The kids had been on her mind a lot lately. After learning about the Abraxas occupation that happened in Corvus' youth, she was intent on making their childhood as stress free and memorable as possible. The odds were already stacked against her. So much loss... Theo tried to shake it off. She'd experienced loss and she had turned out just fine. Right? Maybe. Regardless, she wanted to try and create good memories in the wake of confusion caused by the eruption.

Theo lifted her head and called for Desolate and any of the other wayward children of Abaven. It was never too early to start training, especially if she could figure out a way to make it fun. Just regular sparring often bored her, even now. How could she explain it to a younger wolf so that they still found it engaging? Maybe a game of tag. Anything was more fun than "dodge this," "attack here." Settling in to wait for her pupil(s), Theory sat down and stared out over the relatively calm waters of the bay. The tide was coming in quietly, each wave lapping higher than the last. There was a brilliant summer sun shining above. This is a good day. We are going to have more good days.

Desolate heard Theory's call and for a long moment considered ignoring it. After all, he had no father and his mother was gone. Who would really punish him if he decided he didn't want to listen to the rules? Unfortunately the summons were from the alpha herself, and Des didn't need a parent to teach him that it wasn't wise to ignore the word of the alpha. He padded through towards the bay, catching sight of the young leader as she stood out and watched the waves beat against the shore. Rhyme taught him to fish once, maybe Theory was calling for something equally as fun.

He moved in closer, his puppy paws barely sinking into the sand. Her back was to him, so he called out to her. "I'm here." Typical of the boy, there was attitude in his tone though he didn't intend it. Sometimes his emotions got away from him and he couldn't quite understand why. "What are we doing here?" It wasn't often the alpha called for him, though certainly she had a good reason for tearing him away from his rabbit hunting.

His attitude didn't surprise her. All Theory felt was a deep sadness at his snippy tone. He hadn't chosen to be brought up like this and he was suffering because of it. "I wanted to ask how you were feeling," Theory said, turning to him and leaving the ocean behind her. The sound of the waves created a calming background loop that she hoped would set the tone for their talk. She was hoping to wrap up a fighting lesson in here somewhere; with any luck it would capture his interest. Maybe if he could venture a little bit deeper into the hows and whys of his feelings, they might uncover something useful to help them train. Theo knew from experience that it was hard to fight effectively when your mind was fueled by rage or anger. "Do you like the bay?" It was one of her own personal places of reflection, halfway between their mainland homeland and the islands they'd spent the last few seasons on.

Desolate plopped his rear into the sand as the alpha spoke, averting his gaze from her to look down at his paws. It was an odd question, and the boy didn't have an easy answer to give. Abaven was home to wolves who needed protection, a place of sanctuary where the strong protected the weak and all were welcome and looked after. Although nothing against him had been said, the young Destruction worried that without a mother or father to keep him here, that his attitude would cause him to be ejected from the pack.

"OK I guess." He answered with a small shrug of his shoulders. She directed his focus towards the bay, and Desolate's head lifted to look out upon it as if something had changed about the water the last time he'd seen it. He spent a moment letting his gaze linger, before shrugging once more and turning his head away. "It's good for swimming and fishing." He lied. In truth, he hated the water. It was water that had landlocked him and the rest of Abaven on the island for a season, and if Desolate had anything to say about it he'd never step foot in the bay again.

He was short and to the point. Theory saw how he wouldn't meet her gaze and felt herself both saddened and frustrated by the fact. He was cared for, deeply, but she didn't know how to show it. Bringing kids up was much, much harder than she had thought. Theo had a newfound respect for her father, rearing his twin litters as he did. "It is good for both of those things," she replied, trying to encourage him. There was definitely some pent up emotion there, a sensitivity like a newly healed wound. Painful to the touch. "Have you been keeping up with your training?" Theo added, trying to turn the subject back to Desolate. Never mind the pack lands. Just because she loved them didn't mean that anyone else would. Her brother had taught her that well enough. Even if you were born here, you didn't have to like it.

"Just sparring? Or have you learned anything more interesting...?" Brander was an expert crafter. She wanted to learn more from him, but between the change of the seasons and return to their homeland, there just hadn't been time. Theo had picked up some tricks of her own, though. If Desolate was willing to learn she'd gladly teach him. Fighting wasn't only about sparring endlessly - Corvus and Twig had taught her that. You had to keep things interesting if you were going to keep learning and develop deeper, more thoughtful tactics.

