The day his parents had died was burned into his memory for eternity. He remembered Haven and Idunn, pups barely old enough to be weaned, crying and begging their parents to live. But there had been no saving MoonGlow, and Alcide had lived through enough years of his imprint traveling distant lands without him to know he could not survive in a world where she did not exist. He missed them both, and for a moment his eyes turned towards the sky, thinking that perhaps they looked down on their eldest and youngest child in this moment and smiled from the great beyond.

As he looked to the heavens, Haven spoke of the emotions that had wrought her young mind that day, and Sleekwing reflected upon what she shared with him. He looked back to her as she told him he was brave to stay, brave to keep the promise he had made to their parents all those years ago. It had not felt like bravery back then, it had felt like treachery, like he was turning his back on his family. Only time, and the reassuring words of his imprint, had allowed him to realize that his decisions were just and true to his heart, and that his parents and family would always understand the choices he’d made. Haven’s words reminded him of that.

A smile creased his features and she began to speak of her favorite parts of their home, and he knew that it was different for every wolf that lived upon the mountains. For him it was the peaks and the valleys, the hidden caves and the creeks that formed from snowmelt each year, the borders that he knew like the back of his paw. There was some part of Spirane that called to each of them, and he was glad his sister shared what it was about this old soil that called to her heart.

The call of a young wolf caused a single ear to pivot, catching the tune and recognizing the voice as his niece. The hints of a smile broke into a wide grin as Haven confirmed this, and he nodded to her. Before Daenerys’ defeat he had been assigned to train her, but circumstances had changed, and though he might not be considered pack by Roman, someday that would change, and perhaps he would be given a new chance to teach Samus about the duties he had upheld for so many years. “Anytime, Haven. And I think that would be a grand idea,” he added, thinking that Moonfeather and Israfel would only benefit from meeting their cousins. It was an occasion that had been put off for far too long, and he looked forward to bringing it to light.

Sleekwing watched as Haven jogged down the mountain, noticing an ease in her stride that indicated the alleviation of the stress she had so plainly displayed upon his arrival. He sighed happily, pushing his paws out in front of him and laying down on the ledge. Tilting his crown towards the sky once more, he closed his eyes and recalled the faces of his parents and grandparents, and silently thanked them for all they had given to their descendants.