How long had she been gone? Days had quickly faded into weeks -- storms had ravaged the lands, forcing her into solitude as she frantically searched for shelter. Her memories grew as hazy as the grey skies above, her husband little more than a dull memory. His betrayal had cut her deeply, forcing her to entirely re-think what she thought of as loyalty. Her children were all she had left now; her sister was nowhere to be found, and her brother's fate was still uncertain. The lands she had once known as home, for so many seasons, stunk with the scent of an unfamiliar pack and she had quickly traveled East, feeling a nostalgia that was far too painful to bear in these central lands.

Epiphron was the embodiment of grace even now as she walked, emerging from the dense thicket to see the cliff's sharp drop. Somehow, it reminded her of the ravine where she'd met Maverick, the day her life had changed forever. She couldn't help but wonder how things might be different if she had stayed in Valhalla. Would such a pack still exist? Or was its demise inevitable? She had never been one to believe in fate, but it was easier to pretend that it was something nobody could've prevented. A sigh escaped her pursed lips as her paws carried her further up the slope of the cliff. Her posture was guarded as she moved, glancing cautiously behind her every few minutes, as though half-expecting someone to leap from the shadows. But alas, she was alone, as she had been for so long.


The one thing she needed, that she craved was the presence of her children. Warily she would rest, reclining to her belly, letting her paws dangle over the cliff's edge. Perhaps it was dangerous to be so close to the edge -- what if the land caved in, sending her crashing to the rocks and the water below? Death was something she hadn't been afraid of for some time. After resting for some time, until the sun set well below the horizon and the stars begin to glimmer brilliantly overhead, she would raise her muzzle to the sky and let loose a call. For her children, and for her kin -- any who might happen to be within earshot, who hadn't lost hope in her or in their family.

As his mother did before him, Caeto had decided to climb to the cliffs in an effort to get away. He needed some comfort in these times, it really seemed like he was alone but maybe he did that to himself. Just as he started the ways, he could hear Epiphron's call loud from his distance. His ears only pricked slightly, returning to their natural position and walking a normal pace the rest of the way up. Just as she came to view, Caeto would slow, almost stop, but kept his paws moving until he would stop in front of her. He stood feet away, just giving her this hurt, disgracing expression. She had left him, but he had left her before. Maybe it was calling it even. Caeto didn't want an explanation, maybe he was just truly happy she was here. His face said otherwise, shock still settled to her presence. He wondered if any of his other siblings would come. He didn't want to be the only one here with her. Walk "Talk" Think

There was no mistaking that voice. He had been away from his mother for some time now, but there was still no doubt in his mind that it was her when her howl reached his ears. Luckily he had recently arrived in the east while looking for Caeto so he was already near by and heard her call loud and clear. He turned toward where her voice was coming from and took off at a steady sprint, spotting her ivory form at the edge of the cliff. "Mom!" he called with a smile as he slowed to a halt a foot or so from her, his tail wagging excitedly. He glanced over to his brother, giving him a smile even though he didn't look nearly as excited as Leo himself felt. Leo personally hadn't gained any of the depression or darkness in these last several months like some of his family had. Maybe it was because he had chose to leave and explore when their parents left Seracia and had therefore not realized how often they all had left each other, but really he was just simply excited to be reunited with them at last. "Talk" "You" Think

She was not kept waiting for long. It seemed that one of her sons had already made his way to these lands; what was he here for? What purpose did he have in coming so far East, away from everything they'd once known as home? Slowly she would turn as Caeto's scent flooded her being, sparkling sapphire gaze coming to rest upon him. He was silent, brooding -- he had never hid his emotions well, even when he tried, not from her. There was an obvious look of betrayal on his handsome features; she didn't have it in her heart to laugh, but she felt a vague amusement bubbling up in her chest. If anyone, his father had betrayed them. Maverick had fathered a litter of children with another, something she might never tell them. Not only that, but he had abandoned those children -- as well as the children he had fathered with herself. A slight frown would play at her delicate lips, ears flicking in anticipation. Her left one had been torn nearly half off, a reminder that she was not nearly as infallible as she had once thought. It was an even more strong reminder that blood meant everything. Azalea had been an Adravendi by name, but it was clear that her loyalty had not been with the family.


It was a stark contrast, that one tattered ear, to the rest of her appearance. She was relatively untainted by scars, her pelt a flawless white, gleaming against the light of the moon. Perhaps in the darkness her maimed ear wouldn't even be seen. She held her tongue for a long moment, watching Caeto as he slowly approached, noting the distance that he was careful to hold.
"Caeto..." she would breathe softly, her voice little more than a whisper, carried by the gentle night breeze.


