The mountain cavern the young warlord had found was really nice. He'd stayed inside of it for a while only leaving to hunt and fill his belly before slinking back into the shadows. @Clarence had come and gone, Valour had told him that he was welcome to trail after him or to go off on his own. It was set in his mind that he would be wandering, exploring, following his whims for once instead of tending to those of others. For the most part his travels weren't familiar, none of the scenery triggered any memory until there was the roaring of water. Knowing it was a waterfall he approached curiously his eyes bright at the idea of taking a dip in the water after a hot day but when he broke from the brush he knew where he was. 

Suddenly he was a baby. Eyes focused on the bloated already scavenged corpse of his father. At the time he thought he'd been emotionless but truly it had been shock. The sight was horrific on top of being something a child should never have to witness. Then his mother...unaware of the fact that he was there. Unaware of anything but her mate. And he'd ran. 


He slowly walked toward the water and stepped through the shallow parts to the other side. Heart pounding his paws took him to the very place his father had been sprawled out and wasting away in. Sitting down he stared into the falls and tried to remember them before everything had gone to shit. His mother....sweet as honey. His sister...he couldn't remember anything about her except the faintest fuzzy image of her the size of a walking rock. His father...deep voice, snarky attitude with a smile only for them....he was also stupid...stubborn... and weak. Standing up he spat into the dirt "You weren't worth shit. Shouldn't have made me" he muttered and walked to the water beginning to drink deeply. 

She'd wandered aimlessly for a long time now.
Too long.
She followed the rains, preferring the coolness the sowed and the life they brought to the lands.
Though, the routes they made were dangerous.

But she did it.
She had made it back to the cliff where Laroche had...he had...
And Valour...Bronwen...
Everything she'd made had left her, an empty shell.

She didn't know if she could keep on walking.
But the rains was all she could hold on to, at least until the winter when it would turn to snow and ice.

Her bones ached.
Her body was made too small, too lithe and cruelly developed. And birth had ruined her.
She walked with pronounced limping in her hind legs, her muscles aches and bones ground together.
She wished she'd stayed home. Not left with Mor.

She looked up the rise, the big black peak that jutted out like a big black smear.
Death.
She watched the peak, rain spotting down on her and she suddenly found herself knee-deep in water.

the rain began to pour down....soaking him but he still sat on the banks of the waterfall frozen in bitter and sad memory.
The sound of footsteps slow and clumsy through the deep water caused him to come to attention. He was perfectly statuesque for once his ears poised a top his head as he breathed in deeply the scent that came to him triggering something that had him turn his head. Silver eyes stared into blue ones and didn't move away, pupils dilating with emotion indiscernable. 

mother.

Though his silver eyes swept over her form seeing the familiar patches of white he already knew. Her scent coiled like a heavy fog down his airways filling him with deep recognition that curtled inside of him. He stepped backwards tail curled between his legs and lips twitching uncertainly over his fangs until he stood in the spot where his father had lain, his silver eyes big and round. "f..fuck" he wanted to say off but the word was already ragged and breathles. He wanted to run away and go home, go back to Vanity and unsee this phantom of the past but he was rooted in place ears folding backwards. 

She watched the sky, oblivious to her surroundings as usual.
An aloof naturalist.

She knew not how to fight, could barely hunt -- though she'd learnt a lot on her ways.
She'd ventured far and wide, seen many and much.
And here she was, back where she started.

A soft sound of life, and her head swung to it, her eyes widening in shock.
Laroche. From the dead.
Her ears slicked back, but then no. The eyes.
Laroche's were of bright moonlight, Valour's were of quicksilver.
"My boy," she uttered, taking a step through the chilly water towards him.
And another.
Her tail wagged behind her. Oh she'd found him!
"I've missed you," she continued. She'd missed him so much, and he'd grown so big! He was nearly as big as her beloved.

