He was sitting at the edge of the flowing rivers, staring at the waters. He did not move as he heard paws approach. It was Magnus who would disturb it brooding. Tye looked at him. His expression was expressionless, emotionless. Never had his eyes appeared so cold and piercing. His child had killed his child. The black wolf could not forgive that, he understood, he could see it in the way he looked at him. He could have stopped it. Tye could have stopped it too the second he heard the words "to kill" come out but he had not. He could have turned against him but that was what the puppet masters wanted. To divide and conquer. It was clear when his friend looked upon him, he saw only the images of his dead pups. He knew Tye had such high hopes for all of them. Such high ones. Tye did not consider Striker his son. Biologically and only biologically. His own son had turned his back on him to go to someone else to train; had turned to the same wolf who had trained him to do the Alpha’s bidding, to train him to kill his own brothers if the Alpha so ordered it. And his mate, well, from what he knew Tye had lost anything that resembled affection or love for her as she had only encouraged it. In short, Tye was in pain, but so was Magnus. He had seen his children torn apart. The copper male had finally understood the meaning of the events. The loss of a sons loyalty and a daughters ambition. He could have stopped it. He hated himself for not trying, unlike Chiara. He was raised with the pup fights, knew what they meant and he let them continue anyway. He had become a mindless puppet. The pack was divided, anarchy reigned supreme. Gazing upon his friend, all he could see we're the lives lost, from both litters. He had liked Tyes litter, three boys all desperate to prove themselves worthy. He had hoped his own children would one day rise with strength and power, but only some would carry that burden now, others were lost to him. His own daughter had never wanted to be a fighter, not even a hunter like him. She'd run off, with strange ambitions of being nothing more than a caretaker. She'd ignored his warnings, avoided his training. She was spirited and wilful, just like her mother. Chiara, how he loved her. But since the loss of their young he'd felt an estrangement. He had protected her, yes, but he had not helped her protect their pups. He was sure she resented him for it, but he loved her still. With all his heart he loved her, he refused to let her go. The friends continued to look at one another. One gaze piercing and unforgiving, the other dead and emotionless. Tye turned back to look at the flowing river, he did not say anything for a while then spoke in a low, emotionless voice, “Piper killed Icarus. Renier is gone. Icarus, he never got a chance to show how much of a good warrior he was but he was deserving of that title. Even more than yours.”
"Striker killed Aspen. I watched my son kill my own daughter," he countered, reminding his friend that he was not the only one who had lost. They settled into silence once more, seemingly for a long time then and their masks began to peel away. He say Tye's eyes grow lighter, sad and weary though he was not smiling. He appeared so empty and what more, he had suffered too much loss. His father, his mother, his own siblings. A father should never have to bury his own child. He sighed, “Magnus…I’m not long for this world anymore. My body has grown very weak. Very weak. I can feel my time coming but it is alright. I fear that I have seen far too much horror in my life, seen too many wolves I loved die. My father, my mother, my siblings and now, my sons. I never thought in my life time I would see another genocide but I was wrong. I’m glad to have known you. We fought, we tried to kill each other once. I have seen tyrants before. Cruel wolves. There are none that are good in this pack. And what is more, I smelt Samael on Cliché. Samael, who trained my own son to do the Alpha’s bidding despite what he did to his father. There is no one I can trust here except for you. So I am telling you this as my friend, my brother in arms for I believe you deserve to know that much. This is the last time you will see me or hear from me. There is nothing here for me anymore. For you there is, but not for me.” His friend looked up at the stars, silent for a while before speaking, “Say goodbye to Chiara for me. I hope you and her live a good life together.” Tye paused and said wryly, “And perhaps be blessed with more good fortune than I was.” He looked at Magnus one more time, regret and sadness in his eyes. He looked as though he sought an intimacy, a hug from his friend, but could not bring himself to do so, nor even smile. Tye was never the smiling type in the first place. “Goodbye brother,” came the final words Magnus would ever hear from his friends lips. The other wolf stood up and walked away, further down the river bank. His time had come. He could feel it in his bones. His heart. His muscles. Magnus watched the black mass stand and leave, the stiffness in his joints quite apparent. From where he sat at the edge of the flowing rivers, he watched his only friend disappear into shadow. "Goodbye... Brother," he said softly. Gazing into the waters on such a black night, his reflection was not his own, but that of his brother. It haunted him. No one could replace Tye.