FORTUNE FORTUNE SMILING FATE
I HAVEN'T SEEN YOU MUCH OF LATE
NEED YOU NOW AND CANNOT WAIT
BUT WANNA LOOK, YOU'RE NOT AROUND

It would always be his home. Above all other places, no matter the circumstances...

Right?

If he didn't know better he'd have sworn the Brook trees were fighting against his arrival, their branches reaching downwards and in seemingly menacingly to grab at him and hold him back. Each step was taken carefully and with the weight of guilt pressing on his shoulders. The press of each paw to the ground felt like a black mark upon the ground and soil. In came death with his cloak of bronze and metallic eyes.

He did not know what to expect, he felt an uncomfortable churning in his gut just a few meters over the borders where he'd come to a full stop. His paws were frozen in place and he stared out into the space between the trees ahead of him. His chest inhaled with a breath and then let loose a number of gentle chuffs for his cousin. They ended, his voice trailing away into a numbing and thick silence as the brook around him eerily ceased all ambient sound for a some moments. He felt the eyes on him.
@Nymeria

ART BY RABS , CODE BY LARS

numb -- how else could she describe that empty, void-like feeling within her chest? that feeling that had been looming for the better part of the last few days, weighting her down towards the earth, and prompting nymeria to hope, absently, that it may consume her completely. she had barely slept and barely ate, for despite the fact that valhalla had been graced with maua's blessing and his soul left intact, it still did not change what had happened, nor did it erase the breadth of her bleeding heart. and it still did not change the image of horror that was imprinted in the forefront of her mind, with @Aquila's jaws clasped around sangria in a sickening and life-shattering clamor for salvation. for nymeria could not fathom the fact that she had been so close to losing both of them that day, nor could she readily accept the fact that he had been forced to take a life to save his own.

the woman stirred only when she heard her cousin's call slip through the trees, limbs trembling as she stumbled up from the cold shadows of her den in the first burst of energy that she had had since the challenge. and it was from that the druid fumbled through the forest in an ungraceful and desperate attempt to swallow the space between them, feeling as though seeing him again might help soothe that poignant aching within her bones. "aquila," she nearly cried upon seeing his shape hovering against the backdrop of the grove, looking eagerly to push herself forward and into the plush of his mane. her maw would seek the side of his neck should he allow it, chest rattling in a strangled rush of air, whilst she struggled to find any sort of words that would make sense. because nothing made sense anymore, and nothing was the same. "aquila, i -- i'm so glad that you're okay," in whatever sense of the word that it could be applied to. surely he wasn't okay in the grand scheme of what had happened, but he was here and he was breathing and he was alive. and that was enough, that would always be enough.

@Nymeria's voice, muffled and a little distorted through the foliage of the forest, was the first thing that hit him. It made him inhale sharply and for a second experience the urge to turn around and run away. Seeing the Hodari, being around them after all that happend, was one thing. Facing his family. After what he'd done? After the loss their people had suffered? It was a sudden wave of guilt and emotion that swallowed him up. Fortunate for her he was not able to overcome the frozen and scared feeling to actually follow through with running from her. He remained pretty much in place while she approached. His only motion was to spread his stance a little as they embraced, enabling her to put as much pressure into him as she wanted. Her warmth, her scent and the memories this surrounding landscape brought, were all enough to bring him to gentle tears. Trailing down his cheeks to the battered lines of his wounded jaw. Dark streaks of bronze appearing over the curves in his face, a quiet sniffle in his voice as he spoke. Nymeria.

At first he could only manage a gentle whisper of her name. He trembled against her, a foreleg twitched with anxiety and flood of stressful emotions he was undergoing. Nym I'm sorry. For a lot of things he couldn't specify. His voice, his face, they came together bound in guilt and remorse. Sorry he might not have been okay, that he might have been taken from them. Sorry for Valhalla. Sorry for whatever might transpire for them now. Sorry that this violence must be part of Maua's plan. He was realizing that, succumbing to that thought in his darkness. Who else must he watch be torn away?

they collided, and nymeria felt consumed by an odd mixture of euphoria and sorrow. to know that he was here and breathing was more than enough to satiate her worries, but it amplified her grief at the same time, in the most horrible of ways. to know what he had to live through now, what he had to accept in the wake of his battle -- it was impossible for him to be unfazed by it, surely, not when so much had been riding on that climatic moment. she felt these things in his voice, in the soft and quiet way that he had her name when they finally embraced. and then, an apology -- an apology that nymeria did not know what to do with. there was too many factors at play, too many to even begin to express with the simple form of words. but it was enough to prompt fresh tears from her, as well, slipping down pale cheeks, as she looked to burrow herself further into his mane. "i -- i don't understand what happened." she whispered, unable to mask the heavy tremor to her voice. she didn't understand why he had gone there in the middle of the night, or why he hadn't told anyone. she didn't know why it had unraveled so quickly to a battle to the death, or why others had been caught in the crossfire. she did know that @Aquila would not have all the answers to her rampant thoughts, but the statement was more-so as a plea for clarity than anything else. she knew that her cousin had been adamant that violence had been waiting for them on the horizon, but still, she felt as though she could've done something, something to stop it -- but it was a little too late for that now, wasn't it? and nymeria knew that things had changed; everything had changed, even for her. the loss had been too great, the destruction too heavy, and there had to be some sort of price for that.

