Willow Ridge sleep don't visit

for @Nicolò only.
Backdated to 2/5.

Since Elettra's death, Sven had not made a point of seeking out any wolf other than Attica. As his pack mates mourned so did he, privately. He did not need their grief compounding his own, did not want to see the faces that shared the same shame as he. Whether or not another soul believed it, the pale teenager felt that they all had a part to play in this tragedy. He'd been meant to take care of his grandmother, to ensure her happiness, and he had failed. She had been killed by the sorrow of seeing her mate dead, and Sven had done close to nothing to prevent it.

Yet wallowing could not be his way of life. There was nothing that could be done to bring his Nonna back from the grave, but he could ensure that all of these mistakes ceased once and for all. The pack would need to move forward, and he had his own particular, unspoken vision on how that was to occur.

First, though, he had questions. The wolf which hopefully had the questions for him was discovered not too far from the main den, which now felt so empty without Elettra to curl up next to each night.

With a woof Sven greeted his uncle, tail wagging only once each way before stilling behind him.

"Nicolo. Can we talk?"

Two of his sisters were gone now. It was as if fate wanted to play some sick joke on him. In the wake of Elettra's death, however, Nicolo had woken up from his stupor. All he was doing within the pack was wasting away, not benefiting the rebirth of the oldest Archer's legacy, one he had promised to uphold and protect. The dark Archer needed to get his ass in gear if anything was to happen. In the mid-winter their numbers were low, he would bet that they were lower than anyone had ever seen them. It was not something he was proud of. Nico had failed Willow Ridge, failed Elettra, and failed Adele. Dark lips were pursed in a thin line when he surveyed the cache. Even with his small offering of a skinny hare, it was not enough for those who remained. He would do more, be around more for them. With this in mind, he made his way back to the main den to see if anyone was around. Perhaps if they had any luck they would find a trail that would lead them to something that would benefit the pack in the long run. Secretly, he hoped that it would be Enoki that he would find, but knew that anyone would do at a time like this. Pale yellow eyes surveyed nothingness as he came to the den, not a surprise since it was the middle of the day. The dark Archer was not expecting a voice to pip up from behind him. Ears swiveled back to catch the voice of his nephew. He turned, having no right to deny the boy a conversation, especially since Nico had been avoiding everyone for so long. A strained smile crossed the man's features, his response immediate, "Of course, Sven. What's on your mind?" His eyes were trained on the yearling, unwavering in their attentiveness. He did not know how Sven was handling Elettra's death but he would not bring it up. Grief was a mysterious thing and Nico did not want to stir up something that the dark boy did not want to talk about.

WesternStock @ DA, KYghost @ DA & Dawnthieves.de - Table by PuppyThief

Nicolo stopped at his voice, and Sven took the opportunity to bump his shoulder lightly against the other man's as he passed before turning round and standing to face him. This wasn't going to be an easy topic to broach, especially in light of current events. However, it had been put off for long enough, the teenager needed this answers, and hopefully his uncle had it in him to forgive any blunt questions posed.

Yet...

"You doing alright?"

It felt important to ask that first, because Nicolo had been distant long before Elettra's passing. Ever since Adele had passed on. Now, he had no sisters left, not even a brother-in-law. Well, he had Enoki though, didn't he?

"Considering," he appended, because he wasn't specifically asking about the man's state in direct regards to his nonna's passing. None of them had dealt with that blow, and so it went without speaking.

Sven's light bump along his shoulder was reassuring. Yellow orbs tracked the boy when he moved in front of the dark Archer. He pursed his lips silently, surveying the boy's face while doing so. Surely, this was not a check up visit? Releasing a sigh, Nicolo's tail lashed behind him, his voice soft when he responded, "Better than yesterday, but I still miss them. You?" He had said he wasn't going to ask but since Sven had made a point of seeking out how he was feeling, the uncle felt as if it would be rude not to inquire further. It would only be a matter of time before they got to the real topic of conversation. Rarely were Archers the ones that danced around something that needed to be said. Usually, they came out and said it, not having time for delay or feeling as if it were petty. Sitting down, Nicolo made himself comfortable, unsure of where this conversation was headed.

WesternStock @ DA, KYghost @ DA & Dawnthieves.de - Table by PuppyThief

Miss them. Of course it was a plural, one would have to be blind not to see how close Adele and Nicolo had been. Even questionably so, one might say, as Sven could recall a remark or two by both his father and his aunt Morganna about the situation. The teen had to wonder, would his uncle ever recover from the loss of his sister? If it were Attica... no. He couldn't even think it.

Still, he couldn't exactly empathize. While Adele had never explicitly wronged him, she had always kept an aloof distance. She had been a consistently silent and almost ignorable presence, and by now Sven had gotten used to the absence of her unassuming existence. Anything that might have been felt had certainly been eclipsed by the loss of Elettra.

Sven possessed the grace to sigh, however, a sympathetic and heavy exhale. The question, of course, had been returned to him, but by now Nicolo's cool interest was nothing new. He'd appeared to see something different in the boy ever since Morganna had left without him, perhaps in the same way that Sven viewed @Enoki in an altered light. Uncertain but still present, still significant.

"As well as I can be."

The anger, the pain, the loneliness all still ate at him, but he likened it to his mother leaving. He knew by now that he could survive such a thing, that while he would never fully recover, it would not end him. Anyways, regardless of how he felt, she was still watching. He had to make his Nonna proud.

"I know it's not a great time, but I need to ask you. About when you stepped down, gave leadership to Renier. Why?"

The question was simple, but he expected it to be difficult to answer. It had to be, didn't it? That was so much to relinquish, to just give up. The cause had to match.