A sigh of relief would sound as the scent of another son reached her nose. It seemed she had found a streak of luck today. Her gaze would shift, searching for Leo in the distance. "Leo," she greeted him warmly, a slight smile pulling at the corners of her lips, forcing away the slight frown that had begun to overtake her expression. "My sons." Despite the soft tone, her words were heavy with feeling and longing. Epiphron had missed them; they were nearly all she had left now. Slowly she would rise to all fours, moving to embrace Leo, inviting Caeto in with a gentle flick of her tail.

She?d caught the faint scent of her mother as she walked alone through the lands, interested she would follow the scent. She knew not what had happened to her mother after they?d parted ways last, she had gone to Soliloquy and in her return visits had not seen the woman any longer. Wanting to be with the woman the russet and marked girl would propell herself forward, hurriedly trying to find her mother?s trail. She would follow the scent for many miles until she heard the summoning call of her parent. She would only have to travel a bit further, and already she would catch the scents of two other brothers who she had just recently been reunited with. Leo seemed fine, but she held a deep worry for Caeto. She?d try to smile, this should be a happy reunion, the four of them had not been together in far too long. Finally her bright eyes would fall on her family, and her expression would brighten. Excitedly she would rush forward, her eyes only for her mother as she squeezed into her embrace, leaning into both Leo and her mother. ?Mom, where did you go?? She?d ask curiously as she nuzzled the older woman.

The world was a very unkind place. Arian was on her last strings of hope, Azalea had not amounted up to the wolf she thought she could be. At this point, she felt like the adravendi name was only dragging her down. She knew she had Neo strip her of nearly every emotion for the family, but out of the fear her mother would look down upon her for siding with Azalea. Not only had azalea been gone, but sarak as well, which left their pups....orphans. Little sarka was following closley to her, as Arian had unconsciously headed towards the call of her mother limping do to her permanant injury as well as the ugly scar plastered on her face. The foster mother who had raised her. The small pup pressed herself against Arian as she spotted the other siblings. Yet, Arian was probably the only one unsure if she wanted to greet Epiphron with the joy that she deserved. Azalea's scent clung to her pelt, as well as carrying a small child that looked like her wasn't exactly a good thing either. "Epiphron Adravendi." Arian wouldn't even call her mother. Until she knew somehow deep inside she didn't hate her. Didn't hate this child either. Tears welled in her eyes though, moving across the scar on her face. Where had her mother been all this time, when her father went off and forsaked her. Where Syrinx completely abandoned her and now Azalea went missing. Her heart was sick and tired from being left behind by every family known by the adravendi name possible. She wanted to take it away, she wasn't an adravendi she should have known that. If only she had been blood related to them maybe things would have turned out different. "Talk" "You" Think

Sarka hadn't spoken since the day she never saw her mother again. She was too scared, and even at her young age thought it was somehow her fault. Though, she would be a year next season, she only averaged up to maybe twenty inches in height right now. Her small body still fragile as ever, making it easy to hide behind Arian as she carefully listened to her speak to the one that kind of looked like her mom. Her white tail curled underneath her and even though she knew she was in plain sight, she really wanted to curl up and die. Her life had only made her anxiety disorder worse. ?I speak?

Caeto tried extra hard to put on a smile, show the happy side of his emotions for his mother finally showing her face. But his darker feeling had way overcome them. Leo and Isolde would show, both jumping to their mother but Caeto would just sit and point his nose to the ground, not accepting the embrace from the three of them. He made an effort to show a grin, and succeeded with the tiniest of them all. Caeto would turn to the scent of Arian, a young girl that seemed to be attached to her legs. Seeing as Arian spoke to Epiphron, and her expressions, she was not very happy to see her. Caeto would turn back to the ground being not so much like Arian, but little like his littermates. He was more like them than her though. The three that happened to show up were the only ones he had been reunited with. All his older siblings, Amalia, Quintus, and Cassius were unheard to him. Almost frightened him since right now it looked like they really were gone. Maybe they were a distance from the call, maybe they didn't hear it or chose to ignore it, or maybe they were all dead. Walk "Talk" Think

The embrace she shared with Leo was interrupted not long after it began. A smile had briefly illuminated Caeto's handsome features, but it was far from genuine; he stood, unmoving, watching her with a careful eye. A moment of silence would be spent with Leo, happy to feel his pelt pressed against her own, the scent of her two sons something that calmed her soul significantly.


