The dark came early in the spring and would slowly start to reach longer and longer as the days went by. It made it easier to hunt while the prey came out from the lowering sun as if they were safe from the wolves. Luckily, Aranea found little joy in a hunt and frankly didn't care to grab a meal unless she had to or rather to help someone else. She walked through the lands of Lirim as the other pack wolves went to their dens and scouted on patrol. It felt weird to her being inside a pack again, she had almost forgotten what it was like. After Tyranis she seemed to follow after the wolves she had known even if it was just acquaintedly. She didn't realize this of course, and perhaps it was her feelings deep inside seeking the help of others. She would never admit. She didn't want to be anyone's burden. She tiptoed through the willows slightly admiring their beauty, not wanting to disturb any of the residents. She ventured not a long way past the den sites and sat just beside on of the weeping trees, emerald valley was hidden behind the longing vines of the trees surrounding her. The lands she could call home were peaceful. A plus that the valley kept her lavender at her disposal. Walk "Talk" Think

It had been at least a week since Araena had been welcomed into the fold and in truth Torin had been doing his best not to dwell on her presence. But he knew he couldn't ignore her... so he knew it was time to check in on her. So it was that he sought her out. Though it felt almost wrong to do so, the truth was he was still mired down in a lot of feelings around the woman, and his grief wasn't helping. But he had to deal with that, he was an alpha now, not the naive boy who'd fallen for her over a simple kiss. Torin tracked her easily, the rest of the pack was beginning to wind down, turning to their dens and she was clearly not interested in following suit. He let out a soft chuffing bark to announce his approach. Though words seemed to be escaping him. "Silent Treatment" & Deep thoughts

The sound of Torin wouldn't frighten her, her head turning slightly towards him but wouldn't linger long before turning back to the weeping trees. She sat there in silence. After a few moments her nose found itself slowly dropping to the ground. She held her breath to not let out a noise or voice towards the man she felt like she no longer knew. Or perhaps it was herself that she could no longer recognize. It seemed like an eternity to her before she let out a sniffle, her gentle held breaths growing shorter and louder through each one. They still weren't loud but Torin would have been able to tell at this point that the silence was broken by her quiet sobs. Tears ran down her face before she let noise out. Her light eyes clenched so tight it seemed like she didn't have eyes anymore. It had been long since she felt emotion like this. Sure she may have not have been jolly and the pain she felt could be seen through her eyes if someone looked long enough. But she tried hard to make herself numb to any kind of feelings outside of her wandering. And though she didn't have strong enough feelings for Torin as she did for Tyranis, for some reason in this moment her heart let her go before him. Walk "Talk" Think

The quiet sound of sobbing reached him and Torin paused for a moment, concern creasing his brow. Then with a few tentative steps, he closed the gap between them. Torin settled beside Araena, simply sitting down without a word. And he stayed that way for a moment, tipping his head up as he considered what to say. Finally when he did speak, his voice as soft, almost hoarse from the emotions he was holding back. "When the volcano erupted my wife and son went missing. I've all but given up on finding them at this point. It's been hard, having to raise my children without her and their brother." He paused, still not looking at her, not wanting to force anything out of the woman. "You don't have to tell me what happened, but I am here if you need it." "Silent Treatment" & Deep thoughts

Aranea would hear Torin, hear his suffering through his voice. And yet, she was selfish. She understood the hardship he was feeling and she knew it wasn't easy what he was going through. But she felt like she had suffered much longer. Not that she blamed anyone but herself. She'd wait a moment in silence as if to pay respects but that wasn't her intention at all. She wanted to speak about what happened to her as much as she didn't want to. She held it in from everyone for so long. The only one who knew of the betrayal was Tyranis himself regardless of those he told. "I- Torin, I-" she broke through tears and hesitation. "I had children nearly five years ago." She paused for a few more seconds, it was so hard for her to get the rest out. If Torin recalled her age it would have come to a surprise to him as she had a teen pregnancy. He may have been able to line up the times they originally met in the timeline and either way it was shortly after their mostly meaningless kiss. "They were taken from me." All to which was true to her, but in reality Nuada's abandonment was her own fault, not to what she remembered. "Their father, he-" She couldn't say anymore, even if it was the ongoing silence that followed. She couldn't even refer to Tyranis as her mate, her lover, or anything worthy of the name. A father even, that wasn't how she would describe him. He left Nuada and took Rain, how could a father make a choice like that even if he had the interest of Aranea herself. She couldn't bring herself to look at him. The embarrassment and the shame she didn't want to express to anyone. Shame for even ignoring Torin's problems in selfishness to her own. Walk "Talk" Think

Torin waited in the silence, he watched the sky, eyes slowly trailing a cloud as it drifted peacefully across the blue expanse as if nothing was going wrong in the world. Finally, Aranea would begin to speak and he tried to remain as neutral in his expressions as possible, not even quirking a brow at her statement of when her pregnancy was though the idea filled him with horror. He hadn't known then, of course, he'd thought himself so grown up but to know she became pregnant sometime soon after they'd met... well it was horrific now. They'd been children really, old enough to be on their own maybe but certainly not ready for that. And of course, he hadn't known, not even when they'd first reunited all those years ago and he'd offered her food. And she too had lost her children, her voice faltering as she mentioned their father, his mind running wild with all the worst sort of assumptions about a man who could do that to any woman. He didn't know of course, what it was that had passed and he wasn't certain he really wanted to. "I'm sorry for your loss." He said softly, gently leaning into her side for a moment, a sign of his support and that if she wanted it he could offer her a shoulder to cry or lean on. Then he straightened again. "If there's anything you need you know I can try my best to help." That was what he could offer if she needed time to grieve he could give it, if she wanted help moving on he'd do his best there too, but he couldn't tell her what she needed, she'd have to come to that conclusion herself. "Silent Treatment" & Deep thoughts

His touch made her shiver and it was enough surprise for her to pick up her sorrow hung head and flick it to face his own eyes. Tears still weld up in her own and old fallen trails were present along her cheeks. He pushed back away from her, just a silent offer of a friend to be there in a time of need, and her heart sank as the feelings that overwhelmed her were forced to be thrown over her shoulder. She wanted to move forward, she wanted to kiss him like she did as a young adolescent, but more. And her eyes filled with a sad desire and longing to do so. But she couldn’t. When he pulled away from her even with the intent to help her, she wanted more and it took all of the little strength she had to not push on. Tyranis had ruined her and she was looking for something to fill the void she kept digging over the past several years. Her eyes dropped again now to look out at the dark trunks and horizon, her sobs no longer gutting out of her. She felt bad for wanting his affection due to a number of things including their past and his worries over his wife and child. And she couldn’t peg him for the man to give that up. They had grown and evolved much since their multiple meetings and she honestly couldn’t even say she knew him much at all.  "I’m sorry too." Not for his family, not for their past, and not for her feelings and behavior now, but all of it combined. It seemed they both had to go through different hardships through their lives that neither could truly understand. But Aranea was there for him just as much as he was for her. And there wouldn’t be much else she could offer him than what he asked. Walk "Talk" Think