Krystopher had been with the White Rose Court for a few months now, and his recovery seemed to be going smoothly. A great part of this was because of his brother’s family, particularly Kite and Tempest as he got used to being their great uncle and their antics. But the twins were good kids and they were a part of his rather small pack. He was grateful for what remained of his family because in this world, that would be ultimately all they had left- each other. But to say that every now and then he was haunted by his past was an understatement. His mind went back and forth when it came to Bast or Moliira or his beautiful daughter. While he was sure that he’d never see his former wife or lover again, he had to carry some hope that the child was somewhere, safe and sound. It was the only thing that would keep him from breaking down at times in private.
 
It was a clear night where he sat at the windowsill of his room, reading one of his favorite books. The house was alive with the usual- the kids running about and causing mayhem while Blaine chased after them and Toya bickering with Aurora over being allowed to do things even in her pregnant state. Her daughter tried to keep her safe and he could hear her calling her mother a knucklehead only for her to return the favor. He softly chuckled to himself and turned to the next page. He was about to get to the best part with the desert air was filled with a strange sound that echoed all over. Peeking up, Krys looked over to see people down below gathering with lights and calling out for someone. Blaine and Jayden soon exited the manor and joined them and he slipped back into the room and tossed the book onto the bed.
 
Heading downstairs, he saw Aurora looking outside. “Hey, what’s going on?”
 
The teen turned to her uncle and frowned. “The sirens are going off. I think someone has gone missing. Father and Jay went out to go and see. They told me to look after Mother so that she doesn’t get any ideas.” Jayden returned a moment later, “Liz has gone missing.”
 
“Liz?” 
 
“Elizabeth, one of our cousins from the Purple Court”, his niece explained. “Ma! Liz is the one that’s missing!”
 
“She’s apparently been missing for a few days, that’s not normally like her. Anyway, I’m going back out there”, Jay said, “You can come if you like, Uncle. Or you can stay with Aurora and keep Mother out of trouble.” After that he headed back out there and Krystopher went to seek out Toya, with Aurora following behind him.

Toya heard the magical sirens going out over the city. She was immediately concerned. They would only have sounded them if something was really, really wrong. Then Jayden had come in and told them it was Liz and her heart sank a million pieces. Liz was so young and she was going through so much in her young age, she remembered going through half the things that Liz was in that moment and she had barely made it.

She held her hand to her belly as she came out. Once the others had left she sent a look to Aurora. “Say nothing about what I’m about to say.” Suddenly the woman was completely serious. “Krys this is something only you can do while I’m stuck here…”

Pulling Krys to her she pulled him down and put her lips to his ear. “In the cemetery… Follow the purple court. Towards the back, there is a child’s grave. She will be there. She might need this I imagine.” She put one of Angela’s crystallized flasks. “Hopefully she isn’t hurt too much. She might be in her wolf form. She is white furred but you should notice who she is. Hurry, you might find you have a lot in common with her Krys.”

In the cemetery right where Toya had said she would be was a white wolf in a pool of blood. She was slowly bleeding but she had enough sense. She pulled the blanket out of its safe spot and curled up with it. She whimpered softly as her brown eyes looked up at the statue of her son. “It won’t be long now Coriko.” Her white fur had blood spots all over it. It looked like the wound was on her back leg, that was where her fur was soaked in blood the most.

While Aurora would have normally argued back at her mother, it was already not a smart idea to do so with Toya in general. But to do so while she was with child? That was basically asking to get killed so she did as her mother told her and shut her mouth while she talked to Krys. He could see plainly that she was being serious right now and obliged when she pulled him down to speak with him more privately. “You seem to know her case rather well…”, he said as she handed him a flask. Apparently Liz would need a good drink out of whatever his sister-in-law had packed inside it. “Cemetery behind the Purple Court, got ya.” The lycan couldn’t help but to wonder why Toya would have a good idea as to where she was, specifically at a child’s grave. He gripped tightly around the flask before he slipped out of the manor after being pointed towards the right direction by Aurora.
 
While he went down the trail, Krys couldn’t help but wonder why Toya felt like he should be the one that goes and finds her. Why not tell the others that were out there looking for her? Too many questions arrive in his head but he pushed it aside as he eventually made it to the correct home and went behind it. Sure enough he could a cemetery but then smelled fresh blood not too far inside. Soon his pacing became running as he followed the scent until he spotted a white wolf. “Liz? Liz?” He made it over to her, and saw that she was greatly injured around her leg. Acting quickly, he placed his hands onto her blood soaked leg and concentrated his magic to focus on the wound. Healing magic channeled onto her as he looked at what she was curled upon. It looked like a blanket of sorts but he didn’t pay it too much heed.
 
