Hushed Willows This is something monstrous and magical. Beyond science; beyond reason.

Tambourine easily returned Stark's nuzzle, though there was a bit of a puzzled look on his face as he glanced between the Alpha, the Beta and the dead body. Had they killed a trespasser or something? But there was definitely something wrong, atmospherically speaking; he could feel the sadness in the air and could read it in their body language. Was this dead wolf a friend of theirs then? And why had they called him? He peered closely at the body again, frowning thoughtfully, then looked up at Stark when he began to talk about the boy's mother.

For several beats, Tambourine just didn't make the connection between what his mentor was saying and the slumped form on the ground. When realization struck, his mouth dropped open and his eyes widened slightly. He squinted at the corpse's face, trying to see his mother in there. He couldn't, no matter how hard he tried. His memories of his mother were fuzzy at best and there was simply nothing familiar about the decrepit remains. This was just an empty shell, lacking whatever had identified it as Tavi.

But even if it didn't look like her, Tambourine knew Stark wouldn't lie to him. "This is my mum?" the pup asked softly, just seeking clarification. He did experience a pang as his young mind began to grasp the finality of it. "She's dead?" Perhaps that was a stupid question but he was doing his best to piece the story together and make sense of it. He felt a flicker of sadness in his chest but his voice was more curious than miserable as he queried, "Why?"