The old woman made her way to the beachside, it was a beautiful fall day. Life continued on, and surprising enough to her Rhythm was as well. She was an ancient wolf, there were few she knew that reached such an age. Valentine being the main one, but even he was slightly younger than she was. The thought of him tugged at her heart but she pushed the pain away. They had once been deeply in love, but life had different plans. Rhythm couldn’t deny her happiness here in Abaven.

She sighed softly as she lowered herself onto the sand comfortably. Despite the turmoil in life she still wore a smile on her silver marked muzzle. An idea had wormed its way into her head and today she decided to act upon it. Rhythm lifted her head and called out for the youth of Abaven. Any who wished to learn from the ancient woman were welcome.

Poem was quick to answer her grandmother’s call. She spent a lot of time with her these days, her presence helped to make her feel closer to her mother. Shaye was gone, but her grandmother remained. She relied heavily on her for emotional support as she continued to mourn the loss of her mother. Poem knew that she would spend the rest of her life missing her and wished that she was still here. Poem wouldn’t be able to have her mother beside her when she started her own family, she wouldn’t have her to explain the changes she would go through as she was brought fully into womanhood.

She grit her teeth as sorrow tried to claim her and she blinked away the tears as she craved Shaye’s presence. White paws carried her to the clearing where Rhythm reclined and with no hesitation she closed the distance between them. ”Grandmother,” She whispered lovingly as she pressed her head into her thick chocolate fur. Just barely she’d with hold her tears as she lowered herself in front of the ancient woman. ”Are you holding a lesson today?”

Although she was kept busy by the day-to-day running of the pack, Theory wanted to spend more time with Rhythm while the old woman still walked this earth. She was surprisingly hardy for her age and Theory hoped that she'd be around for some time to share her wisdom. It was half selfish and half because she wasn't sure Rhyme could cope with another loss, even though he was more estranged from his mother than she'd originally thought. The choice to answer her call was a simple one. Diverting her path, Theory made her way towards Rhythm, pleasantly surprised to see Poem also present. Her sister had been crying again. Even if she didn't admit her, Theo could see the dark, damp tracks beneath her eyes. Pity didn't have a place in their relationship, so she simply nudged Poem affectionately and took a seat close to her sister. "Good afternoon, grandmother. What have you called for?" She hoped it was for a story. Theo was itching to learn more about her roots.

Spirit wasn't sure where to begin in attempting to reintegrate into Abaven. Some of his siblings had seemed simply grateful for his return, while others seemed as detached and wary as he'd feared they would be. He was determined to make amends, to somehow prove his worth, and lastly to prove that he hadn't ever intended on abandoning them. He'd just been a child then, and now he was grown... though he felt no less sure of anything than he had back then. Starting to interact with the rest of the pack was a good idea, right? His siblings had a right to their feelings, but that didn't mean he'd hide away forever, as pleasant as that idea sometimes sounded. A call, from an older member of the pack that he recognized but didn't truly know, aroused his interest. A lesson? Spirit knew he had so much to learn still, and as terrifying as the thought of being surrounded by other wolves was, he was more determined than afraid. Well, at least he hoped that was the case. Nearly dragging his paws the entire way, he finally made his way to the beach. He was so nervous he was practically shaking, but he tried to take measured breaths and focus on his own breathing rather than his surroundings. At least Theory had been nice to him, and she was here, which comforted him slightly. Not knowing where to stand, he moved to sit a few feet away from her, silent as he waited patiently.

Poem was quick to make her way to Rhythm’s call, the girl never seemed to be very far away. The old woman offered her a grin as she greeted her and made herself comfortable after offering a bit of affection. ”Hello, Poem.” She returned sweetly, ”I am..” she trailed off as pawsteps betrayed the next arrival, the young Alpha of the ancient pack. Rhythm grinned as Theory came and settled close beside them. She didn’t get to Theo’s similar question when the third yearling appeared. One of eulogy’s. He was quiet as he sidled in a little off to the side of the two close sisters.

”Theory,” she offered warmly as her unseeing gaze shifted to the young one. She couldn’t see him but she managed to assume his identity based on his scent. Still slightly different from that of Abaven from his time away. ”Spirit.” She greeted warmly, smiling sweetly at her grandchildren. ”Yes, my dears a lesson today.” Rhythm was a little sad not to see more of Abaven’s youth but a small intimate group would be just as well. ”Have any of you heard of the pack called Ahlon?" She asked softly, silver marked ears perked and unseeing eyes flicking between the three of them. ”Or heard the name Novel Destruction?”