There was recognition at the least and he studied her fascinated for a few moments by the sheer fact that it was actually the one who'd given him life. Soft words uttered by a sweet voice that he remembered only from the clinging to it he'd done his entire life thus far before saying goodbye to Vanity. "Where were you?" He demanded before anything else and then more tensely, containing the desire to react with an outburst of temper he'd controlled for the longest now. 
"You missed me while a monster snatched me up and another woman kept me relatively safe from him?" oh if she only knew how vague he was being for both of their sakes.  His silver eyes were still round as he looked at her but there was a tightness to his expression, a quivering at his lips that could speak of angst or anger. "I was right there Mom" he said softly motioning to where he had stood for the longest time staring at the body too shocked and confused and horrified to approach "I saw him before you did and I stood here watching when you came" how would she respond to that? Had she known at all? 

She stopped all motion.
The coldness hit deeper than the water ever could.
That gaze...cold and harsh.
She did wrong, she knew.

Her ears slicked back, tail tucking.
A monster? Another woman? Where had he been? Someone took her son from her!
Her lips trembled, silent as he continues with those words hurting and cutting deeper like a lash of a whip.
His voice broke her. A soft whine of despair. She could have saved him, right? He thought so. Why didn't she?
"I....I.." Her voice trembled and faltered. All she could hear was the water, the wind. All she could ee was her boy.
Valour.
Bright and mighty.

"I'm sorry." She could only whisper. A quiet, timid response that certainly wouldn't suffice. She couldn't explain right now, the shock hitting her deep like a kick to the stomach. She wanted to tell him she thought he was safe, and she'd called for hours for him before finding her husband's broken body.
But no words came.
Only tears.

And she knew he hated her.

No wonder his father had taken her to himself. The softness, the doe-eyed look, the way every inch of her body suddenly spoke the truth of the words that came from her mouth. She was simple and beautiful and despite his entire life being due to what he childlishly blamed on her...he couldn't find it in him to respond with any further venom. "Me too" he said his voice lower ears twitching uncertainly atop his head as he still stared unflinchingly. "Her name is Vanity. She made sure I knew what love and support felt like in a way that suited the life I've lived" he couldn't help it...the words tumbled from deep within. It had to be said...he was taken care of and shown a guiding light despite her absence...and he was okay. "Have you been...okay?" he didn't think he'd ever actually asked someone that before yet it felt right that if she was hungry or ill he would fix it and then move on with his life...but he still sought reason to stay. 

Water welled in the corner of her large, ocean eyes.
He didn't need to be sorry. She was responsible. She could have saved him.
And she failed. Bronwen too.

Vanity. A woman who took in her child and raised him. Replaced. Sacnite...Phex...she was just a memory to this boy; this man. Her eyes crinkled, determined not to let the water spillover.
She sunk down, wanting to lay down, to curl up and cry.
Water crested at her chest, making her pause.
The water.
She slowly stood back up, looking at her stark socks though the rushing depths.

"I don't know where Bronwen went..." she whispered. Did he remember her? Surely. She really hoped so, because the memory of her daughter was starting to fade for her...
Those bright, almost silver ice eyes. Her lush, soft fur and a matching splash upon her crest.
Her namesake.

"I'm a terrible Mother." She looked up to Valour. She'd avoided the question. She didn't want to admit she wasn't ok. She didn't want to admit she was falling apart.

Crying....he hated it so much. The way someone's pain filled gaze was the surest way to soften him up. As soon as her eyes crinkled and he watched her expression further darken his ears fell back against his head. Jaw clenched tightly as she admitted that his sister was lost too he searched within his head and found...nothing. He didn't even remember her aside from a dark blur that he recalled being somewhat wary of and thus shrugged it off "I haven't seen her" he was sorry for it left a hole inside of him, an unknown piece that he wasn't sure he'd find again which would nag away at him just as his mother had until this day. Unsure if she was confessing to him or responding to the question he studied her lowering his rear to the ground "So...that's been your focus?" he had to admit in a way knowing she'd thought of them struck a chord "You seem miserable enough...it hurt me so I guess it wouldn't be too surprising for it to hurt you." he was guessing here but added a shake of his head anyway. He'd studied her long enough to see that she was startlingly young, she didn't even seem to be Vanity's age "You really do look miserable. Are you okay?" he repeated himself this time meeting her gaze with a look of determination and concern. 

She couldn't believe it.
Bronwen had seemed to vanish from the face of the earth, and she had no way of ever finding her again.
To her, Bronwen might as well never existed.