Desolate ignored her agreement about the bay, hearing the encouragement in her voice but finding it hard to react to properly. It didn't take long for her to shift the line of questioning to his training, and the pup looked up at her with more interest with the topic. "I was, but I kind of stopped." He admitted. As a young pup he yearned to grow big and strong, to become a skilled fighter like many of his Destruction family and to be able to one day make his mom feel safe forever. Once Eulogy vanished however, much of his drive to improve himself went with her.

He looked up at her with veiled confusion, wondering why she'd think that his training was advancing. "I don't have anyone to spar with." He responded simply. He had no mentor, none of his siblings were quite.. playful. He had no parents to look up to, and his mother hadn't introduced him to many pack members. Without her guidance he found it awkward to reach out to the other Abavenites. How did they look at him and his brothers? Probably as sad orphans, and he didn't want to open that can of pity. "I kind of just try to catch rabbits. It's more hunting I guess, but it's the close I can get to fighting." Regardless of the fact that he'd never caught a rabbit, the skills needed to run down and kill a prey animal surely translated to fighting skill, right?

Theory had been distracted enough with keeping the pack together through their relocation and subsequent return to the mainland. She hadn't realized how much of the puppies' lives had passed by right before her eyes. Their unusual circumstances and her abrupt promotion to leadership meant that their training had gone overlooked. Theo bit her lip and sighed. "I'm sorry for that," she replied. He was old enough to understand, right? She'd made the mistake of treating children like they were something to be babied and talked down to before. That certainly didn't work, and it wasn't how she had wanted to be talked to at that age. But how much information was too much? He wasn't an adult either, even if he bore the sadness of one. "You've done a good job on your own. Chasing rabbits will definitely help your stamina." She looked up to the sky, trying to decide what was appropriate.

Finally, she decided on a version of the truth without some of the gory details. He was intuitive - he had to know, on some level, that she'd had her paws full since Shaye's death. "But it's my fault you haven't had anyone to train you. It's my responsibility as alpha to make sure everyone has something to do that helps the pack and betters themselves - so, Desolate, may I be your mentor?" She asked, peering into his bi-colored eyes. He could still decline. That'd be just fine, wouldn't hurt her feelings at all. Not even a little.

Desolate shrugged his small shoulders at his alpha's apology, feeling more then a little guilt at her words. He sure didn't think it was her responsibility to make sure each pack member had stuff to learn and do - an alpha kept their wolves safe and fed, and that was a big enough job without her feeling she needed to make sure the orphaned pups were developing well. He met her gaze - just to make sure there was no amusement or fakeness at his expense there - and then nodded slowly. "I'd like that a lot. When do we start?" The pup asked her, thinking of Rhyme and how not long ago he'd wanted to be just like the titanic beta. What had happened to him that made him forget about his nephews? Whatever it was, his uncle had changed dramatically since the volcano.

He swallowed hard, gaze falling off of Theory back towards his paws as he deliberated. Finally, he managed to mumble out his thoughts. "Could - could I sleep with you, too?" It was a hard question for Desolate to ask, but the longer his mother went without coming home the harder it was to sleep without her. His siblings were good company, but somehow having them there and not Eulogy made the den feel empty.

"We start right now!" she said happily, her ears flicking forward and small tail stretching upwards. Theory was relieved that he had agreed - she wasn't ready to admit to herself just how important it was that he liked her and felt safe with her. She wanted to provide the same shelter that Shaye had provided to her after Tana's death, even if Eulogy was only... missing. Her aunt was a kind woman, but she'd always been a bit scattered and withdrawn. Timid. Just like her own mother. It was impossible to ignore the similarities even if she didn't want to see them. When Desolate asked if he could sleep in her den, her heart just about dropped out of her body. All at once she herself, just after Tana's death, standing and bawling before Shaye: "Can I stay with you?" His words almost brought tears to her eyes but she blinked them back furiously. "Yes, yes, of course," she babbled. "My den is in the plains tucked behind a hillock of grass. I'm sure you know where it is, but I'll show you where you can make yourself at home after we do a little training."

Training, training... After such an emotional experience, Theo wanted to keep it light. For both of their sakes. Training could look like a lot of things, right? Dipping down deep into a play bow and wiggling her little tail, Theory reached forward to touch Des with her nose. "Tag! You're it!" The young alpha sprinted away towards the shoreline, stopping once she was ankle deep in the water and looking back at him. "Come on, training starts now!" Running across the sand, wet and dry, would help get him used to different terrains... or whatever. The efficacy of her idea didn't matter so much as the principal of it. Theory wanted to him to relax and smile for once.

