She gave a soft call to her husband to follow if he wanted before she set off. She needed him but she also needed something else, she just didn't know what that was yet. She left behind the warmth of the lower lands as she climbed higher. There was a time where all she knew was living above it all. It was where she had gotten to know @Dero, where everything had started for them. So much had happened, had changed, and so many had come and gone since their time together had started. They had lost homes, friends, family, cubs, and nearly lost each other but somehow through it all the pair had managed to stay together. She powered on, the world below growing smaller and smaller and the air around her growing colder. It was refreshing in a way and a reminder that there could be good things. Maybe not right now, but someday. Hanneth spotted a flatter area and decided that she would see just how far she had come. She walked over the lookout and sat near the edge. The cold winds pushed against her thin fur and caused her to shudder slightly from the cold. She closed her eyes and drew in the cold air, trying to find an answer in it.

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An ear flicked towards the sound of his wife's call. Since losing his son, the dark man had fallen even more into himself than ever before. There was no simple story of just being separated like before. There was no trying to believe that he'd see his son again when Lysander had seen Kiton get swept away with his own eyes. No matter how much Dero searched the Mire since then, he could find no sign of his son nor anyone else who was still missing. It was a blessing to have what little family was found still here, but more and more, the dark knight felt less of a need to stick around himself.

@Hanneth, however, was a constant reminder of why he should stay in this world. Forever his savior, forever his beacon. Half-reluctantly, the Hodari followed behind his wife. Silently and at a distance from her, Dero relied more on her scent to follow than the sight of her. There was still a need to be alone for him, but he could not deny the need to be with his wife as well. Where she was leading, though, would not have been the man's first choice. Up a mountainside, they climbed, as if they were the same Peaks that had brought the pair together. It only made Dero think more about his son and his first litter as a whole. Watching them play in the snow and climb their mountain home. He remembered when he was able to finally bring them home after they were nursed in the caverns. So long ago. So much had changed since then, but now, he here was on a mountain once more.

By the time Dero reached the summit, Hanneth was already out on a ledge looking over the lands below. It wasn't so different than their first home together as the scarred lion came to sit at her side. He didn't say anything, couldn't say anything. Dero just let his haunches settled to the ground next to the bronze woman before he aimed to press his side lightly against her own. He'd move to cradle his large head over her own crown and let his eyes fall shut for a moment. That's all he wanted right now. Just silence and her warmth.

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Hanneth looked back as @Dero joined her and settled next to her. Even though he didn't look the same as when they first got to know each other she still thought that he was the most handsome lion she had ever come across. She leaned into him and shifted into her place against his chest, pressing into him drawing his warmth and strength into her soul. I love you. She spoke softly to her husband as she settled in. Even though he had been back for some time now, there was still a part of her that thought her mind was playing tricks on her. His scent wrapped around her mixing in with the cool breeze. She stayed silent with him for a long time, enjoying hearing his breathing and heart beating. A soft purr was all that broke the silence as she tried to pull her thoughts together.

Finally, her voice broke the silence, it was soft and gentle as she started. I would like to have a funeral. She pressed her head up into his chin a little to offer comfort to him and herself as her words slipped into the winds. For all of them. Our cubs that are gone and our friends. Her voice was strained but she knew that they had to do something to move on, not forget but move on. Maybe one day those that can will return to us but for now we need to say goodbye. She took in a long breath as she tried to steady herself. We need to find a new normal. She could recall the last time that she had said that to Dero. It was about Rooney and him opening his heart which in the end, lead him to her. This time though, it was for both of them. To find a new normal together with the family they still had.

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The silence was comforting. Dero tried his best to simply calm his mind between breaths while drinking in @Hanneth's scent. He was content to sit in the silence for however long it would last, knowing that they'd have to talk about something eventually. Sure enough, the first words out of the bronze lioness's mouth was the most necessary of events to follow. A funeral. It was one thing to have done one for his late wife, but to do one for his son? That wasn't the order in which things should go. A son should bury his father, not the other way around. Dero bit back his emotions with a quiet nod before Hanneth went on. She didn't want one just for Kiton. She wanted one for all of their losses. All their other missing children, missing friends, anyone else likely to have been swept up in the flood. It was a nice idea, and certainly needed in order to help them all gain some closure, but Dero couldn't help the feeling that his son still deserved his own funeral.

Tears pricked at the father's eyes, thankful that Hanneth was beneath his gaze. His jaw tightened as he continued to hold back his emotions. "I... I agree.. I would like that... For all of them," he started off, words sounding carefully spoken. "But Kiton... He deserves his own funeral. If not for him, then for his... his kids... For Roan... For me." They needed to be able to say goodbye to him. Especially for his kids, Dero thought it was the most important for them to be able to say goodbye. They didn't know all the other family that they might be saying goodbye to, but they knew they lost a father. Maybe they could still do it all at the same gathering, but Kiton needed his own time.

Table by Amanda | Image by Drifty (scars added with permission) | Background from unsplash