Every time he returned to the mangroves it felt like he was returning home. It had been nice to be able to make himself an actual den instead of just finding makeshift places to sleep each night. He still traveled a good bit, but he found himself returning here more and more. Valhalla's festival had been an experience he wouldn't forget for a while and the brief trip toward the north had proven to be even more memorable than that. He smiled a little at the thought, but tried not to linger on it for too long. He had no way of knowing if he would even see that woman again even though he slightly hoped he would. Pushing the thought out of his mind, he began to make his way to where he had made his den just as the late afternoon sun began shift into evening. The soft sound of the streams that wound through the dense forest trees added a familiar ambiance around him and slowly the lovely glow the mangroves provided began to emerge and show the true beauty of this place. One day he would make this into a proper home where he could gather the wolves he cared for. One day he would make a real mark here... Before the thought fully processed through his brain, a startlingly familiar scent happened to catch his attention and he stopped in his tracks. He began to look around with concern in his expression, his ears flicking uncertainly. "Meme?" he called out, walking slowly as he began to search around the thickly forested mangroves for his niece. What would she be doing here on her own? Meme?!" "Talk"

The female had been following after her mother's scent. She knew her uncle and mother had a fight... a bad one... and since then Philomena had not been herself. Even less of herself than she had been before. She had all but practically avoided her daughter... and then, one night, just stole away into the stillness of the dark. If the youth hadn't woken up to hear the woman shuffling, leaving the den, then she would have never even known Philly had left.

Memento Mori had done her best to track her mother down and see why she was leaving... but Philomena always seemed to be ahead of her. Now she had lost the trail and the young female was lost... heartbroken as she stood alone among the mangroves. She had followed her mother out this far... but now?

With ears lowered Memento trailed through them, her chest aching heavily as she questioned if she could have done anything to prevent her mother's decision. The promises Philomena made, the thoughts about her father, Pegasus coming home... she questioned it all.

Tears stung her eyes as she let her long mane hang down in front of her eyes. What did she do now?

Then, as if the gods themselves answered her prayers the she-wolf heard a voice.

Ears perked as she lifted her head, sniffling a little as she blinked pale eyes. She wasn't sure she could believe it. Her uncle...? Had he trailed Philly out this way too...?

"Uncle Ulric...?" She called back, voice a bit uncertain.

The voice that called back to him had been all he needed to get him going in the right direction. His head turned toward the sound and he was off immediately, trotting through the mangroves to find her without a second thought. If he had been given the time to think about what was happening he might be able to better guess why she was here, but as it was he was just desperate to find her. Soon enough he did, spotting the tearful young woman with a relieved sigh. It didn't even occur to him that she might not want to see him after how he and Philomena had parted ways and the fight that his niece had witnessed. His only concern was the fact that she was suddenly here and all on her own. Without really thinking about the way that she had last seen him, he hurried toward without hesitation. "Meme! There you are!" he said as he paused in front of her, quickly glancing over her to make sure she wasn't hurt. The tears in her eyes were easily visible and they made his ears fold back with worry. "What's wrong? Are you okay?" His gaze lifted from her for a moment as he scanned the trees around them and tested the air for any other scents that might have accompanied hers that he could have missed in his haste to find her. "Where's your mother and your grandmother?" "Talk"

The yearling, despite how her uncle and mother had last fought, was relieved to see a familiar face as Ulric came towards her. She may not have fully understood the reasoning for the fight but she didn't fault him alone... and she moved closer, pressing her head against his chest as her body gave a small shudder. Both of them had fought, and Memento had known for a while her mother had not been completely well. Maybe the fault had been her mother's... either way she didn't know. What she did know was that Philomena had left... just as her father, Pegasus had.

"Mom... I don't think she's coming back." Her words were heartbroken, spoken softly as she kept close. Her ears remained pinned against her skull as the tears kept coming. "She stopped reallly talking after you guys fought... and then one night she just... up and left. I tried to follow her but... I..." Meme closed her eyes tight.

