Desolate waited until the meeting was over, quietly wishing away all the other wolves who had gathered so he could speak to his alpha in private. How could she do this to him? It wasn't fair, Desolate knew he didn't need to learn healing to be a high ranking warrior. None of the other warriors needed to do joint lessons with the person that hurt them the most in the world. He felt like a pup again, wanting to stamp his feet and complain and cry because nothing was going his way. Somehow he managed to maintain composure all the way through the waiting. Though he wanted nothing more then to throw a tantrum at her feet, he approached Theory respectfully and bowed his head to her in greeting. That however was as far as his professionalism could go, and after a long inhale he let his words tumble out in a fast uncensored jumble. "I don't know why you're doing this to me, what did I do wrong? I've been trying to be good and doing my best and now you're punishing me and I don't understand why but it hurts my feelings please take it back." The boy's ears pulled tight to his head, his expression thoroughly betrayed. "Speech" "Thinking" "You."

Theory watched as her pack wolves filed out of the meeting, her heart swelling with pride. They'd overcome so much these past few seasons and it felt good to reward those who'd been able to participate in the recent raid. Of course, everyone had pulled their weight - fighters and nonfighters alike. Eulogy had come home to them along with her last missing son. Their family had begun to stitch itself back together. It was so surprise that Desolate hung back - she'd seen the look of dismay that crossed his face, even though he'd tried desperately to hide it. He had a passing interest in healing, but she knew her assignment might rankle him. He had been having a particularly difficult time with Eulogy's return. The last of Abaven left and Desolate pounced on her, bowing respectfully before all of his words came out in a rough deluge.

"Please believe me, I am not punishing you," Theory said, trying to manage a good measure between soft and stern. Was this what parenting felt like? Oh, fuck. It was really hard. "Do you know what happened to my mother? Not Shaye... Tana." She wasn't sure how much Rhyme had shared about their family history with Eulogy's brood. There was no real reason to differentiate Theory from his other children. With Verse and Noir gone, well, Theo had blended in with Poem and Motif effortlessly. They may as well have been a litter of three. "Tana was in and out of my life, too. There came a time when she left forever. She was killed by a cougar. There's no coming back from that. Des, you have an amazing opportunity here," Theory's voice broke. She had tried to channel her best "mom" voice, but it only worked for so long. No matter what voice she tried to channel, she was barely an adult herself. She was just muddling through it all. "Eulogy came back. My mother never will. I want you to at least give her a chance. Could you do that for me?"