He could understand why it would be painful for Lachesis to want to keep the pack so close to the Ethos. After all, his two closest friends (wolves he considered family) were buried there. It was a sobering thing to be confronted with every day. But was it so painful as to want to move an entire pack of wolves? The eldest frowned, before nodding with a small sigh. He understood where Mathéo was coming from. He’d never really believed in the afterlife, simply told himself that it had to exist. After all, everyone liked to say ‘they’re in a better place’. But, he’d felt awkward sitting by corpses underground, and he felt even more so talking to them.

Aleksei really couldn’t kid himself any more. The dead were dead, and nothing else.

“I get it,” he breathed out, “and you’re right. They aren’t here. I don’t understand why others speak as though they’re still around.” If they were still here, losing them wouldn’t have been so damn painful. “And I don’t understand why they’d be so against moving.” They would still be the same pack. Most likely, they’d remain in Kingsfall but not so close to the Ethos—not so close to the dead. “Like they would be offended.”

Really, had any of the wolves currently in the River pack known Maksim and Kisla as well as Lachesis had? Not even Inna knew them as well as the ghostly medic. Hell, Alek didn’t. Naia was buried here, too. There were too many bones beneath the ground, and Lachesis was the one who knew them all the most.

Aleksei hadn’t expected Mathéo to be so stalwart in his beliefs (because there was no doubting now that the boy didn’t believe in an afterlife, or something after death), and he couldn’t really decide whether he found it admirable or heartbreaking. Whilst Aleksei certainly didn’t want to parade around pretending that his parents were cloud skipping and smiling down on everyone fondly, he had decided to keep his parents alive in his heart and memories at the very least. But, the younger of the two … well, it was hard to say how he felt, or what he thought, other than nothing mattered.

He couldn’t be more different to his sister.

“I guess that, sometimes, wolves don’t want to let go of those they love,” he mumbled with a slight shrug. “I think they need to be let go, though.” Because otherwise you held onto the guilt and the pain of it all, and you never healed. That's why Aleksei had come here for one last time; to let go.

Aleksei would’ve been content to gaze off solemnly into the distance, had it not been for Mathéo’s surprising question. Jeez this kid had a lot of weird things to say! “What? No! Not at all,” he hurriedly sputtered, his own eyes wide. “What makes you think they’re going to eat them?”

Thank heck!

Mathéo really didn’t have any other words to express his relief, entire body sagging when the older wolf exclaimed they would be doing no such thing. Even his ears seemed to release stress, trembling quietly as he gave a small nod. Green eyes sought Aleksei back out as his thundering heart started to slow, struggling to return to a normal pace.

“‘cos. We buried them. Same as we bury squirrels and mice when we want to eat them later,” he explained, seeing no fault in his logic. That said, he had no idea what else you’d do with a dead wolf, but they’d even put them all in the same place, just like a cache. Just like a cache. He felt like he didn’t quite deserve the look Aleksei was giving him. His little tail gave a little twitch as he sighed, glancing back over his shoulders towards the inner workings of Hearthwood River. What was it like where Aleksei came from? Were there more things to do?

Less wolves to bury?

“Are you gonna come again?”he asked, eyes finding his brother one more time. The loss would fade, eventually, and so would the need to visit the bodies in the ground he assumed. So…would Aleksei stop, too?

Mathéo’s explanation … actually made sense, somehow. In fact, the more Aleksei thought about it, he realised it was a pretty reasonable thing for a pup to think. Still, he had to explain the difference. Maksim had taught him why wolves were buried, after all. It felt like it was right for Alek to pass it on.

“We bury wolves so we can return them to the earth, to keep the cycle of life going. It sounds cheesy, right? It’s important though. See, plants grow will from where mum is buried.” And his own dad. “Those plants will feed the prey that will feed us. We give life to get it back in return.” Energy never stops moving. Never disappears. Never fades. Offering Mathéo a warm smile in the hopes that it made sense, Aleksei felt his own pains were eased by the explanation.

Was he going to come again? Without hesitating, he gave a firm nod. “Of course I am,” he responded, “I’ll come visit. Some time before the snow falls. I want to see you again. Risaela, too. Maybe we can take a trip together? Hang out. Do something fun.” Like the wolf equivalent of a camping trip or something.

Aleksei paused. “Would … that be something you’d like?”