Everything was strangely okay. Ever since last year the balance of the world had started to…..shift. Beginning with the disappearance of her father and skewed by the madness that had begun to grip Thoth. Solstice had watched her brother slowly deteriorate and change into something she could not recognize. He was not who he had seemed to be until his final moment.
She could feel the balance return, knowing it had come at an extreme cost. In his final moments, Thoth had uttered the first sounds of his life. The only sounds. To her the ask had been clear, even after she refused. To the rest of the world there had been no words, no true meaning. Had anyone seen, Solstice could have been a murderer. In her heart, she knew she had cast her brother into his fate, a fate he had been born for. She had sent him into death with a kiss upon his brow.
The sun rose over the snow covered plains of Asteraia. The wind was cold but for the first time she did not feel it. Instead she enjoyed the warmth of the rays and the comfort of being part of a pack and closer to her Imprint. There was belonging here. She could breathe easily once again. The darkness of the imbalance finally lifted. Solstice took a deep breath and trotted away from her den. The light glanced off her creamy gold pelt, alerting anyone who looked along the horizon that she was there. By all outward appearance, she was an innocent as she had been a season before. She was almost moreso, the seasons of shadows finally passed through her spirit. Just as her brother had gone to where he needed to go, Solstice had returned to herself. Balance, at a cost.