Rhythm made herself comfortable on the beach, the sand cushioning her joints perfectly as the ocean lulled her. The old woman was settling into Abaven well, she was becoming more comfortable here and the ache of loss and the missing of those left in Legion(Fireside) was lessening. She enjoyed getting to know her descendants and those who made Abaven home.

Despite her arthritis and the ache in her heart for her niece Rhythm was happy. Her silver flecked lips usually held a soft smile on her maw. There was much to worry about, but the old Destruction had much to worry about as well. She worried most about her son, and the walls built up around him before and after Shaye’s death. She worried heavily about her grandchildren and how they were coping after the loss of their leader and mother.

She sighed heavily as she tried to let the problems roll off her shoulders. There was nothing she could do about the past, all she could do was hope to help with the foundation of the future. She didn’t have much time left and she wanted to offer as much support as she could before her time came as well. Theory was turning into a spectacular leader in the absence of Shaye, but she was still young. Rhythm would offer her advice for as long as she could. Hopefully the pack and their family had a bright future to look forward to, after such devastation and tragedy held them for so long.

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There was always work to be done, Rhyme was slowly getting better but she couldn't let herself slip. She had yet to actually meet the man's mother, though she knew she'd arrived somewhat recently and had spent some time with her son. Samara knew she should probably meet the elderly woman, introduce herself if nothing else. So it was that the tiny Klein woman would set out to try and track Rhythm down.

It wouldn't take too long to find her, her scent was distinctive if not a little familiar to her already, though she didn't smell exactly like Rhyme there was a similarity there that spoke of their familial connection, even if she still carried the traces of another pack. Samara spotted the chocolate woman's form on the beach and she felt a soft smile rising to her lips. Gods she was getting soft.

Samara softly called out her presence to the blind woman. "Greetings." She padded forwards, coming to rest a few feet away from the elderly woman, a friendly but respectful distance. "Rhythm I take it?" She asked. "I'm Samara, do you mind if I join you?" She settled onto her haunches before waiting for an answer.

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Speech

The relationship between herself and her son was still very rocky, but both of them were fully aware of the direction they needed to go. Rhythm would do what she needed to do to soothe Rhyme’s rough relationship with herself. She knew he wasn’t doing it for her, but rather for Shaye. The thought of her niece brought a sharp pain in her chest, she still regretted deeply the end of her life. Taken much too soon the woman should still be here, but if that were the case Rhythm would not be.

She grit her teeth as her mind swirled with emotion, the old woman let out a heavy sigh to release the stress that built within. Relieving her sorrow was a much more difficult action, and she knew that Rhyme was suffering as much or more. Her sad thoughts were disturbed by the sound of a woman’s sweet voice. A quick greeting before approach.

Chocolate ears perked as Rhythm turned her features towards the woman. She had Rhyme’s scent upon her, more obviously than Rhythm had expected. This was no mother of her current grandchildren, and she wondered absently what relationship Rhyme had with her. They were close enough or the woman was high ranking enough, to know who she was. Rhythm’s name fell off her lips and the silver marked elder pulled her lips up in a polite grin despite the sorrow of her thoughts.

”Yes, hello, Samara.” She offered in return with a nod and gesture to allow the tiny woman to take up a place beside her. ”Come and sit with an old woman.” She was curious about Samara’s presence with Rhyme. Was she the one to thank for his recovery? Theory and Poem had told her at length the state their father found himself after losing Shaye. ”Forgive my bluntness, but I’m curious your relationship with Rhyme?” There was only curiosity in her voice, there was no confrontation. She had no real claim on her son, and if Samara was helping him she would only encourage the continuation of his recovery.

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The older woman was sharp, clearly, her old age hadn't slowed her mind any and Samara couldn't help but smile if she ever lived to be a ripe old age she hoped to retain her quick wits if nothing else. Samara chuckled softly at the question Rythmn posed, the question Samara herself couldn't yet answer, though she somehow doubted that her own confused feelings about that question would satisfy the man's own mother. No doubt she had many feelings about his various litters, about the incest that had occurred in one of them...

"To put it plainly I would not be here if not for your son. He found me in a less than comfortable position. I was born abnormally small you see, and while I am more than capable of getting around on my own and taking care of myself, me and long journeys aren't exactly close friends. My limbs cannot sustain prolonged movement, they swell and start to hurt. I usually carry a supply of herbs to handle the pain but this particular day I found myself without." She paused for a moment, wondering if the woman had expected a story from her simple question, but the truth was Samara wasn't sure she could give her a proper answer without one. "Your son found me that day and helped escort me back to Abaven, he was alpha at the time. I stayed for some time to recover and during that time he made sure to check in on me." That was a simple enough answer.

