How long had it been? Days? Weeks? Months? How long had it been since disaster had torn his world apart for the second time in his life. He had no idea. Each day seemed to blend into the next with no true measure as to how long he had been travelling aside from the rawness of his feet. Each stride was more painful than the last and his body begged and pleaded for him to stop, to take refuge somewhere and let himself rest, but his broken heart and weary mind  told him to simply carry on. Perhaps fate would be kind enough to simply let him slip away into a quiet slumber, one from which he hoped never to wake. But as the sun rose each morning, in turn his will to carry on fell. The stench of smoke and destruction still hung heavy in his memory. How many had succumb to the merciless flames? No matter the number is was far to many. Gone. All of them, whether in death or simply lost as he was, they were all gone, including her. The love of his life, his sun and stars, his reason for living, his dearest Quinn.

Though he prayed that she managed to escape the deadly flames, he feared the worst had befallen his beloved, when he was unable to find any trace of her when the flames had finally died down. He had no idea how long he had searched for her, how many countless times he had howled out hopelessly into the sky, mourning the loss of his mate, hoping, with every fibre of his existence that he would hear that sweet song of hers trickle through the air, but it never did. Each night was the same, he would find a place to rest, and let slip a mournful song, one that was surely enough to bring tears to the eyes of any who heard it, and tonight was no different. His massive frame dropped to the ground as he tried to settle down for the night. He could smell that he was nearly on the boundary lines of another packs land, but he held no desire to call to them, only to call out for the one thing he longed for. Her. Bloodied paws throbbed as he propped himself up into a sitting position beneath the cover of a large pine. Tipping his head back, a somber song slipped from his maw and trickled through the crisp night air.

As the eerie tune came to a end, a sigh was quick to follow as he allowed his aching body to slip down onto the cold snow while he tended to his battered feet. His large tongue mindlessly lapped up the blood that stained his paws, while his muscles relished in the cold the the snow provided to dull the heat that overexertion had caused. "To die, to sleep, No more; and by a sleep, to say we end the Heart-ache, and the thousand natural shocks that flesh is heir to? 'Tis a consummation, devoutly to be wished. To die, to sleep, to sleep, perchance to Dream; Aye, there's the rub, for in that sleep of death, what dreams may come." he whispered to himself as his heavy lids began to fall and sleep began to overcome him despite his best effort. Sleep was not what it once was to him. No longer did it bring him rest and a time to relax, but instead flashes of the fire blazed brightly in his dreams, haunting his mind.

Sleep was not something which easily came to the heart-broken fae. It had been a long time since she had felt this way, this pain. But it had returned with the flames and destruction of her home. In the night, it swallowed their maple leaves and engulfed the lands in a fiery rage. Quinn was separated from her mate, their young, and their friends. It was a horrid nightmare, which forced the Alphess to wake from her slumber much earlier than she had planned. She woke early in the morning, patrolling the borders as she got accustomed to their lands. It was vastly larger in size than her cozy home dressed in maple leaves. She marked her scent along the territory, warding off those who wished to hunt in their home. She walked slowly through the snow, feeling the chill wrap around the pads of her paws. But she did not care, she was almost numb to any pain. She had loved and lost so many times, it was almost not even worth it. She zoned out into her own little world, a place where she would frolic with Fenrir and their pups. In the best of her memories, she could hear the loud and proud call of her beloved mate, Fenrir. It was so strong and held a deep tone to it. The sound of it alone sent shivers down her spine. While in her dream, she heard a howl which held the tone of his own. It pulled her from her day dream.

Her eyes scanned the area, looking for him. It was useless, there was no way he could be here. Moving forward, she followed the direction the call had come from. It had sounded more like a cry than a call to speak to an Alpha. As she drew closer to him, she could smell his scent. She knew it better than her own. Rushing through the snow, she forced the clumps to fly into the air. Quinn moved faster than she ever had in her life, her heart raced quick against the bones in her body. When she finally saw him, her heart sank into her stomach. Her tail wagged quickly as her eyes rolled over his sleeping form. "Fen..." she said so quietly, it practically came out in a whisper. She moved quickly to his side, nuzzling her nose to his coat as she lathered it in his scent. She closed her eyes as she whined and wagged her tail quicker than she had in a very long time. She opened her mouth enough for her tongue to lick his coat. She gave him enough affection it covered his face and rolled down to his muzzle. She would continue to show him this love until he opened his eyes and saw it was her. She lowered her body to the ground before him, allowing her body to relax while she covered his face in her love.

