Eulogy For Nobody

Merrin had cried all of the tears she could possibly cry and yet they continued to mark her path on the trail that led back home. She'd forgotten that she would have to pass her garden on the way and when she saw it from afar, she paused her step. It no longer brought her an ounce of joy. She slowly traversed the distance until she came to the raised bed that she had so lovingly put together once upon a time. Every manner of vibrant flora smiled up at her as they always had. A once a delightful arrangement could only be seen as an ugly reminder.

Calmly and silently, she dipped her paws into the soil, pulling and pushing each cluster of root and stem from its home in the earth. {{“Sorry...I'm sorry...I'm so sorry...}} Were her barely audible mutterings as she focused on the work, taking the plants and gingerly laying them to the side until there was nothing in the bed aside from the freshly tilled soil and her. She stared down at the empty plot, narrowing her eyes as though she might be missing some intricate detail that might give her direction.

After a time, Merrin began to dig in the central most part of the mound of dirt. She started slowly, her shoveling strokes becoming more intense and desperate while new tears soaked the earth underfoot. When she'd exhausted herself, the older woman slumped down into the shallow hollow that she'd carved out. Panting, she rolled herself over onto her side and nestled herself there, trying to grasp onto any one emotion. To hold it steady. To imagine herself whisked away to the times of warmth and happiness that were seldom and few. Perhaps if she wished hard enough, she would bloom into a beautiful rose...everyone loved roses after all.

table ; bunny - - art ; Raven

THREAD MUSE

S

o much had happened at the parade. It was supposed to be a day of fun, a day to enjoy. Nothing Riften had done was fun, save for getting himself a new pet kitty. The little ragdoll had a mostly cream color coat, stunning blue eyes that could pull at your heart strings just by gazing at them, and a deep brown face. Riften had not thought of a name for the little kitty, but it followed him around like a shadow. He had decided that he had enough of this day. He needed to go home. It would take him longer to get there, after being seen by an army medic, he was told he had a broken rib. It sometimes hurt when he breathed in too much. He was getting pretty good at keeping his breathing at a decent pace. His eyes looked ahead and his ears listened to make sure he was not being followed. The last thing he would want would be to bring danger home with him. He would never endanger his mother and father. Carefully, he slipped past the border and up to the north.

It took him much longer than he wanted to get home, but he had to be careful. His little ragdoll kitten was leisurely rubbing itself against him every chance it got, chasing small bugs that moved in front of them, and jumping into the grass to roll around. Cats lived a much simpler life. He wondered if the little thing had any intelligence in that little head of its. He had stopped a couple times to allow the cat privacy to go to the bathroom, while he also did the same. He would allow breaks for sleeping in the grass. He would have gotten home much sooner than he had, but he was also suffering in silence. There was little the medic could do with his rib being broken. He was told to rest, and he would when he was in the safety of his home, with his loving parents.

As he rolled up to the place his parents had been living in for a while, he saw a rather troubling sight. Laying in the middle of a whole in her disheveled garden, strewn around were the plants and roots, petals ripped from their bases. The destruction of the garden was something he never thought he would see - especially not from his own mother's paws. He was shocked, unable to move as he just stared for a moment. When he finally was able to move, he did so quietly. His heart ached for her, his eyes filled with tears. He didn't have the words to say to her, as he could only imagine the intense amount of emotions she was feeling in this whole. He climbed inside, carefully placed himself within her arms, tangled in her form and delicately rested his head on her neck, as if to tell her she was not alone.

@Merrin

code by Yahtzee-Penguiduck

Merrin had drifted off to some place between wake and sleep and was roused with a start as another figure larger than her own was nudging beneath one of her arms. The alarm was shortlived, her senses flooded with the predominant scent of her son as he rested his head against her neck. Instinctively, she adjusted the positioning of her forearms to consciously hold onto him. He'd approached her quietly, without a word, and so she welcomed that silence in the shallow bed of earth.

The mother blinked the remnants of sleep from her eyes, her nose twitching as she picked up a medley of scents on Riften. There was one in particular that did make her lift her head with surprise to try to look at him. It was the faint scent of dried blood, wounds that were doing their best to heal, but they were certainly recent. “Riften?" Her voice was a whisper as she looked at him quizzically, lilac orbs looking him over as she tried to locate the injuries. “Are you hurt? What happened?"

@Riften

table ; bunny - - art ; Raven

The youngest Argent felt a little guilty at how little time he’d spent with his family lately and that swelled in his chest like a heavy stone as he approached his parents' new home in Aberdeen. His mind had been occupied with his studies, his work as a lawyer and admittedly a boy that never left his mind. Did that make him a bad son? He felt another twinge of remorse and a troubled wrinkle furrowed his brow into a frown. They were elders now and Atlas knew that meant their time upon this earth was limited. His mother was ever so fragile and his father struggled more each year with his injuries. When the time did come for them to leave him he didn’t know how he would go on without them. His mother had been the one to teach him all the wonders of the world and his father steered him away from danger whenever that curious nose of his lured him astray. They were his pillars of strength and now that he was grown he wanted to be the same for them.

The smell of fresh earth and greenery made him hum a little out of fondness. Merrin was likely gardening and adding more blooms to the little haven that she had grown for herself. He headed around to the garden, eager to see how excited she would be to see the new bulbs that he was carrying in his jaws for her to plant when he came across the devastation. His mother cradled within a crater in the earth and Riften snuggled up next to her. Icy cold fear sent a shiver down his spine and the bulbs were dropped to the ground as he hurried over on shaky paws, fearing the worst for his mother. He would never forget the words his mother had sent her children on the wings of her owl as if it was her final goodbye.

Then she moved and he felt the breath return to his lungs. “Mama? Rif?” he asked, confused and concerned by the scene he had come across.

code: elyon | art: renallia

R

iften knew that his mother loved him very much. Even with the distressed state that he had found her in, she was worried about him first. The thought of that, and knowing who made him this way only made his heart shatter for his mother even more. She was going to hear the truth sooner or later. He knew it would break her. He wanted to hide the pain from her as best that he could, but that was going to be almost impossible. He refused to lie to her, to steer clear of her question. He would tell her, in time. He really wanted to get into why the garden was rearranged how it was. What had caused her to tear apart the one thing she loved as much as her children. "Mother..." he was going to answer her, but another wolf joined them. Atlas was quick to approach the pair. Riften looked up to his brother with tear-filled eyes. "Atlas..." how was he going to tell two of the closest family members what was going on? He turned his head back to his mother, nuzzling his muzzle against her neck and chest.

"Lenora has been turned to the Imperial side. No longer does she have love for me, for this family... I fear. I wanted to speak with her as she was hanging out with an Imperial scum soldier. I yelled to her over the sounds of the parade, but she ignored me. So, I went to grab her to stop her so we could talk. She got mad, threw me to the floor and broke my ribs. I was taken to be seen by a medic and they did the best they could." Now he was turning his attention to Merrin. "What happened to the garden? Was it the soldiers? Did they do this?"

@Merrin @Atlas

code by Yahtzee-Penguiduck