It was funny how time often fled within a blink of an eye, yet dragged at the most darkest of hours. For Fenru Tainn, his coming of age was both anticipated and dreaded. At about this time last year - so many, many months ago - the youth had nearly drowned when the River uncharacteristically swelled and claimed the only home he had known. Now, a year later, here, the young Tainn stood amidst the wreckage that had once been the place of his birth. His amber eyes scanned the broken branches and stared at the depression in the riverbank where the entrance to the den had once been; though darkness did well in cloaking the area, it was no match for his lupine eyes and every detail before him was easily picked out in the gloom.
His heart sank, merely wondering if Kisla had ever come here to grieve for the past, to be alone with her thoughts, to wonder about Rihael... His nose twitched and his nostrils flared, whatever information could be perceived went acknowledged then became forgotten in an instant. He found that he no longer cared - about Indru or Rihael or Torrel or Rissa - his lost family had been mourned (however poorly) and, with their passing, Fenru realized that the empty shell he had become over the past year had to be addressed. Where there should have been joy, a certain sadness filled his heart; where there should have been tranquility, an unquenchable fire raged; where there was once a love so brilliant, ashes and embers smoldered and sparked.
He took a feeble step forward to where he used to rest on the warm summer nights, waiting for his mother to return. A sniff signaled that he had cast the simple memory away. All these long months, during the year of his adolescence, he had done nothing but remember. He remembered what it was like to nearly starve to death while Indru had abandoned him the first time, and he remembered what it was like to feel whole when Indru and his uncles and aunts returned to Swift River. He remembered what happiness felt like, how crippling fear could be, and how deep his devotion to his family surged. Fenru Tainn, the thinker of his litter and the most reserved of his siblings, had, at last, come to a breaking point. If he was to be a man in his own right, then keeping his memories and cherishing what little life threw at him would not do...
He walked around the small site, eyed the boulders one last time and discarded the memories tied to the forgotten den. After taking a couple of deep breaths to affirm that he was ready for what he was about to propose, he let loose the song he had been singing since the day of his arrival to Relic Lore: a request for his mother, @Corinna.
Taekwondo (M, W, F) | Rapid-Response Day (Tu) | WoW Nights (F, Sat, Sun)