"I'm sure you've heard of your granddaughters dissaperance. I happen to have a sister in these lands who runs another pack, and I thought it might be prudent to use my connection with her to broaden the search for the girl. However shortly after I left the volcano errupted... and well you know what happened then." She wasn't close enough to Shaye or the eldrly woman before her to say much more than that, while she grieved for Rhyme and the children he'd shared with Shaye, Theory in particular, she also didn't have strong enough feelings to really share in their pain.

"On my way back to Abaven I found Rhyme, he was- frankly he was hardly functioning. I've always been a healer and I certainly couldn't leave anyone in that state, let alone the man who'd showed me such kindness." A half-truth... she may have been tempted to leave others like that, but she'd been unable to turn her back on the man... and she knew why but she'd dare not mention it. "I managed to get him aware enough to make the trek back to the packlands. Since then I've been working to try and help him recover, with help from Theory." It was simple enough, true enough even if she was omitting the feelings she'd been developing for the broken man, omitting the nagging feeling they that while she knew he couldn't requite them right now that they may never be.

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Speech

Rhythm listened intently as she was offered a glimpse into the life Rhyme was living without her. After everything he was still good at heart. Samara gave Rhythm quite the explanation of her own life, explaining her diminutive stature and afflictions. Mostly the old woman thought the dainty woman was covering up the real answer and offering up her expectations instead. Rhythm remained silent, nodding slightly here or there as she tried to imagine the situations presented to her.

He saved her and later, when he’d been dealt a blow that he could not overcome on his own, Samara had returned the favor. The way the woman avoided any emotion in the story. Why had she just not said that she had taken to being his nurse, to see through his recovery after the crippling loss? ”So, you fell in love? Rhythm asked, her words unusually blunt but not without their soft grandmotherly amusement. The way she spoke, Rhythm wondered if Rhyme felt the same for her, or if he was just blinded from the fact.

”You must care for him deeply if you would sacrifice so much time tending to him.” Abaven used to be full of healers, surely there was still someone here to take over the task if Samara wished to return to her sister or continue her life. ”He’s getting old though, will it be worth the effort for someone that might not reciprocate your feelings?”

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It turned out for all the respect she felt for the elderly woman Samara had still underestimated her. She felt her wall immediately snap up at the question, it wasn't totally rude but Samara instinctively felt herself want to reject the notion. "I never said that." She muttered, more to herself than the other woman. That defensiveness rose up when Rythmn questioned her about it further.

Samara had to push down her aggression, swallowing the growl bubbling in her throat. "Is love worth anything without the possibility of pain?" Her words here a bit harsher than she meant. Samara took a breath before speaking again,  this time her tones were a bit more controlled. "I'm not a fool, I know what kind of man your son is. The kind of man to have multiple litters with multiple women, one of whom is his own cousin." She watched the elderly woman, surely if she was questioning her like this she had some feelings about her son's less than honorable behaviors. Samara had long moved on from those facts. Rhyme was getting older, yes, and he didn't exactly have a pristine track record, but then neither did she exactly, though she'd never born another man's children she was no maiden, she'd spent ample time warming the beds of men and women alike from a young age. But she'd never been so attached to another wolf outside her family before. And she'd yet to even lay with him.

"Despite all that I've decided to trust my own heart. I know the grave I've dug myself, I'll gladly jump in when it's time." Her tone had an edge to it. "Pardon my asking, but what exactly makes you so concerned for what may or may not happen to me, a total stranger to you, or what your grown adult son does? Especially for someone who's been so absent for so long?" It was partially a bluff and partially a challenge. She had no way of knowing if the woman had seen much of her son before things took a turn for the worse for him but she felt somewhat confident in her assessment. But more than she wanted to put the heat on the other woman, it made her uncomfortable to have to try and justify her choices, especially around Rhyme, she had been self-sufficient for years now and she bristled under the notion that she couldn't look after herself.

Speech

Samara suddenly grew defensive as Rhythm made her observations obvious. She may have been blind but she wasn’t… blind. One silvery brow quirked as she denied those words, but something told her she was hinting on the truth of it all. Rhythm listened as Samara explained herself, but she wondered if it was really towards her for herself. Once they made their return here to Boreas she and Rhyme had mostly gone their separate ways. He’d grasped hold of his freedom like he had deserved those years ago. For so long he’d been a slave his younger self was finally able to escape. Maybe he had made wrong choices, but Rhythm wouldn’t have given up any of her grandchildren.

The Klein woman explained herself, she knew what she was getting into and she was ready for it. Rhythm nodded, but remained quiet for a long moment as the woman returned the question to her. Why did she suddenly care so much about Rhyme and his life? ”Rhyme is a stranger to me,” She admitted softly, her one real regret in life was choosing her loyalty to Valentine over her son. That choice had obviously done so much for her. ”I’d hoped you might give me a glimpse of who he is.” Maybe she did.