"I've been trying to find both of you." What if she was stolen too?
Whisked away in a blink of an eye.
She slunk out of the water, rather chilled now, and sunk to the ground there.
She wanted to greet her son...but it wouldn't seem right. They barely knew each other.

His voice was like him. Like Laroche.
"I've missed you all so much," she smiled ruefully. He brought her such joy in these short moments. "I wish I could watch you grow up."
It would've made her life worthwhile. But no.

Watching her stride from the water he could see how small and thin she was. Whether it was instinct or the fact that he was good deep inside he was the first to move close. Pressing himself against her he was startled that she wasn't bigger than him and it was easier to draw her to his chest which would hide the fleeting glimpse of surprise on his expression. "If you tried finding us then at least you tried. That's better than knowing you didn't care" his voice was a gentle rumble as he processed the confusing emotions dwelling within him. "As for watching me grow up. I am and trust me when I say you don't want to come near my life you'll get hurt. I am dangerous as is the company I once lead" he knew the way he made himself sound but truly he didn't want her to follow him. Wherever he wound up he had a warrior's spirit and a ferocity that would always wind him in sticky situations. Still pressed against her soaked form he pulled his head back to look into her eyes  "there's a lot of danger in Teekon. Wherever Bronwen is she probably has just as little memory as me. I'd like to see you again but I'd prefer to know my mother is safe" with Ursus around and the feral pups of Nightwalkers roaming around who knew what kinds of trouble had started. "I recommend Moonspear if you want to stay around. The alpha Hydra is an ally of mine" 

He came over to her, and froze up. Not stiffly, no.
She was unsure. Should she back away? 
But it was too late, he was there. Over her, pulling her close. His heartbeat strong, his scent the same, fur the same, voice the same.

She sat dumbfounded, and a bit too shocked.

She looked up to Laroche -- no Valour. Her son.
"I'm sorry I couldn't save you..." She'd softened the heart of Laroche. Maybe that was what killed him? She shouldn't have let him go. Any of them.
Her small frame shivered despite the warms radiating from the man before her.
He was a man. No longer her little boy.

She looked up to him, knowing full well what he spoke of.
But Moonspear?
"They turned me away before." She thought for a few moments back to Hydra, Jarlio. They all knew, and regretted it.
"Hydra meant well, but she isn't one to take in strays."
Hyrda is one to see pity on something and toss it something and never look twice again.
Sacnite didn't blame her.
But Valour didn't want her around, claiming he was dangerous. She looked to the water, thinking. 

For the millionth time he was startled by how small she was. Pressed flush against his chest she actually looked up at him who while tall for his age still had not reached the admirable height he'd stand at one day. Her apology startled him and he looked down catching her eyes and remembering what it had been like to stare up at her when he was a kid. They were soft, round and feminine...ironically more green than Clay's were. Everything about her was unlike him except the brown and white in their fur from her size to the lack of strength in every way on her body....yet she wished she could have saved him? The visions of what Vengeance would have done with a woman like her was graphic enough that his reply came out sharper than meant "I saved myself and everyone in that decrepit place. It wasn't fun but I have very few regrets" he wasn't the most humble but he held firm to his belief that the wolves in Nightwalkers gave birth and raised their kids the best they had only because he'd thrown himself wholeheartedly into ensuring it happened. It wasn't the most surprising thing to hear that Hydra had already sent her away but it left him unsure what to do and brought him discomfort with allowing her to walk off. "Can you hunt?You don't look good and I know what being half starved and more feels and looks like. I can send you to two other places but you need something to show worth being given a home" once again he pushed at her silver eyes sharp and prying into hers. 

He was soft, warm, toned. She was all edges and bones. Him, the mountain, who couldn't exist without the pebble, her. 
Sacnite smiled softly. She'd made it this far, his worries shouldn't infect her now. Not after all this time. 

"I'm glad," a pause for thought, "you're so much like your father."
Laroche didn't have the strength to stand with her that day against Cry. What would have been was a thought - - a dream - - she orcastrated regularly. 

