All Adelayde could focus on was the sound of her heartbeat as she mindlessly patrolled the borders of the still frozen Rye fields trying to keep the emotions at bay. She couldn't believe that he was gone. Dead and cold. She cursed herself too many times to remember. She should of tried harder to find him while on the manhunt to bring him back safely. Why didn't she just risk it and try to blindly track him down without his scent? He probably so close she just barely missed him. There was something she could of done to prevent his death, but here she was alive while Drestig was no longer.

Kicking the snow with her pale paw, a growl rippled through her chest at the thought of her failure. She felt the guilt so immensely, no matter how much @Laike tried to convince her it wasn't hers to bear. Ade would of went on for hours like this, sulking along the borders, trying to avoid everyone else. But a dark form ahead caught her attention and instantly she knew who's company's she was in. And all Adelayde wanted to do was run now.

Percy? The large tawny woman murmured with perked ears before she regretted her actions and pressed her tawny ears against her crown.  Her blabbermouth beat her to the punch as she blurted out words before she thought them through and run away before she was detected. Shit.... Ade didn't want to do this. She didn't want to be the one to tell Drestig and Jessie first born that her father had died not even 24 hours ago. Ade couldn't do it. She couldn't.

A small part of her wished her voice wasn't loud enough to reach the peppered girl's ears, that there's was a chance the Avalon girl's heart wasn't going to break today and she wasn't going to be the one to do it. It was selfish, she knew this, to not want to tell the girl of Drestig's fortuitous death. But was there really anyone out there that looked forward to telling a child their parent was dead. Nobody with a soul at least. A tired, half-hearted chuckle left her lips at the girl's words. If only she knew. There was no happiness in her laughter, which for anyone who knew anything about Ade, it would be concerning. The tawny woman was always full of happiness and laughter, radiating sunshine to everyone, even if they didn't want it. Today that happiness and sunshine was absent. Mismatched gaze looked up to the Avalon girl's eyes, the eyes her father passed down to her. Swallowing the lump that formed in her throat, she opened her maw to speak, dreading the words to come. Some– something happened, Percy...

There was so much of Drestig in Percy's looks. The way the gray peppered her ebony undercoat, the flame burnt eyes, and how piercing they get when they are looking for answers– an answer Adelayde was dreading to give her. Breathing in deeply through her nostrils, she refused to let the tears that puddled within the corners of her eyes fall. This was not the time for her to grief. Drestig meant so much to her, but to Phoenix there was no comparison. Percy was the Avalon's world and to her Drestig was her father, nothing could stand between that bond. Sharp words hit her ears as they folded against her crown, her gaze barely able to meet the burning pools of the phoenix girl. Drestig passed away. She couldn't even say the word died, it felt too harsh, too final. Passing away felt lighter, like he could be in a nice place, not a few feet below the cold surface.

It felt like hours passed between them before Percy uttered any response, but Ade didn't blame her for being speechless. The tawny woman had just delivered the worst news possible to the oldest Avalon child, news that will change her forever. Adelayde had lost both of her parents weeks apart from each other, never able to fully recover from either of their deaths. Though, she moved on from her homeland (for her own safety), she will never forget the memories she shared with them. Those memories were held close to her heart, with a death grip that nobody could get through.

The Rye second took a tentative step towards the girl, then another until she only a wolf's length away from her, giving her some personal space. Adelayde wanted to be close enough to comfort the girl if she was allowed, though she doubted she'd be welcomed. But she would be there, just in case. She asked about Jessie with a noise leaving her lips that broke her heart even more. She's alive, physically fine, but mourning. She went to tell Askan and Reyes herself that your father passed. Adelayde hadn't seen much of Jessie since Drestig died, but she knew if Laike had passed unexpectedly, she would be at a loss at what to do. He was her other half and she couldn't imagine going through a loss like that again after her parents. One thing she did know about losing family was that having family felt better than being alone. I'm sure she would like to see you when she got back.

Sadness was quickly replaced by anger as the speckled girl tensed up and face grimaced sharply. Tawny ears folded against her crown as Percy huffed and refused to stay within the rye fields. She had hoped the girl would stay, but Ade also didn't think she would. Adelayde retreated from her birthplace when he parents died and couldn't imagine going there again. There was too much sadness and hurt by that Lake, so much damage had been done to her. The sunflower understood why the Avalon girl didn't want to be here anymore. They're not cubs anymore. The boys were old enough, though Adelayde always tried to keep an eye on them when she could. Though, she wasn't their mother, Jessie was and the more she thought about it, maybe it would of been easier on the boys to get through this loss with their mother at their sides.