There was nothing quite like the feeling of grief when you experienced it through another. Noel, for all the days he had lived in Glorall, did not know Silvertongue as well as he probably should. It was, in part, his own fault for being so scare around his adopted mother’s den. Adopted mother… Until a few days ago, Noel had called Rhoedias his caretaker. But things had changed.

He had slept this night, as he had the past few, against the black wolfess, tight to her stomach. Since the grizzly passing of her mate, Rhoe had been left wounded. Though the boy had no words he could offer, he found that he was needed. Ravenwing, too, had been wrenched from her life, far too early for his time. And though Noel knew little of his adopted brother, he found himself able to mourn for the loss still. There were things unsaid, apologies that had never been made for his intrusion into the alphas’ son’s family. He would never know what Ravenwing had thought of him, whether he was welcomed as a brother or abhorred as a nuisance. This bothered him quite a bit, as he only wished to say he was sorry…

But his feelings mattered little. Rhoe, his mother, was suffering and the only bit of solace she found was in his company. For all the time he had previously spent avoiding her den for fear of burdening his new caretaker, he had been permanently attached to her heel. He found that he could not leave her, not in her condition, not when she woke each morning with a splitting scream and tear-stained face. It was not easy to watch someone you loved – and yes, he had come to love her – suffer so much. He did what he could. He washed the tears from her face when she startled him awake with her screams, nuzzled her silently when she halted in her steps in a moment of sudden emotional panic, and accepted all the care she offered as he knew this was her only outlet.

Perhaps, at some point, he would feel coddled and draw away, but for now he understood his role in her life. As much as he wished in needn’t be so, he was now her life, what she lived for… Maybe he shouldn’t understand such things at such a young age, but Noel was a bit of a mystery. It was okay, though. It worked in this situation. He did not complain at the extra baths, would not turn his nose to an extra meal or two, and obediently responded to Rhoe’s concerns. It was what he could offer her in her time of need, all he could do to help.

Today was different than the last. The pup awoke slowly and peacefully for the first time since his arrival in Glorall, no doubt desensitized to his morning panic by the daily rise of blood-curdling screams since Silver and Ravenwing’s passing. The nuzzled was soft and he batted his heterochromatic eyes after a moment, uncurling from his balled-up position at his mother’s flank with a leisurely stretch. As he turned his gaze to Rhoe, he noted the slightly steeled expression on her face this morning. It was time, then, wasn’t it? They were finally putting her family to rest.

Noel lifted himself to his paws and followed Rhoedias out into the ominous morning, the dark storm clouds hanging over the sea about as mournful as they felt. He sat as the black wolfess came to a halt where Silvertongue and Ravenwing had met their fate, watching with solemn curiosity as she marked the grave with a stick and a rock. There were no bodies. She had seen to that already. But bodies were but a thing after death. Today, they were putting the souls to rest. The charcoal dusted pup looked up to meet Rhoe’s blue eyes as she turned her gaze on him and he reached up to lick away the tear that rolled down her face. She was in pain, perhaps today more than any previous as she finally forced herself to say goodbye. He was in pain too, but a different kind of pain; the pain that came from watching another suffer. A soft whine escaped his throat as he looked to his mother, wishing silently that there was more he could do to comfort her in her time of need.

The silvery white pup shifted closer to the black female as she sat beside him, leaning ever so slightly into her side. He lifted his head back as she made her call to the pack, adding his own high-pitched, child’s howl to her mournful tone. For the first time, he would be meeting the rest of the pack… If only it weren’t on such a grim occasion.

soul and sky are magnetizing