“Don’t worry, I got you. It’s gonna be okay. Do you remember what happened?”, he asked as he continued to heal her. 

Her breathing had become to slowly vanish but her heart rate picked up as Krys got near her. She let out a snarl as he went to heal her but quickly noticed the flask from the smell and she put her head back down into the blanket. “Why can’t Toya just let me die.” There were tears even in her wolf form. It was such a sorrowful sound that would come to him. “I want to be with them, it’s not fair. Why couldn’t it have taken me too.”

Her voice sounded so much younger than that of Toya or Angela but she was still mature. After a few moment her body shifted and while her naked form was there she didn’t seem to mind he holding her leg. With the fur gone, it was easy to see that a spear had gotten her through the ligaments of her leg. Her amber eyes stared up at him as she cradled the blanket in her arms.

“It was a simple hunting trip. There had been a giant sand wurm out on the edge of Arri causing problems for the people coming to and from Sularia. It had been contracted to be killed so I said I would take care of it. Trade is what the Purple Court deals with on a day to day basis, I thought I could help my mother out. It’s a sand wurm, nothing overly dangerous where a group of the guild from Toya’s court had to go.”

She pulled the blanket closer to her. “I killed it and it didn’t take more than a day to find it and do that… However, I hadn’t counted on a group of slavers coming to investigate what was going on. I was noticed and couldn’t get out of the way. There was a group of twelve and I had managed to take down eleven of them before the last one managed to spear my leg. I dispatched him before I could take care of it but…” Her eyes drifted to Coriko’s statue. It was a statue of a happy little boy, the way she remembered him most. “If I had died I could be with my son. So I came here instead of going to see Angela.”

She sounded a bit defeated as she looked to the flask. “The flask is one of Angela’s… It’s a healing potion that is twenty times as effective as a healing spell. I only know because Toya lets me drink it whenever I get hurt. It might work better for healing the ligament.”

Krystopher simply looked at her while he still healed her, her words shocked and disturbed him greatly. What was her situation? Why did she wish to die? He didn’t know who “them” were, but he was sure that her death wouldn’t solve things regardless. “Toya wouldn’t let anyone die if she can help it. And I’m the same way”, he said to her in wolven language. “I don’t know your situation, but wanting your death won’t solve it, I’m afraid.” He had never wanted his death before, but he had been been greatly depressed when he lost his wife, daughter and stepdaughter a long time ago before even coming to this world. He remember holding up in his room, surrounded by bottles and misery. He couldn’t summon the energy to do anything but mope around and pity himself. When he truly lose everything, Krys tried to not fall into such destruction ways or worse, which was why the lycan was in Sularia in the first place.
 
He looked to the white wolf as she shifted back. Her being naked didn’t faze him; it was merely something that shifters gotten comfortable with after a while. It also helped him to see just where she was hurt and tried to focus on that. “I see. I wouldn’t have thought that they would come this close to the city’s grounds knowing that if spotted, they would be dealt with.” But sometimes with a person’s greed, they could be capable of anything if it was strong enough. “Perhaps next time you should have some backup just in case. Everyone’s been out here looking for you. Apparently you’ve been gone for a while now”, he sighed before noticing that Liz was looking up at something and then his own eyes followed suit. His eyes were glued to the statue before realizing that he was someone important to her. Even more than he assumed when she replied. “I…I’m sorry for your loss. Losing a child…it’s as painful as it gets without it being your own death. A parent shouldn’t have to bury their young…” His voice trailed off as he lowered his gaze. His daughter, though not buried yet, had been missing for so long that he wasn’t sure whether she was alive or not. But he knew the pain of not knowing, not being around his flesh and blood and the questions never stop rolling in his head.
 
The blanket she held looked as though it belonged to a young child, so he assumed that it once belonged to her son. Upon her suggestion, Krystopher took out the flask and handed it to her. “I think Toya likes you. Not that I’ve seen her like anyone enough other than her husband, my brother.” It was a shame that she felt so desperate to see her son again and while he understood in some regards how she felt, he still didn’t feel as though her reason should warrant her death.

“Toya has a death wish all of her own and she doesn’t even realize it.” She said it without thinking and perhaps this was a bad time to crack a tiny smile thinking of the woman. It went away as she noticed she had done it and frowned just a bit.

