreement and then cringed as Eligos prodded at his plans for the future.

Aureus answered first and unknowingly flung salt into one of Pyrrhic's many emotional wounds. As Pyrrhic was at that moment wrestling with that very question - his bred-in value of duty versus his very mortal-feeling place in the world - he reacted as though bitten. "Abandon our mission?" he snapped angrily as he whirled to face Aureus. "If you think that is what we should do when things are hard then you are no better than those cowards who fled in the dead of night!" The hostile, we-are-gods-among-men mentality that had been hammered into him since birth found the idea of casting away the Abraxas ideals utterly repugnant and blasphemous.

Aureus was quick to respond with what seemed to Eligos to be relief that someone had brought up the subject, and immediately his twin turned on him in fury. "Brothers," he interjected in an attempt to cut off any further fighting, his voice quiet but firm. "If we eat each other, we only do the enemies' work for them." He shifted his gaze calmly between the two of them. "We must keep faith - if not with the Fallen God then at least do not lose faith in each other." He could understand Aureus' doubts. What had the Fallen God ever done for them? Death and misery and nothing more. But forged in the fires of hardship they would emerge the stronger for it. "But the situation has changed from when our father chose his path for the family. It may be that we need to make changes as well." He shrugged eloquently. "I cannot speak for what the Fallen God would wish. I am no priest. But it is not good for the Abraxas to fall to infighting. My thinking is that we need to walk more in the world, to test ourselves more and to earn renown in new ways than we once did. But -" He set his gaze expectantly upon Pyrrhic. "Our father wished you to be his heir, so the decision of what the Abraxas do from here rests with you, if you accept the burden." He tilted his head slightly, eyes suddenly going intensely thoughtful. "Do you accept this burden? I feel like we have only ever assumed you wanted to lead."

Aurues snarled as Pyrrhic turned on him. His hackles raised, but he would not back down, instead seeking to look his brother right in the eye. "Don't posture to me, brother! I seem to recall at the meeting that you told us to consider finding a new leader or else we were done, so don't you dare pretend it hasn't crossed your mind at least once. Now, if you've found some new found conviction please share it." His voice cracked on the please and he bit back tears that were starting to boil hot behind his eyes. "I need to hear it because I've had nothing but doubt this entire past season."

Eligos was swift to step in and Aureus was grateful for it, before his own hot temper caused further damage. Aureus took a deep breath and forced himself to sit. "I'm… I'm sorry, I'm so angry and I just… you're right, turning that anger on family isn't going to help." He sure needed to turn it somewhere, but how could he do so productively? He just didn't know. Instead he listened to Eligos' words.

But the situation has changed from when our father chose his path for the family. It may be that we need to make changes as well.

"Do you have anything in mind?"

Eligos continued to speak and Aureus thought on these words. Walk more in the world? It did seem that Malleus had started laying some groundwork based on diplomacy rather than invasion. Did Eligos mean something along those lines or something new entirely? The dark male turned to Pyrrhic and spoke again and Aureus followed his brother's gaze to Pyrrhic. Pyrrhic was indeed the heir and even if they fought at times he respected his twin and was eager to be given some direction. He'd tried wandering aimlessly but all he'd done is ruminate on what he'd lost. Without intervention there was no telling where he'd end up.

"I SAID," he roared back while up on his toes and leaning forward into the shout, "A TRUE FUCKING ABRAXAS." Seething, he snapped, "Does 'true' mean something different to you, Aureus?" It was right about then that Aureus' own turmoil finally registered with Pyrrhic. His gaze hit the dirt and he fell silent, ashamed. He was shaking in anger and he wanted to leave. The young Emperor couldn't stand having his brothers' eyes on him.

He walked away but continued to listen as Eligos spoke. Eventually he looped back and stopped in roughly the place he'd started. Pyrrhic's jaw worked and he stared hard at the ground. "You're right. I'm sorry too. This last season has been..." At a loss for words he just shook his head. There had been nothing for him but struggle since that day on the mountain.

Pyrrhic's jaw worked as he looked up at Eligos. He wanted to say that no, he didn't want it, but how could he possibly admit that? This was what his dad had wanted, what everyone expected from him. How could he say no? How could he look at any of them? At the meeting it had taken everything he had to just offer the position to someone else and his grief had somehow managed to make it easier. "I..I don't know. No? Dad thought I could do it. So how..." his voice went soft. "How could I say no?" He'd spent a full year training for the position. How could all of that be for nothing? How could he have wasted his father's time? Guilt cemented his gaze to the ground again.

While his brothers had shouted at one another, Eligos had been quietly but carefully inserting himself between them in case one or the other lost control and attacked. It had been a difficult time for them all, and tensions and tempers were running high. It would not be unheard of for that to lead to a physical altercation. But that wasn't something they could afford to indulge right now, and while both the twins were built along heavier lines than he was, he was still taller than either of them and Eligos was confident he could intervene before blood was drawn.

"Father was wise," he said quietly, but firmly. "I do not think he was wrong to have chosen you, Pyrrhic. But he was also wise enough to change as the situation changed. If you felt your duty lay elsewhere, he would not have forced you to lead. He would have found another way. Father isn't here now..." He stopped to brace himself against the choking grief and loss that strangled the words in his throat, and as it ebbed continued. "So it is our duty to decide how to adapt. If that means taking a different path than our father intended, than so be it. Is that not what Father did, when he inherited from Grandfather? If you do not wish to lead, Pyrrhic, we will find another way. Inveniemus viam aut faciemus. Brothers, there is always another way."

