Swiftcurrent Creek Does this count as an emergency?

@Kavik @Alessia @Dawn @Aditya @Valiant @Minnow @Aeryn. Backdated to the 16th!

He wished he hadn't left. The wish repeated over and over inside of his mind as he steered his shaken children toward the borders of the pack where his sister lived. Externally he was a broken man, a man devoid  of hope because he feared the crushing pain every time he dared to believe. His eyes were glazed and devoid of any spark and his whole posture spoke of being beaten down. He didn't look like he had slept or eaten very well for days, which he hadn't, just enough to keep him going. He only made sure his kids were okay and happy, that was his purpose now.

Yet a part of him wanted to feel happier, he wanted to see his sister, reconcile with Aditya, see their children and have them interact with his own. He didn't want to speak about Aliac or the deaths at Elysium at all in fact, he wished to hide it from Dawn. "While we're here I don't want to talk about Mommy. Let's just have fun and play okay?" he instructed them before howling for the leaders and for Aditya and Dawn themselves if they could come.

Valiant was still confused about what had happened before, with his mother and the stranger. It all seemed like a bad dream to him now, and he tried not to think about it because it hurt to remember how excited he'd been to smell his mother and then to see her, but Dad hadn't been happy at all, and there was something that hadn't seemed right but as long as it remained unacknowledged, everything was going to be fine.

"Okay," he agreed when his father told him to have fun and play. He was excited to see his aunt again, and wondered if she really looked as much like his father as he remembered. More so than that, he remembered how glad he had felt upon meeting her, and wanted desperately for that feeling to be renewed. Now that she was so close and yet still out of sight, he pined for her terribly, pressing close to Minnow and Aeryn because they, too, gave him great comfort.

Minnow sighed, she had so much coursing through her mind it was hard to focus but eventually they settled and she was next to her siblings and her father. She didn’t really say anything about what he had said and just stayed quiet.

Even though she was comfused about everything that happened she was excited for this trip and to meet new wolves and her gently tail wags showed it.

the howl sent his nerves into overdrive, but he knew it would do dawn well to see her brother. it would, too, do sunny well to see his niece and nephew, if permitted into the territory (he couldn't see why that would be a problem). so aditya cast his apprehensions aside and rose to his paws, moving to the border with a look on his face that straddled half-welcoming, half-man-facing-a-firing-squad.

but however miserable he looked, he couldn't have outdone sunny, who looked like he'd been through the ringer. adi dropped the facade for an expression of concern, traveling a little faster. nothing good ever came from someone looking like that. plus—

oh, there were children with him, too. aditya almost missed them, as concentrated as he was on his former brother-in-law. he gave them a gentle smile before returning his eyes to the young man, ears canted forward in query.

sunny, he murmured, giving the other wolf a nod. is everything all right? what brings you here?

He noticed the glum look on Aditya's face and his own expression became even sadder as he dropped his gaze, focusing on the faces of his children until he could manage to shove his emotions down far enough to steadily face his estranged brother in law. "Aliac is dead and so is my sister in law on her side. I wanted to come here and spend time with the family I have left. I'm sorry Adi I know it's a bad time" he said this softly, his voice eerily quiet and trembling. He motioned to his kids and cleared his throat "They want to see Auntie Dawn" he said in a voice filled with a lightness that didn't match his eyes.

He had been checking on Rosalie, bringing her food and making sure she was resting and not worrying about things beyond her control. He heard the call but was reluctant to leave the den until she fell asleep.

So, it was a bit before he could make it to the borders, but he finally did. It was an unknown man and three young pups. Kavik instantly grew worried, afraid they were here seeking a place to stay; he really didn't want to have to turn away another family. He stopped beside Aditya, nodding a greeting before turning to the strangers. I'm Kavik, one of the alphas here. What brings you to my borders?

aditya's jaw dropped. "oh my god," he said, his face blank with shock. "sunny. . .i'm so sorry. it's not a bad time, really; we're happy to have you. . ." the man trailed off, losing the words he'd meant to say. what could you say in this scenario? kavik's presence, at least, served as a distraction and helped him to give it another try, from a different sort of angle.

"this is dawn's brother, sunny," adi explained, turning to the alpha, "and sunny's children. they're here to see her. something terrible must have happened at elysium; he's lost his mate and sister-in-law. . ." he swallowed, the effort almost herculean in his grief for sunny. it was nearly matched by the fear-tinged joy that rose up when he realized that, in fact, it might not be the best time to see dawn—

and, yet, somehow their timing had been impeccable.

"dawn had her children last night," he burst out softly, looking at sunny with wonder shimmering clear and warm in his eyes. "a boy and a girl. they're resting, now, but i'm sure she'd be thrilled to see you."

im gonna put on ending on and Archive this! Im so sorry

"He's lost his mate and his sister in law..." 


The words rang hollow in his ears as if despite what he had just seen it wasn't true. Aliac would be back at Elysium, he hadn't buried her body, he hadn't seen her too still to be alive. He closed his eyes and lowered his muzzle  to the top of Minnow's head pretending to give her a kiss while he hid the dripping tears. "On second thought I can come back another time, She's probably too tired" he said, voice cracking a bit before he finished turning his gaze toward the alpha and giving a grateful smile. He looked to Aditiya and started to say something before falling quiet and instead just telling him he was grateful for the warm welcome and then apologetically ushering his kids toward the route home.