Once she was shifted back she was just as not shy about it as he was. She was a shifter after all and this was natural, she knew from him speaking the same wolven language that he was one too. “They cross into the red sands on occasion. Being as far out as I was… probably made them think it was safe to do. I don’t need any backup for such a small job… Just next time I need to be alert.” She looked up at him and blushed a bit. She didn’t want to be weak. “I hadn’t realized how long I’ve been here.”

Now she was looking at Coriko and he had noticed. It caused her to frown greatly. “It’s been two summers since I put him in the warm ground. I’ll never forget how scared he was when we got caught in that void storm in Parvpora… Or how much he asked me to make it stop hurting. He caught the fever over there and if it wasn’t for the void storm we would have gotten home and I could have gotten him the help he needed.” She took her fist and punched the ground. “The god damn void storm was what killed my son!” She yelled it. “First my husband dies and leaves me with our infant… then the fates decide I can’t my son either.” She was so angry with the world.


It took her a few moment to calm down but she was quick to take the flask and drink it. She didn’t want to deal with Toya if she didn’t drink it. She looked at Krys and shook her head. “Toya is one hell of a woman. She would wrestle down a dragon if she thought it was giving her attitude.” That was her small joke. “My leg is still really sore.” She looked down and saw the healing light from the potion she had drunk. “Probably will be for days…”

Her eyes turned to him. “Your name is Krystopher isn’t it? Toya said your daughter was lost. At least when she sat me down to talk to me…”

He knew that his sister-in-law was a harsh woman, but also a warm and kind one when she wanted to be. Surely he felt that every family across the land had a “Toya”. Sometimes she seemed to be a pain in the ass, but ultimately he did care for her since she was a part of his pack. He felt some comfort that Liz seemed to value her opinion as well.
 
Krystopher didn’t feel like arguing the events of what happened with her as far as the slavers were concerned. What was done was done and she seemed adamant that she would be careful next time and didn’t need assistance. Knowing that the Rosenites he did know were stubborn as hell, he figured she was the same way. He would have to take a page out of Blaine’s book, picking the right battles to fight and knowing when he should just take the loss.
 
Things got a bit more serious when she told him what happened to Coriko and his heart sank. Losing a child was hard enough, but one so young was even worse, especially if it seemed like fate was against them. There wasn’t much he could think to say that could comfort the hurting mother and widow. Fate could be so cruel and make us go through terrible ordeals. Beyond survival, there was nothing to gain from getting through but everything to lose from failing. He had heard of these void storms every now and then; they reminded him of something similar back home but he shook his head of the thought.
 
He ceased his magic once he was sure that she was drinking from the flask. “Could have sworn that she had some alcohol or something. I’m too used from seeing her and Blaine drink all over the household.” He was thankful that it actually contained something helpful in this situation. Drinking with the amount of blood loss Liz endured would make for absolute trouble otherwise. “Aye, she is. But I doubt that a certain someone would let her try it for her own good.” Krystopher slowly rose back to his feet and offered her a hand. “Yes, that’s me. And…unfortunately so.” He had to bite his tongue a bit before he had to think of her once more. “Come on, I can help you up and get inside. You shouldn’t be on that leg for too long before it fully recovers…”

Liz shook her head. “No, that’s just how Blaine and Toya deal with all their daughters and granddaughters. Especially that Aurora and Remedy. Dear god they are like exact replicas of their grandmother.” She screwed the cap on the flask and groaned a bit more from the numbing pain that she had now that the adrenaline was gone.

She held tightly onto the blanket with one hand as he helped her up. She lost her footing and began to limp on the leg. She felt like the leg would reopen at any moment and she winced. “Never lose hope until you find a body Krystopher. The moment you lose hope… you just won’t be able to live with yourself until you get the answer. Why give up when you know you’re never going to stop? If we hadn’t been swallowed by the void and came into Revaliir, I would still be looking for my husband… but…” She shook her head. “I understand.”

Liz’s amber eyes looked down at the blanket. “It stopped smelling like Coriko years ago but… He slept with it a lot until he decided he was too old to. It’s his receiving blanket from when he was born. Angela made it for us… or at least she got her daughter Aaryona to make it.” She chuckled a bit and held the blanket close. “It’s really the only thing I have that brings me comfort. I managed to grab it just before the void swallowed us and I’m thankful I got it.”

She tilted her head. “Though I could use some whiskey… Could make me forget about the damn in my leg. Liz is short for Elizabeth by the way… Only my mother calls me Elizabeth though and only when I’m in trouble. Which I’m sure I will be tonight from the sounds of it.”