"i'm just glad you're okay," she tried again, a small sob choking against the back of her throat as the words fell from between her lips. "if i had lost you, too --" but it was quickly that she stopped herself short, body shuttering as she realized that there was a chance that he still did not know. she would have hoped that furia or one of the other's had been able to share such news prior, but, still, there was an evident pause to nymeria as she waited, growing silent aside from the fall of warm tears upon her cheeks and the sniffling of her sorrow.

Beyond his own fight Aquila couldn't say he understood what happened either. Furia had helped him put bits and pieces of it together, had broken the worst of the horrid news to him, but outside of his awareness he was just as foggy as @Nymeria. Though, did she mean that part of it? The scene as a whole or did she mean what in the world was he doing there in the first place? He frowned, he bit his lower lip uncomfortably tight. Pressed so hard the skin turned pale below the pressure. It wasn't supposed to be like that. He deflected from a direct answer at first. I didn't want anyone else there. I didn't want it to go that far. He assured, almost sounding pleading for her to believe that. His own thoughtless and reckless actions were not meant to be made a spectacle for the masses who abhored violence except to watch it. She was right. He couldn't provide her all the questions or quiet every part of her wondering mind. He couldn't say even who all had showed up let alone why they fought. He couldn't say why it had been driven to death. But for some of it, he could. He owed it to her. It was hard, knowing what his actions had caused, to own up to them. ... there was no other way. He flinched a little, from anyone else he'd expect a slap for such blasphemous thoughts and wonderings. But he had to voice it, had to give it some life. The newcommers are like us. We are like them. In everyway.

He rather suddenly pulled his head back and shook it. Aquila had had far too much time to think, far too much time with his own mind...

For so little of it mattered when the grief of Val's loss came up. No plan seemed worth it to that end. The way his cousin trailed off, a choking silence. Aquila nodded. He knew. You could see it in the way his silver eyes deadened, a numb look over his features. He reached over towards her face, aimed to brush away some of the fresh tears from her plush cheeks with the tip of his nose. Then the side of his own muzzle as he fell into a nuzzle against Nymeria, his own emotions beginning to overcome him. His chest rattled with a sob that echoed out of his lips with a haunting weakness. Is he home? He managed to get out. He was not crying quite loud or in any uncontrollable fashion but his throat felt so dry, restrained and tight that made the passage of air hard.

their walls crumbled almost instantly, in the same fashion that they usually did when the two of them were together. nymeria held nothing back as her features twisted and fell, an odd mixture of pain and uncertainty blooming within the center of her chest, as she is forced to accept the gravity of this situation once and for all. "i know that what you did was inevitable. i just wish it hadn't been." i wish you did not have to be the one to swing the hammer down. truth be told, nymeria did not know what to think anymore; she could barely process her own emotions, let own fathom what this meant for their future or her outlook on life. or how it would effect her in the weeks and months to come, and shift her perspective away from the holistic ideologies that she clung to so tightly throughout her life. but, oh, not now, not now --

thankfully, @Aquila saved his cousin from her festering thoughts, dragging her head back up above the water as he pushed into her fur and let out the most heart-breaking sob that she had ever heard. for she knew the weight that surely bore down upon his shoulders, and could only imagine the breadth of his internal mourning, in addition to everything else. "he's under the big oak tree on the edge of the water. he's safe, and he's home." she murmured softly in return, though tears now feel freely from her eyes, bones trembling in mismatched patterns and quakes. but there was still something else that hung upon her tongue -- a vital piece in the puzzle that was a sign from maua themselves. nymeria did not know what kind of sign it was supposed to be, given that they had both taken and given life in the same breath -- but it had to mean something, surely. or, at least she hoped. "there's something else that you need to know," the woman added on finally, her tone suggesting that it was not further loss and disarray, albeit the fact that the news would do little for their healing hearts and broken souls.

He wished the same. But their world was too far gone down this path, there were too many lions that did not play by the rules the Valour lions knew and upheld. Maybe a year ago they could have redirected Maua's plan somehow, taken different steps, built a stronger and different presence. Something. Anything. But no, inevitable. He could only wonder if somewhere out there, if Maua smiled or regretted the actions they'd taken and freedom they'd afforded so many lions in their home. With the weight of Val's death on the scale it seemed very hard to find the worthwhile part of this all. The great lions, the ones that they loved and the ones that they had helped since... their future and fortune at the cost of Val's? I'd like to see him before I go back to the Mire, if that's okay. He asked with hesitation and a bite of his lower lip. Under normal circumstances it would be unfathomable for Aquila to ask permission to enter his home and family's ancestral lands. But these were anything but normal times, the creeping trees and shadows seemed more unwelcoming than ever before in his life. He feared being unwelcomed, he feared the thoughts and whispers that might carry in his wake. He feared what his presence might mean for or do to the domino chain being built up on this shakey table.