Theory settled in for the lesson. As Rhythm acknowledged her, she leaned forward and gave her grandmother a gentle touch on the cheek to let her know that she was ready to listen. Absently she wondered at how the world might feel if she could no longer see it. It didn't seem to bother her grandmother at all, but Theo supposed that she'd had some time to acclimate herself. As her lesson began, the young alpha tilted her head to the side and considered her words. "No, I can't say that I have," she said. Novel sounded familiar, but only due to the namesake that had left Abaven after receiving devastating burns from the wildfire. Theo still wished that she might have stayed, but she couldn't blame her for trying to find peace in a place that didn't remind her of pain.

His mind drifted as he sat and waited, avoiding eye contact with anyone, though his restless gaze occasionally drifted to Theory, who felt more familiar to him than the other wolves did. Rhythm acknowledged him warmly, which eased his nervousness less than he hoped, and he tried to offer her a faint smile in return. He'd been worried that he might feel overwhelmed, but was personally glad that nobody else showed up after him. Dealing with a small group was much easier for him. He'd never heard of Ahlon, nor of Novel Destruction, but that wasn't surprising given how long he'd been away from Abaven.  Theory lucky said the same, so he didn't feel so bad saying no. He shook his head as well, his eyes widening with interest as he allowed himself to focus on Rhythm, ears perked forward toward her.

All three of them were the grandchildren of Rhythm and the old woman greeted them all warmly. Indeed she was preparing for a lesson that day and she was quick to get into her lecture. She started with a question, and much like Theory, Poem hadn’t really heard the names before. ”No, grandmother, I haven’t.” It seemed Spirit felt the same, as he hadn’t said much either. Poem tried to make a note to talk to her cousin more, he seemed timid and unsure, and reminded her of her sister. Motif was blossoming, maybe she could help Spirit too. ”Who was that? And what’s Ahlon?” She asked quietly, urging her grandmother on in their family history lesson. Obviously they were related, but who was Novel?

None of her three grandchildren recognized the names she gave them, not that she was very surprised. They were old and ancient names that didn’t often get spoken these days. So far removed were the Destructions of Boreas that their origins were no longer talked of. That was why she was here though, if she imparted this knowledge now maybe the next generation could treasure their lineage.

”Novel Destruction was my grandmother.” She explained. ”She and your grandfather Dutiron were the leaders of the pack Ahlon. The first Destruction pack in a land called Dimenticato. It’s where I was born and where my mother Lyric ruled.” Rhythm went on to explain her lineage. ”Chord, Motif, Bass, and I all followed after our grandparents to make it to these lands all those years ago. By the time we arrived my aunt Song was ruling over the eastern pack at the time called Ludicael, which was eventually changed to the name Sawtooth.” She offered up her knowledge happily.

”Soon after that was when my brother Bass founded Abaven.” She needed to make some time to speak with Corvus, the boy was one of the only descendants of her sibling. ”Do any of you have any questions?”

Luckily, he wasn't the only one here who didn't know what Ahlon was, nor who Novel was. Briefly he glanced toward Poem, finding some solace that he wasn't the only one who didn't know of Abaven's history. Truthfully there was so much he didn't even know about the present, due to how long he'd been gone, though he wanted to begin to make amends as soon as he felt settled in - he just wasn't sure where to begin. For now though he settled in to focus on the history lesson that Rhythm had in store for them, catching on quickly enough that she was speaking of Abaven's history.

Novel was her grandmother, she explained. They and Dutiron had been the leaders of a pack called Ahlon, in a land called Dimenticato. All names he'd never heard of, but he put those names in the back of his mind, mentally repeating them so he wouldn't forget them easily. The history was interesting in itself, but he was more curious about the lands in which the Destruction family originated. Had it been like the lands he and his mother had explored in their time away, he wondered? "W-what was D-Dimenticato like?" He stutted a quiet question, his desire to learn more the only thing that allowed him to speak clearly at all.

Poem’s dark ears perked forward as she listened to her grandmother’s words as she brought them back to the past. There were a lot of names, but not a whole lotof substance. She wondered how the lesson might be livened. What were these wolves like? Why had they decided to come here all those years ago? Were they buried nearby, could they visit their graves? Could they visit Dimenticato?

She offered Spirit a supportive smile as he asked his question, the same thing on her mind. ”And what were your grandparents like? Your parents?” She asked a bit more curiously. ”What did they look like?” She knew that at one point her grandmother had her colored eyes, and her father did too. Poem took heavily after Rhyme, but Spirit looked a lot like Eulogy and Rhythm.