What cruel torment was this? That his dreams should seem so real as to be forced to re live the night he lost it all. The images burned vividly in his mind, even the smells, the sounds. Her voice, oh but to hear her voice once more. Oh how he wished death would be so kind as to steal him from these nightmares, to end a misery that only darkened each pitiful moment that he carried on now. But as he so desperately wished, he could swear he heard her voice. Sleepy ears flickered trying to distinguish between reality and his nightmares but to no true avail. While he had thought her voice would be a sound to bring him great pleasure, relief, some hope, it seemed now only to tear at his heart even more, his dear Quinn, she was truly gone.

His ears flickered once more as a sound began to pull him towards wakefulness, a sound that could be nothing other than another wolf approaching. Did he dare open his eyes and see whatever fate was charging towards him? But that smell, that little voice, could it be? Or was this some cruel joke his aging mind was playing. He didn't dare open his eyes just yet in fear of waking to a reality far different than the one he seemed to be imagining right now. His muscles twitched at the unmistakable feeling of contact between him and another and in such close proximity her scent swallowed him entirely, drinking in her scent, he finally opened his deep amber eyes and was simply speechless at the glorious sight his eyes were treated too.

"Quinn? Is it truly thee? Pray this be none but truth and not tricks that mine own eyes should deceive me." He whispered as she smothered him with affections and lay beside him. The feeling of her petite form against his once more sent a shiver of relief coursing through his body. Lifting his large head, he rest it upon her shoulders and closed his eyes, revelling in this moment wishing for it never to end, taking in everything about it he could. Her scent made him dizzy, her beating heart was loud enough to ring through his ears, his own echoing just as loud. "I love thee, I love but thee; with a love that shall not die till the sun grows cold and the stars grow old. I swear death shalt be but the only force capable of parting mineself from thee.  And so, doubt the stars are fire, doubt the sun doth move, doubt truth to be a liar, but never doubt I love, for I love thee with so much of my heart, none is left to protest." he whispered softly to her, quoting what he had said to her upon confessing his love to her what seemed like a lifetime ago.

Rubbing her face within his chest, she held a strong smile upon her lips. Her eyes held themselves closed, listening to his words. He was home. They were together once again. She smelled his scent, the glorious scent she had become addicted to. It was glorious and rich among his pelt. It was something she had longed to smell for far too long. But he was here now and all was well. She listened to his words, his voice, taking it all in as if a great weight had been lifted from her shoulders and replaced with the feeling of his chin upon her. There was no greater feeling than being reconnected with the love of her life, her mate. How much time had passed since they last laid eyes upon each other? She did not know. "Oh Fenrir, how I love you as well. I have waited for you to discover me, to come and rejoin our commitment to one another. If you had not come, I would never once again feel the force of true love's embrace. It is with you I only wish to be happy with. You are my earth, my sun, and my moon. Without your everlasting glory, this small Alphess would have nothing to truly live for. All this time, I had been learning these lands, their pack, and in the back of my mind, all I really wanted was you. But you are here now and we can be together again." She nuzzled against him, pulling her body as close to him as possible. Oh how small she had been beside him, she loved the feeling of his protection. He was large like Azul, but she did not know the difference in their sizes, who was larger and whatnot. She did not care.