Her addendum caught him off guard. He had come expecting overwhelming emotion, pain, and relief in this reunion. But something else? He looked suspicious. What is it? The dread on his face was immense. He instantly expected the news to be something poor, either something Furia had missed herself or thought too much to pair with all the other grief and emotions going on. But he couldn't imagine what else might come of this. His features were heavy, his face a deep frown and he leaned inwards subconsciously towards Nym on baited breath. Pins and needles ran up along his legs... Nym?

"of course, aquila. come, let's start walking." she offered softly, pushing her nose against his cheek once more, as the words slipped forward. nymeria would never deny her cousin of such a thing, for this was still his home, after all, irrespective of where he chose to lay his head at night -- forever, and until the end of time, the brook was his, in the same way that it had always been. before they got too close to the grave, however, nymeria knew that she had to share the final news with @Aquila, albeit her uncertainty of how he was going to react. he had a right to know, of course, and she wondered that if, maybe, it would give him a chance at closure, should he feel as though it was needed.

clearing her throat, the woman found her head dipping slightly, chin pressed to the top of her chest, as she looked towards aquila with a somber, though somewhat softened expression. "after the funeral, talisa held a small ceremony. it called on maua. they came, and without saying a word, blessed him, keeping his soul in tact like my father. but he's stronger, than him, a guardian. i don't know why maua would let him die only to give him eternal life, but they did." it had not made sense to her in the moment, and it still didn't. to have watched him be murdered and then made into a guardian by the hands of the very deity that had allowed him to die was -- well, frankly, confusing. and while nymeria did not doubt that aquila would share that sentiment, she opted to fall into a supportive sort of silence, giving him the room needed to react and process the news as he saw fit.

He made a loving sound at @Nymeria's touch, the perfume of the Brook blooming over him while she turned and began to lead off into their home. He struck up a pace to match hers, walking just slightly behind with his head near her shoulder. Aquila stayed close to his cousin's comforting warmth, fearing he'd be overwhelmed otherwise with the emotion. He walked along through familiar forest, through his home and heart. Aquila forced himself to pretend he'd been there the day his family brought Valhalla home so that he might walk with his brother one more time to the place that he had come to rest. He was brought out of his somber, silent, vigil and ritual by Nymeria's voice. His features perked and he turned to her attentively while she spoke.

Maua doing things that make no sense to us is old news at this point. He responded with bitter sarcasm and an exhaustion to his words, eyes lightly rolling only to settle on his own toes dejectedly. Their god had played strange pieces in their games, their plans as they were unveiled seem to unravel all the Valour knew. All they held dead. To strike down Valhalla, only to return his soul to the world as they had, well it was but one more piece of this cruel and paradoxical puzzle he and his family were trying to make sense of. It worried him... as relieved at he could be to have the chance to speak with Val again as he could his ancestors there was a worry that stuck him first.

The glimpses and glimmers, memory like looking through a mist, he'd had at night. He'd relived what he could remember, what his mind made up too, many nights since. Sangria's fierceness front and center for most. So real that it had made Aquila certain a number of times that she was still real.... would Maua harbor Sangria's soul too?

a small frown pushed against the druid's lips at the proclamation from her kin, for she could not help but agree that this display from their deity made little sense. it was unfair, and it was cruel, and it was unjust -- and there was little telling to what end such madness would continue, or for what purpose. but for now, there was not much else to be done other than wait. wait, and prepare for the inevitable, for it seemed to have no trouble finding them when they least expected it. continuing through the trees alongside @Aquila, however, nymeria could not help but to take pause, lips parting with the slightest of trembles, before she spoke anew. "you know i will always love you, right? no matter what happens, or where this crazy, vicious life takes us -- i will always be here for you." and she meant it, oh how she meant it. and while it could also be assumed that aquila already knew of the valour's fealty, saying it felt necessary and needed, especially in light of all that had happened, and all that had changed as of late.

eyes would shift away from her cousin's face, finally, as they emerged out against the edge of the water, the sun peaking through the canopy and illuminating the leaves of the elder tree, the one in which now protected the body of the brynmawr man. the tree stood tall and proud in the same way that the viking had, with bundles of flowers and other offerings still scattered across the top of the gravesite -- and nymeria could not help the tremor of emotion that shot through her heart, nor the heaviness that clouded her gaze. nonetheless, however, she would put on the strongest front that she could, if not only for aquila's sake. "this is the spot," she said quietly, voice dropping another octave as her ears pushed back across her skull, giving him ample room to approach if needed.