Homecoming

Alexis kneeled down and gently placed the violet blooming bell flowers next to each of her parents‘ grave markers.

It had been a while since she last had been here, when her father’s ashes had been laid to rest almost a year ago. Still it was sooner than she had expected. Then again, she had not expected things to escalate as much as they had, either.

Alexis sat down on the ground next to her parents’ resting place and just silently hung on to her thoughts. She wondered wether they were still watching from the Beyond. She hoped not, especially not her father. Stern and stoic as he had been, seeing the path the Wulvers had gone down might very well have broken his heart.

No, she hoped that they had found each other on the other side again and could make for all the time they had been apart, freed of the trifling worries of the living.

Alexis had not only come back to visit her parents, though. She had returned to her childhood home to give herself a familiar waypoint because she most certainly didn’t know where to turn moving forward.

There were a few options, she supposed, but…

She was interrupted in her thoughts as she heard someone approach her. She knew who it was even before he called out to her.

“So young Corgan didn’t just see you on the bottom of his whiskey bottle. Back again already, ‘Lexi?”

Alexis smiled and stood to greet about the only person left who would call her by that name. Evander, supported by his crutch to compensate for his missing left leg, walked over to her with surprising ease.

Her father’s best friend in life had to retire due to his impairment a few years prior.
These days he still worked as an advisor to clan chief Balderstone and trained the youngsters in basic combat. With Alasdair Greyriver’s death he was the last founding member of the Wulvers. To Alexis, he had always been pretty much an uncle in spirit.

“Evander. It’s so good to see you.”
she said truthfully as she stepped over to him to share a firm hug.

“Likewise, gal.”

After a moment Evander took a hold of her shoulders and looked into her eyes searchingly.

“Though I can’t help but feel if you come see the dead before the living, that it is not really a leisure visit. What’s going on?”

Age certainly had certainly not impacted his impeccable insight.
Alexis sighed.

“It’s a long a story. Not a nice one.”

Evander furrowed his brow and then decisively nudged her to sit with him.

“Well, I‘m an old cripple with way too much time on his hands. Tell away.“

So Alexis did just that.