"She's been hurting for a long time..." Memento said softly. "I always tried to cheer her up, dad and I even decorated the den with flowers... but..." She whimpered, drawing back to look at Ulric.

"I don't know what to do. I don't know how to tell grandmaw, or dad..." She whimpered. "Or even how to get home..." She lowered her gaze. "What do I do...?" She could feel the tears still running down her cheeks as she whimpered out the question.

His whole demeanor crumpled with sadness and concern as his clearly distraught niece pressed her head to his chest. He settled onto his haunches so that he could lift his foreleg and place it gently around her shoulders, letting her press into him if she wished. Once she began to speak and explain how Philomena had disappeared he couldn't help but feel an exhausting amount of guilt and frustration. At this point it wouldn't matter what anyone told him - he was positive that the fight he had caused had been his sister's final tipping point. He felt so guilty in thinking that he could have done more for her and he didn't. However, at the same time, he was so sick to his stomach with frustration over the fact that she couldn't pull herself together or seek out the help she needed so she could care for her remaining daughters. Instead she had let herself sink deeper and deeper... and he had been too blinded by his own anger and desires to see it. When she backed away from him he brought his gaze back down to hers and listened as she questioned what she should do now. "We'll figure it out together," was his immediate response. Seeing her cry like this tore him apart and he knew without a doubt that he would turn the world upside down to find a way to make this better for her. "We'll go back to the falls, we'll find your grandmother and sister, and see if we can find Celestin. We'll figure out what to do after that, alright?" He paused and reached up to gently wipe the tears away from her eyes. "Whatever happens, I'm going to stay with you, okay? I shouldn't have left after that fight... I'm so sorry for leaving you..." His ears folded back as emotion tightened in his throat. He never should have left her. He had seen the state Philomena had been in, he should have known better. A heavy sigh passed his lips and he glanced up toward the evening sky that was well on its way to night. "It's too late to be traveling that kind of distance right now... We'll have to set out in the morning." Only his family could make him completely drop everything and turn his life upside down in order to help them. Looking back to Meme he did his best to pull the smallest smile onto his lips. "I've been staying here for a while so I have den here we can stay in tonight. I'm sure you'll need some dinner too, huh?" "Talk"

Her uncle spoke, stating it was getting too late to travel that distance. She agreed,  sadly, as much as she wanted to get home and find the rest of their family. But realizing he had mentioned "we" made her feel better; at least she wasn't going to be alone. She could feel her worry easing down, at least a little, reassured by the smile her uncle gave.

"Thank you." She sniffled, taking a breath before nosing his shoulder and looking around. The Mangroves didn't seem so big and daunting now… in fact, in the dying light, they even looked pretty!

"I like it here." Memento said softly before looking back to him. To answer his latter question her stomach rumbled and Meme could feel her cheeks start to burn with embarrassment.

"Probably… I can help hunt too, though!" Memento puffed out her chest. "I've been practicing all sorts of stuff!" She stated proudly. Fighting among those things… even if it didn't end too well. She was sure she could find then something to eat!

He smiled when she mentioned that she liked it in the Mangroves. "Good, I'm glad. I like it here too." He looked around at the forest that he had more or less made his home since he had last seen Meme and the rest of his family. "I want to make this a permanent home for us one day," he mentioned as he looked back down at his niece. It had been a lingering desire in the back of his mind for a very, very long time, but now... now they needed it. Finding Meme like this and learning that Philomena had left... It cemented the decision in his mind. His niece needed a proper home and he would give it to her if it was the last thing he did. Ulric grinned a little at the growl of Meme's stomach that answered his question for her. When she went on about how she could hunt too he wanted to assure her that he had food already saved back at the den that should could have, but seeing her chest puff up proudly made him pause. She very clearly had been trying to work on her skills and he wanted to encourage that. If he actually wanted to make sure she was trained and was able to take care of herself then just feeding her wasn't the way to do it. His grin widened and he nodded. "Alright then! Lets catch some dinner then! You take the lead and tell me how I can help." He got to his paws and gave her a little wink as he added, "You can always ask questions too if you have any." "Talk"