Isolde had not been far off. A painful whine caught in her throat the sight of her daughter. They had reunited briefly, but her own selfish mind had led her astray. Only now did she realize that her children were the most important to her, and she regretted leaving them with all of her heart. "I didn't want to leave you all," she told them softly, leaning into Isolde's welcome touch. "It has been hard without your father. But I don't want to lose touch with any of you again." Where had Maverick gone? She was pained that she did not have answers for them, if any cared enough to ask. It was strange that once, he had meant the world to her, and now she couldn't imagine him ever being in her life again.


Her mind felt hazy as the scent of another reached her twitching nose. Arian, too, had heard her call. She greeted her by name, no longer 'mother' as she might've in the past. This time a whine did fall; a pained sound, that said far more than words ever could. "My Arian," she would turn to face her, gently prying herself from the grasp of Leo and Isolde. There was a child at her hip, certainly not her own? Their scents were laden with that of Azalea and of a pack unfamiliar to her. "Forgive me," she would breath softly, all grace leaving her form as defeat laid claim over her pained expression. There was obvious hurt in her daughter's eyes and she mirrored the look, her own vibrant sapphire eyes welling over with tears. "Who is this? And what happened to you?" The scar on her face was something she couldn't ignore, and her step had an obvious limp to it. There was no hesitation as she turned to pad toward her, slipping her head about Arian's neck in a tender embrace.


Her eyes would dart among her children as she gingerly pulled away, searching, looking for any sign that might help her explain why she had gone -- and what had happened to their family. Caeto seemed cold and detached, while Isolde and Leo were simply happy to be reunited. They were almost a family now, save for their oldest siblings, who had been gone for longer than she cared to remember. Arian, however, was a different story, reeking of the woman she had tried so badly to maim; wondering if she knew even half of the story, or if she didn't care what either her or Azalea thought of one another.

Leo was all too happy to accept his mother's embrace. He knew he could only scratch the surface of what Caeto had been through and he knew that in the end he had chosen to leave to go see what else was out there in the world, but he couldn't possibly imagine not being happy about being reunited with their mother. At the end of the day he was and always would be a family man and they meant the world to him and their mother was the corner stone of their family with their father gone. Maybe not always the strongest corner stone, but one none of the less. Soon enough another form joined their embrace and he smiled wider when he smelled Isolde's scent and heard her voice. He had been reunited with her earlier, but her being here made their family reunion all the more real. Now all of his littermates were here. He wished some of their older siblings would appear as well, but so far there was no sign of them. Then another appeared and Epiphron broke their hug to move toward her. Leo's head turned to see who it was and saw Arian standing there with a pup. He looked at the pair curiously, certain that the pup didn't belong to Arian, but not sure who she might have belonged to. He glanced away from his mother as she moved to embrace Arian, speaking apologies and asking questions. Leo turned to Isolde first, smiling and leaning into her with an affectionate nuzzle before looking to Caeto who still sat apart from the crowd, looking as downtrodden as ever. Leo marched over to his brother with determination. He paused, their saphire gazes meeting for a moment before he stepped forward and embraced Caeto firmly. He didn't care if Caeto wanted the affection or not, he was going to get it because Leo was determined to prove to his brother that he cared about him. "I'm glad you're here, brother. I've missed you." "Talk" "You" Think

She tried desperately to wrap her head around the situation. As her motet approached her she flinched slightly but did not oppose to the embrace. As her mother stated forgive me Arian smirked slightly."That should be my line," She whispered slightly as her tail flicked over sarka to comfort the young girl. She looked at her mother sighing slightly she didn't mind sharing what had happened to her with family around, they all had probably been through a lot. Regardless of her wound she was still as she was. "This is sarka adravendi, she's azaleas daughter. I was a healer in her lack before she vanished, just like everyone else had. I'm looking after her until her older brother comes to pick up her and her other siblings." She explained. Shifting a little at her mothers next question. "Neo happened. He came to the lands near my old home and maimed me." Her voice was bitter as we perked her ears a little. "But I'm better now, I'm actually an alpha a queen of a pack in which a friend passed onto me. And if any of you need a home my borders are open to you, even you mother. I'm sorry about father and azalea." She looked a her siblings an her mother carefully. Trying to keep her breathing calm. Ooc:you can skip sarka not gonna post her here anymore. Let's just say she's with Arian the whole time^w^. "Talk" "You" Think

Epiphron had felt invincible once. Her ego had been fueled by the knowledge that she'd ruled the Kingdom of Seracia, with a husband whose loyalty and honor had once been unwavering -- but everything had changed. From the northern King's reign to her own husband's betrayal, to the loss of her father to her sister's maiming and her own cowardice that had led her to flee, away from family and those she held dear.


But she was not weak; she had never been weak. She would prove it to them, and take back what had been stolen from their family.


