What was the point of fighting anymore?

The newly fire elemental peryton alpha let out a shaky sigh as he laid in his den, scanning the walls hoping for something new to make itself known. His grey eyes had been staring at these grey walls for weeks as his health deteriorated from this mystery illness. Kiera had done what she could, but she ended up catching it herself too, to which, Achilles sent her home, not thinking about infection, but rather, she needed to get out and go home. The lamprydae lass had already done so much for Sabertooth that he could only be grateful for, but it wasn’t working for the crimson, leather, and chocolate clad male. What was the use in trying? Pandora was dead, and although Aeolus had gained the spirit elemental, Achilles could not burden his son even further – he was picking up the pieces from the war, amongst all the other happenings. The king could only watch as several members of Sabertooth also contracted this mystery illness – the lot of Hermes’s family caught it, including Aurora herself. It was all her fault, this was all her fault. At least, that’s what part of him wanted the truth to be.

Achilles slowly got up onto his three legs before leaving his den, which was in the half of Sabertooth under quarantine, and looked around. Where was she? Aurora could be noticed from afar, given her aurora borealis pelt, but his steely eyes could not spot her. He could not see his son, Hermes, either, but was not surprised. The skyborne male was tattered during the war, and then caught whatever this illness was on top of it. Achilles could only pray that he was alright and would survive – Aeolus could not be alone. Not that he would be, given that Sabertooth was a very supportive pack, even now in these times of trauma, but the son who was a close copy of himself needed familial support, leaving Hermes one of the few left to provide. The newest litter of Achilles and Pandora would not understand, and these happenings would likely affect them for the rest of their lives. Considering that Achilles had a feeling deep down that it was his time. His steely eyes glanced down at his chest – it felt empty. Cold. No longer a pink strand lay there, connecting his entire being to Pandora. He began to tear up, plopping into an awkward sitting position with only one back leg to support him. All the Sabertooth alpha wanted was his Pan’dra.

Her pelt clouded with a dark grey, her light fading away by the days as the sickness overtook her. Aurora knew well enough her time was drawing near, and all she had to live with was guilt. The guilt of her family's downfall, of so many lives lost and the giant tear caused on her behalf. Pandora had lost her life even, she died hating her. The cold brought a shiver down her spine as she felt the need to find Achilles. She had to try to mend things as best as she could. She didn't want to die this way. Her violet eyes were clouded, dull as she dragged her weak and frail body toward the lingering scent of the crippled King.

Achilles looked up at the form approaching him, taking a moment to realize it was Aurora. As much as he wanted to snap at her to go away, his eyes noted the familiar dulling of her coat, much like his deceased love’s did when she was not feeling well. His heart thudded with empathy, much to his own dismay, as she sat down after addressing him, still by the King title. His own dulled grey eyes, narrowed on a scrunched face, looked at Aurora’s own violet, moving to her maw as she spoke. ”I’m likely the last face you’d want to see, I apologize.” His face softened at her soft voice, laced with hesitation and dryness. The tension between the two hung thick in the air around them, only accentuating the illness symptoms. ”I-…I’m sorry for your loss. I am sorry for the trouble, the damage, the death, I’m sorry for everything my existence in this pack has caused…I know I can’t make it right, and I’m truly sorry for that as well…” Achilles’s eyes slightly narrowed – was this a ruse? It seemed like a pitiful attempt at a last apology, at least to him. ”I never meant for any of this to happen, I didn't know. I... I love Hermes. I love him more than anything, and it breaks my heart that I have caused his family so much destruction. He saved me, you know... I was put on a pedestal when I arrived in Tarben, paraded as a prize to be claimed. Odin claimed me, we were tied. I couldn't love a man who lived by those rules, that took whatever woman he wanted whenever they wanted. I truly felt trapped. Like that was my life now, and there was no escape. Until I met your son, until that magical night under the stars in a field of flowers. He promised to save me, and he did... He plucked me from Tarben, and carried me here... He was the only man I've ever met who's shown me kindness. I spent a lifetime becoming someone for someone else. A ruler, a Queen to be, and I was rejected by the very man I was born to be with. Hermes is the only one who's ever looked at me like I'm something besides a pretty piece of meat...”

The king did not notice tears begin to roll down his cheeks as Aurora spoke. Hermes acted just like Achilles would have; he was his son, after all. The next words from Aurora broke him, driving a figurative stake through his heart and sense of self. Who had he become? The old Achilles would have never had so much disdain for someone – life can easily turn one into a cruel beast. ”I am so sorry for everything I have caused to happen… and I hope one day you can forgive me.” With the limited energy he had himself left, he mustered up the energy through his remaining limbs to stand up and take a few more steps towards Aurora. He gently dipped his head down, putting his muzzle underneath her jaw to keep her head from slumping like the rest of her body had, the dulled pelt making him feel even worse about how he had treated her so poorly over the past months. ”Aurora, if anyone should be apologizing, it is me. I have treated tch’ya unfairly. With all the chaos that came to our family, I was angry. I needed someone to put the blame on, and I couldn’t bear putting it on my son…and for that, I apologize. He did nothing wrong, and you did nothing wrong. The limited lifespans we have and how others affect them can be cruel…”

A sudden stiffness passed through his body, causing him to fall and hit the ground. An ‘oomph’ left his maw on the impact, thankfully, not landing on Aurora anywhere. He felt the energy start to dissipate from his body, starting at his legs. He did not have much time left. ”Aurora…” He spoke, his words hushed and dry much like hers earlier. ”Please tell my son, and family, that I love them…and…” He took one last breath, his eyes closing as his last words were exhaled from his maw - ”I forgive you, ‘rora.”

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The energy that had left his mortal body coagulated in the spirit realm into an ethereal form, and he felt once again full of vigor, a similar feeling to when he met Pandora for the first time. It was here that they had met, and they had developed Sabertooth into the loyal pack it is now, even with the drastic cut they had from the recent war, both in combat and the illness that followed it. He took a deep breath, lifting his head up from his corpse with his eyes closed, lowering his head and opening his eyes slowly, hoping to meet the lovely cyan eyes of his love, Pandora. ”…my lovely Pan’dra.” He spoke softly, his smile growing wider as he stepped forward and nuzzled the ethereal form of his one and only.