Desolate's head hung as he awaited his alpha's response, his small heart beating furiously in his chest. If she said no, he'd be more than just a boy without a mother or father; he'd be a pup rejected by the remaining members of his family too. He didn't let himself hope for her acceptance, though when her response came across to him his head shot up. There was no hesitance to her words and nothing in her tone to make him think she was only joking, and Desolate's tail began to beat against the sand. He absorbed her answer, feeling happiness swell in his chest as he pictured himself returning home to his cousin's den. "Okay, yeah." While his body language spoke of excitement, his words were still rather neutral. An upbeat tone did not come naturally to the boy.

His alpha fell into a play bow, and even with her unnaturally short tail he could see the faint wag behind her. Her nose booped his and he huffed a startled sneeze in surprise, a smile tugging at his lips. She tore away and he found it easy to follow her. "Wait for me!" The sand was a terrain he wasn't used to, it ate at his paws and interfered with his steps. Every few feet he'd lose the rhythm and give a small hop to keep himself upright. By the time he'd reached the waters edge his chest was rising and falling with heavy and excited breaths.

Theory was standing in the water and Desolate paused at the edge of the sand. Bi-colored gaze scrutinized the way it moved around her ankles then shifted to glance up at her face. "Do we gotta train in there?" He asked after a moment, his hesitance clear. The pup had sworn off the bay, blamed it for the season Abaven spent locked on an island. He hated it more then he'd hated the volcano. "I can't swim." It wasn't a lie, Desolate couldn't swim and didn't intend on learning anytime soon.

"Hmm... the answer is definitely yes if you find yourself uncertain. Fighting will often put you in new and uncomfortable situations - you have to push past that feeling to succeed," Theo replied, wagging her tail slowly. The words felt strange coming from her mouth at first but once they had all tumbled out, she knew they were true. Rhyme and Twig and Corvus had all taught her plenty. Fighting was something she knew plenty about and she wanted to make sure Desolate felt confident. "We won't go deep today. Not enough for you to really swim. Besides, it's hot!" She teased. "The water will good. Let's go for a run, you still haven't caught me," she added in a sing-song voice. "Once you catch me we can get out of the water!" And "training" will be done for today. One of her favorite things to do lately was take a nap in the sun. After they'd worn themselves out - or after Des was tired enough - they could curl up on the warm sand. Theo looked over her shoulder and trotted a few steps forward, splashing through the shallowest part of the tide. Once he gave chase she'd pick up the speed just enough that he might find it challenging.

Desolate squinted down suspiciously at the water then back up at his alpha with a soft exasperated sigh. "Okay. It is hot out." He relented, still unsure. For anyone else he was sure he'd not feel forced into the bay, but he desperately wished to make his new mentor proud. Small paws lifted high and slow with each step he took into the water as if he was stepping through chemical waste rather than the ocean. Once he neared her the alpha was off again, and Desolate managed a displeased grunt before attempting to give chase.

The resistance of the water - even in the shallows - interfered with his run and he found he had to use much more effort to cut through it then he was used to. His head and neck craned forward as he pushed himself to chase her, his tail lifting to try and give him some form of balance. Desolate seemed to get the rhythm, but just as he grew nearer to the yearling his foot caught on something below the water. He tumbled forward and his head disappeared under the surface. After a few moments he resurfaced, a wad of wet sand sliding down his muzzle. "Are you sure this is training?" The pup asked, lifting a paw to brush off the gunk. He did his best to be good-natured about it - to contain the anger that always seemed to be within him - and flicked the wet and sandy paw in Theory's direction to throw the goop towards her.

"Yep, it's training!" She called over her shoulder, turning to look back at him. Just as she turned she got hit in the face with a thick wad of wet sand. Theory feigned a very-astonished gasp and widened her eyes theatrically. "Did you just assault the alpha?!" she said, mock-serious. Theory play bowed down in the water and splashed about. It felt good to play around for once! She had spent so much of her young life being sad and then being very, very determined. There were moments of play, but looking back, they had been few and far between. She laughed and pounced towards Desolate, aiming to splash him with a wave of water. "Are you going to defend your honor?" she teased, her ears pricked and bobtail wagging. Maybe she could get him to spar in the shallows. Nothing like a little roll in the water to overcome your fears of swimming!