She was quiet for a moment, listening as Leo moved to speak to Caeto, her ears ringing with Arian's words. Her scent had told the story well enough, but her voice only confirmed it. She'd been in Azalea's pack. Her single tattered ear twitched as though in reminder for what she had tried to take from her niece -- and what Epiphron had lost in turn. "I don't know what Azalea has told you, if anything," she began softly, eying Arian and the child at her side cautiously. This was one of her family members, and she felt the air deflate from her lungs at the realization that she was of her own blood. "I challenged Azalea. I sought to blind her in one eye, but did not succeed." Would her children blame her? Admittedly it hadn't been the best decision, but it'd been fueled by rage and the possibility of her brother's death. The mere possibility of losing Syrinx had pushed her over the edge.



"I could not bear to see Azalea abandon her family to live and thrive among those that ruined her. The ones that took her from her family, forced children upon her, the ones who maimed my own sister." Beautiful Chrysanthe had been forever marred by the Glaciem Queen and she would never forgive her for it. "It killed me to see her sitting with them as though she had forgotten all the injustice that had been done to her. I fear as though she's been brainwashed, and I wanted her to remember who her real amily was." she said finally, her voice soft, defeated almost. It wasn't as though she was trying to convince Arian anything, but simply explaining, something she hadn't been able to do for quite some time.


But at the mention of Neo, briefly forgotten in her own hurried speech, she found her breath catching in her throat. Her estranged brother had dared even touch her daughter? The woman's lips quivered, vibrating as a growl threatened to leave her lips. "That bastard," she would breath, her tone harsh and hardly audible at all -- but her entire frame quivered with anger. "Did he explain anything to you?" Her worse fear was that he had tried to claim he was a member of the family, had tried to spread lies to Arian. "He is not my brother," she explained hastily before letting Arian answer her inquiry. "I've never told you about him, as I thought it best to forget him. He was taken in by my father as a child, alongside his brother, though he always acted as though he was not part of the family, as though Cairo preferred the others over him." It was a foolish notion, one she'd even laughed at in front of him. Even Collision had been as much of a son to Cairo as his blood son, Syrinx, and Neo had never been treated differently than the others. "I believe it to be a sickness of the mind. He left the family long ago and I haven't seen him since I was a yearling." Still her paws quivered, aching to instantly flee to search for him, to punish him. The need felt insatiable as she stood, studying Arian's kind face, now scarred and maimed. How dare anyone lay a paw on any of her children, especially Arian, who had always been kind of heart and willing to help those in need. It took her a long moment to calm herself, breathing evenly through her mouth as her mind whirled.

She settled her head down, ears twitching to her mothers words. Obviously epiphron had not seen her then, syrinx had been her life then of course she would be there for his death. Isardis's struck the beast down and it left her without a home again. Yet she patiently listened, and part of her wanted to lie so badly to her mother. Neo probably wouldn't have been able to maim her so badly if she had fought back. Arian had been in such a depressed state she not only begged but accepted the pain he had brought upon her skin. Burning a reminder that her last name could cause all sorts of trouble. Her tail flicked mildly. "I saw you mother, I was there. Syrinx was my life my light. I followed him everywhere after seracia fell. I felt empty inside." She stated. Her eyes moved to her siblings muscles clenching with nervousness. "After that I searched for all of you. And ended up with azalea because she made me feel welcome." Her crystal eyes moved over her mother again. They probably had their own lives now who was she to steal that away from them. "As for Neo, he did explain that he was your once brother. However I knew it was a farce. The truth is, I was so hurt by having to leave Olympus and syrinx children with Virgil that I begged him to maim me. I did not fight back mother, I had shamed myself." She clenched her teeth and sighed. "But I'm okay, better than I ever have been and using my efforts to make this pack prosper, I thought all of you would hate me for everything. So I was scared. Bit now I finally feel like I have a home." She watched them carefully. "Talk" "You" Think

Caeto would just drop his head almost in a nod. She didn't mean to leave them. It was hard without Maverick. Well she made it hard on himself without her. Caeto needed that security after he had left Zaria and she had died. Sapphire's would follow as his mother left the embrace of his two littermates and went to Arian. Leo would then approach him and say his praise. A flick of his head would go toward the brother, eyes remaining on his mother. Not a word came from him and yet his face had shown it all. He was frustrated with this reunion, he didn't even know why he came anymore. He might have thought of speaking with his siblings after this meeting, but he was sure there would be word with his mother. But he wasn't sure if it would be hurtful to her, or to himself. Voices from Arian were drowned out, he had heard all of this before. Walk "Talk" Think