Aureus bit back his retort as Eligos spoke but his hackles had yet to fully lay down. He focused his gaze on his dark pelted brother. He couldn't bring himself to look at his twin, he should've realized no one was going to understand his feelings. How the hell was he supposed to process his grief without anyone to really talk it through with? Whatever. He didn't see much of a future for himself and at least with a pack he was well fed. He'd stick around and follow orders but he didn't care about the fallen 'god' one way or another.

Aureus didn't trust himself to speak and so he stayed silent. Eligos' words seemed more directed to Pyrrhic any how. It would be up to his twin to make a decision.

How did Eligos get so wise? Pyrrhic pinched his eyes shut in frustration as he considered his brother's words. His thoughts and feelings were a jumbled mess and he struggled to put them in order. For fear of getting them wrong and honestly not knowing what to say, he stayed quiet and hoped that by fixing on one feeling he could get them all straight and begin to make enough sense that he could not only understand where his head was, but be able to articulate that to Eligos. It was hard. This was a topic he had thought about a lot recently but had been careful to avoid the more painful aspects.

At last Pyrrhic sighed and in doing so opened the floodgates. "You're right. I got so focused on how I thought it should be I lost sight of who we are." They were meant to be adaptable; to be able to flow over the land like water and mold themselves to the shape of it and its inhabitants. If that adaptability didn't extend inwards what was the point of having it? Their father hadn't been so set in his ways, so fixed on how things should be, that he would have pushed him into the role. He would have found a place more suited to Pyrrhic and promoted another more suited to the rank of heir. "He would have wanted us to adapt. The world is changing and with it its inhabitants," he bit his lip, "some more than others."

"In my current frame of mind I don't think I am the kind of leader this pack needs," he admitted at last. "But I don't want to just let us go and no one showed interest in leading at the meeting. So who then if not me? Do I press on and try to make it work? I will if that is what needs to be done, but I feel in the long run I am ill suited to the crown."

Eligos nodded at Pyrrhic's initial statement, then paused. When he had come here, he'd thought that he was simply an empty husk, drained of all caring by the death of his father. It had taken his brothers' own grief and anger to awaken something else in him. He did care. He was neither the creature of rage nor the barren wasteland. But... he was not the Eligos he had been, either. Pyrrhic was right. They had all changed. Some more than others.

He stood between his brothers, touched them both. They were all three of them in pain, scarred, and lost. Left as they were, they would become strangers to one another. The world had already taken his father, his mother, his sisters. He could not lose his brothers and their home to it too.

"I will lead the pack."

Though the low, quiet words came out smoothly and confidently, Eligos had not even known the thought was there until the words stood between them. He had no right to the crown - he had never been a leader, but rather a follower, and he had abandoned them all after Malleus' death. He had always been the one in the background, silent and watching, not the one to take the spotlight and lead. Next to his more outgoing brothers he knew he stacked up poorly. He had no right to think he would be capable of taking care of them all. He'd never even considered the idea, but now that the words were out he probed at the thought.

He was surprised by how much he wanted it.

He lifted his elegant head with a pride the quiet male had rarely shown, blood-red eyes meeting his brothers'. "I am willing to carry that burden, and I would hope that you would think me capable of it," he continued, still surprised at the intensity of how much he wanted it. "Abdicate the pack to me. Allow me to guide the pack in your place." His voice, already a low, quiet rumble, softened further. "Please, Pyrrhic. Let me help you."

Aureus let the silence stretch out. He was used to it after all that time spent on his own and he didn't want to break his brothers train of thought, for he was certain Pyrrhic was thinking hard. He could almost feel the gears in his twins head turning. When at last Pyrr spoke, Aureus found himself nodding in agreement as his brother spoke of adaptability. Aureus had such a set idea of what Risen was, or what he thought it was supposed to be and when they'd suffered the loss of their father suddenly his vision was crushed with it. He hadn't been certain how to move forward after that.

Aureus felt a sting of guilt as his brother spoke on. Part of him felt that he should have stepped up but he had never had an interest in ruling the pack and of the three he felt his faith was the most shaken. He'd be the worst option. His mouth opened, he wanted to speak words of assurance but they dried up in his throat. He could barely reassure himself, what could he say to his brothers? He felt they were so much more focused, so much more mature.

His gaze rested on Eligos as his brother gently touched his shoulder and he stared in surprise as Eligos offered to take on leadership of the pack. "Of course, you're capable Eligos. But, is this something you truly want?" He glanced between Pyrrhic and Eligos, wanting to be sure they had a path forward, daring to hope he might find direction.

"I support both of you, whoever takes the pack. I know I've been a lousy brother, but if you'll permit me, I'd like to make it up to the pack and to you by being here for you."

Pyrrhic looked up to find Eligos' steady gaze on him. The words were unexpected, but not unwelcome. Through this whole exchange, the spat between the twins, the venom and the yelling, Eligos had been a calm, steady presence. Their dark sibling had inserted himself between the two brothers in an effort to keep them from coming to blows and he'd been unafraid of being caught in the crossfire. He'd stayed level-headed and reasonable when his brothers had not. If that wasn't proof enough of his suitability Pyrrhic didn't know what what be. Malleus would have been proud of him.

"Eligos if you are sure it's what you want, Risen is yours." The words brought an immediate sense of relief to the wound-too-tight Emperor. "Look at what you've done here," he said with a small smile. "If you can lead the pack half as well as you handle two roaring jackasses I know you'll make dad proud." His smile faded a bit as Pyrrhic added, "I'll do whatever I can to help you make this transition and I'll serve Risen in whatever capacity you think appropriate."