She sighed. She has survived long enough and will continue to do so. Sacnite didn't need to hunt. And with a sad smile, she looked up to her son again;
"All I have, my boy, is the stars."
That last piece of her husband. Her hope and will. She didn't want to be carted off to beg for a pack. She'll skip through life as it comes and goes. 
The wraith has given up haunting. For now. 

"You're so much like your father" 

Who was he overall?
Valour pondered over that silently. A man who he remembered trying to hide his illness....now he was old enough to know it was why he had died most likely. A man who had become a mate to a woman he was looking at who was too young to be left with two children and a dying love. A man who had run away to die and been found by his son and wife leading to the downfall of his entire family. "I think i'd rather be like you" he said earnestly. Gentle...sweet...attractive..attentive...adoring...surely if he was more like her everyone would love him. Then she said something with a sad smile that shattered that and he stared at her aghast his eyes flashing with both fear and anger "You can't live off the stars" if she was saying what he thought she was then they'd never see one another again. "You...What am I?" he asked her backing away his tail hanging between his legs though the fur along his spine bristled "You don't have a reason to seek more than the stars now? To seek food? Shelter? Stability? Shit...maybe go fall in love and have a family...give me brothers and sisters to visit" he was angry but it came from the fierce need to ensure she stayed alive. Familial instinct or simply a boy who'd missed his mother, either way he was in a panic. Finally he released a tense breath and his tone softened despite the command he issued. 

 "Look at you mom....you have the stars in your eyes so they're with you even in the day. If I have to promise to hunt you down one day to make sure you're alive then so be it but you will eat" 

She didn't mean that he was completely like Laroche. Just more than her really, but he didn't think much of it. Why would he? Her poor husband could barely stand most days.

But her next words brought into him some rage.
Something that was neither her or Laroche, but truly of the man who'd snatched her son.
Her heart thundered at his words. And when he backed away it felt like her heart was on a string, attached to his. Pulling her towards him.
Sacnite stood, fearing he'd run away. Adamant she'd follow this new tug to the very end.

"You're my son," she replied softly. She so badly wanted it to be true, but here he was, and she really was finding it hard to find herself in him. Replaced, by that other woman.
He was her son, not Sacnite's.

Her eyes dropped away from him. She bit her tongue. Where was her soft fire she once had? It had burned bright standing with Minori, but now it was barely an ember.
"I will," she replied quietly. She'd...get herself together. Find someone who will save her.

She looked up to him again, not knowing what to think anymore.

His heart hammered within his chest, eyes searching her face for some kind of confirmation that she would go on. It was true that he was her son but Valour hated the fact that she showed up out of the blue and suddenly he felt like he'd go nuts with the idea of her wandering around aimless and unprotected when he had other things to do and worry about. Standing as if startled when he'd moved Valour froze and held her gaze expression tight and closed off until she dropped her gaze no longer looking at him though she whispered a confirmation. "You will because you can. You're one of those nice types. The good hearted ones...you can get anywhere if you work hard enough" she didn't bear the title of "Monster" and "Savage" with her wherever she walked nor did he think that anyone from Shadewood truly lingered around. "I'd like to see you again. Being your son and all. We have time to make up for" it was just a pleasant thought to tide her over but one pleasant enough that the smile he threw in lit his eyes just a little as he slowly inched closer his tail giving a sad sway "I'm okay, promise. I got through everything. I'm probably not someone you'd be proud of but i've done good things too" his words came from the heart, once more sharing a rare glimpse into his mind...if he could give Vanity that then by nature's right he'd afford some to his mother who looked ready to throw herself off the nearest mountain. 

She nodded.
She could hear his words but...did she really feel them?
She might do if she reflected on them.

Her eyes lit up when he confessed to wanting to see her again though.
She didn't want to lose her son all over again and would cling to the hope of him showing up any day soon.
"We do," she confirmed with a smile. It's all she wanted.
All she might never have.

"I'll always be proud of you, Valour." Never once she forgot the names of her children. And never will.

Soon enough, though. Too soon. They departed ways, Valour insisting he needed to be somewhere. For Moonspear or something. She was happy to see her boy had made it so far yet...she wanted to follow...but couldn't...she was too weak.
Rather, the frail woman turned back into the wilderness of Tuktu, ready for her next adventure.