Blackfeather Woods so you run and you run to catch up with the sun

Whilst she was able to forgive him, he could not forgive himself. The situation as a whole was not one he was particularly fond of, and it pained him to admit what he had to her—how there were things he could do no longer. For he had once been her mentor, a wolf for her to look up to and learn from, but now he was gradually becoming someone to not necessarily look down on, but away from; soon he would be a guardian no more, but a mere statue of bone destined to dwell forever under the canopy of the woods. Soon, the stars would shine above, perhaps a bit brighter than ever before.

Kove offered to her what comfort he could, situating himself so that she might come closer, should she wish to do so; his thoughts were heavy still, his conscious being pressed down upon, but these things he tried so desperately to push past as the ghost of a smile was forced to slip across his lips. “They have grown, haven’t they?” he noted, perhaps a bit absentmindedly. When had they gotten so big? He couldn’t remember the change.

“Many of those that were once loyal to the woods have left,” he began. “Astrid and Damien, to name just two. To where, I do not know. They gave no prior warning.” And that, as much as he hated to admit, made them traitors. “My children have been taken from me, those most loyal have betrayed us—the forest has been hurt in your absence.” Her return could not fix those things, perhaps there was nothing that could, but it did fill one of the many holes that littered his heart.