"Oh my love. I have much to tell you. After I ran from the fire, I was searching for you and our pups, but I did not find you. I had heard a long while ago that a dear old friend of mine now runs his own pack. So I left, thinking that you might have died, along with our young. I discovered Azul's lands and he personally greeted be upon the border's edge. We spoke for a while and soon he told me he wished for me to take over his role as Alpha. He has a mate, she is very sick, and he needs to tend to her. He too has lost a pup, and his other his fled the lands, while his only daughter remains. He wishes to spend more time with her. He needs his family now more than ever. So now, you are looking to the Alphess of Helidos. I have already met a few of the members personally. There is such a rank as Guardian here, where a fae by the name of Fel's position is to protect me and my mate. Isn't that incredible? I have also met a male healer. It's such a strange thing to see as our healers in maple Woods were always female. But he is very kind and soft-spoken. I think the two of you would get along well. Oh I just cannot wait to show you these world, it's new, exciting, and vast! I love you my darling, with all of my heart, I am finally whole again."

Finally. It had been so long since he had felt such happiness, a feeling he thought was lost to him once more. He had considered the fact that perhaps he was destined to know none but sadness, the short lived fire of happiness, only to have it all ripped away from him in the blink of an eye. A song of fire and ice seemed to be the means to the end of his happiness, but here, in the frigid winter, as he had lost his family the first time, he had found his new family again. And this time, he would not let her go. Not should his life depend on it. "Fear not my love, for I am here now. Never again shall we part, I promise thee this." he whispered softly to her as she pressed her small frame into his, desperately trying to eliminate any remaining space between them though he was certain at this point there was not a single hair of theirs that did not touch. He closed his eyes once more and listened to the sweet sound of her voice as she spoke. She was indeed correct, there was much she had to tell, and much he had for her in return, but for now he listened.

He cringed at the thought of her being alone and frightened for his own life and the lives of their pups, something she ought never to have gone through, but fate was a fickle beast, and was cruel at times. His heart wept not knowing the fate of his pups or his beloved, but knowing now that she was safe, that she had escaped gave him a newfound sense of hope for the lives of his young. Guardian? He had never heard of such a rank, but that did not matter. He would embrace any such changes so long as Quinn remained by his side. "Guardian? Tis as foreign a rank to mineself as tis to thee my dear, but never the less it sounds a most important and valuable rank for a pack to have. I look forward to exploring these new lands with thee, to having mine truest desire once more within my grasp. I thought you lost to me, that fate had but decided I should loose another family." he said, pausing as a flicker of pain rushed through him, recalling the first time he had lost his family, but he shook it off. There was no need to dwell on the pain any longer. He had his Quinn, his beautiful Quinn back and that was the important thing.

"I too have much to tell thee. The night of the fire, I searched for thee and our beloved pups, but to no avail. I searched for everyone, anyone. It pains me to say, that many were lost to us in the fire, but I found no trace of young Cadence, Reed or Harley within the wreckage that was our home. I pray that fate hath been kinder to them, and that they are safe, somewhere, together. Their scents didst lead away from the fire's wrath, all three, strong and together, but I fear it did fade to quickly as smoke masked the lands." he said with a sigh. He had tried to follow their scent, to find them, but the mask of smoke that covered the land as the winds picked up, destroyed any chance of tracking them.

"Fenrir, I never lost hope. I hoped that from the forest fire, you would come and find me, that we would be reunited once more. I have not seen our gorgeous pups, but they have one another, and I know they will be fine. I pray to the other forest they will be safe from harm. Perhaps one day, they too will find Helidos and we shall be reunited again." Quinn looked to her mate and licked his coat. She had missed him dearly and loved to hear his voice. The way he talked to her, it was the best thing she could ever dream of. They were together again. "My love, I would love to hear everything of your travels, but I think we should move to be within our new home. Our den, is large and will fit the both of us comfortably. We can talk for hours or just lay with one another, enjoying the silence of our return to one another. Whatever you wish to do now, my love, I will do it. Please, come home with me?" She asked as she gave him a lick to his cheek and stood, starting to walk towards the pack lands. Her tail wagged behind her quickly, showing him just how happy she truly was to have him here. With Fenrir around, she pressed her ears to her head. She did not show her dominance over him, as she saw him as an equal. After all, they had once ruled Maple Woods side by side, perhaps it was time Helidos got a new Alpha.