Liz was going to be in pain for a while, that injury was going to affect her movement for an extended period of time, but she would live from the look of things. "I think that if it gets worse, Angela may need to be called to check it out." Now that he thought of it, Blaine and Toya did have plenty of daughters and granddaughters. Whether by blood or not, his brother doted and took to all of them as if they were all equally his own. Heaven knew that with him worrying over them would likely drive him crazy.

He helped her up off of the ground with ease and care. She seemed so light to him, even for Rosenite standards. When she lost her footing, he grabbed hold of her to help out. Her words though caused him to once more bite his tongue but his jaw loosened as he thought about it. He would have never gave up and told himself already that he wouldn't until he found Isabelle, dead or alive. He prayed that it would be the latter. "Sometimes hope is all we have to hold on to", he admitted out loud as he started to lead her away from the cemetery and around to the front of the house. He could still hear the sirens going on and people calling from the distance. Somewhere in the amidst of the chaos was his brother and nephew still searching for her.

Liz was greatly attached to the blanket she held, being the one that her son was in when he was first born. Krystopher continued to guide her until they were inside the house. From there, he lead her to the nearest room and placed her down where she could rest. "I doubt that you should have some in your state." He looked around and found a place to sit for a moment and nodded at her. "My niece told me that too, at least the shortened name part. Perhaps she will be understanding, hopefully." Closing his eyes, Krys fell silent for a short while before he looked to her. The words from before had sunk inside him and he felt as though he had to say something about it. "Honestly I do want to sometimes, but I want to know what happened, if she's still alive or…not. Isabelle is the last remnant of my life before all this chaos. My wife had disappeared long ago, as did our adopted daughter as well and someone very close and dear to my heart. The last thing I want is to learn of her death as well, but I know I will never be satisfied until I find her."

"Death likely won't bring you the comfort that you think it will. What happened to Coriko is a real tragedy but I wouldn't think that he or your late husband would want you to suffer like you are…" 

“Hold onto it until it slips away,” she spoke with a sadness in her heart. She knew about that so very well. From waiting for her husband to come through the door back at their home to hoping the void storm would end so they could bring Coriko home to get help. Sometimes hope was all you ever had.

She found a place in the Purple Court far from the library, which was probably best since Krystopher had found her. She was more at home in this place than listening to her mother yell. “Hopefully so… She hasn’t been completely alright with me wandering since my twin brother’s death… and after him, my younger brother also died. My mother had had a lot of loss in her life… but I understand and can bear the storm with her. I supposed that’s why in a sane state of mind that I choose life. So that I don’t have to make her suffer the pain of losing me either.”

She tilted her head at him as they waited and she gave a small smile. “If I shouldn’t have to suffer Krystopher… Neither should you. I think we would both get our asses beaten by those who care about us… both living and the deceased or missing.” For his sake, she put missing as her amber eyes moved to the window. “The sirens have died down they must have told my mother I am here.”

–

It took a while for her leg to heal. She was in a lot of intense therapy with Angela’s daughter Belle. Angela didn’t have much time these days to oversee her recovery thanks to the twins but that was alright. She flexed her leg as she watched the young blonde feel her muscle.

“You’ve healed quite nicely even with the potion. We had thought that you would have a permanent limp even with the healing powers my mother had. If Krystopher had brought you home any later you might not have been so lucky,” her voice was soft as Belle stood up and nodded to Liz.

“Sounds like a miracle to me. I thought for sure that I had permanently damaged it.” She flexed her toes and seemed pleased. “Can I shift now?”

“You can shift to your heart’s desire now. You should be just fine to go on a hunt as long as you don’t overstress your leg.” It had been a month since she had last been able to go on a hunt and even now she was required to have someone with her. For this, she wanted a wolf, someone who could ultimately enjoy the hunt with her and it would have been weird to ask her cousins or Blaine since it felt like they would be more of her babysitter.

She hopped up and flexed her bare feet on the cold tile before leaving the Red Rose Clinic, one of a dozen on the road as she felt the nice hot breeze against her face. Her white hair wasn’t blood stained this time around as she made her way to the White Court. She had on a loose tan shirt and pants. Hanging from her neck was a cracked hourglass necklace, more symbolic than anything. She knocked on the door before being let in.

A servant came and heard her request and before long they scurried off to find Krystopher. “Lord Wintercrest? You have a guest in the parlor, it’s Lady Elizabeth.”

She had her arms crossed and her white hair was braided in different places and tied with a golden ribbon on the end. “Do you want to take run with me? I just got cleared to go on a hunt but I need someone to go with me… if anyone would go they would just be a babysitter… It would be weird and I need a wolf companion to fully enjoy the hunt with me… What do you think?”