Disclaimer: ElfQuest belongs to Richard and Wendy Pini. The song 'Who Wants to Live Forever' is owned by Queen. Both are used without permission, but with no profit or any sort of income, so please don't take offense.

	It has been many, many years since the Second War of the Palace. 
 FinalQuest, as some of them have now named it, has come and gone, and
 those that survived it are disappearing as well.  The Wolfriders huddle
 in a section of the forest, a refugee, a new Father Tree shaped by
 treeshapers whose talent could never match dear Redlance's.   Dewshine
 was the last of them now, of the adults that remembered those days. 
 Her adopted son Pool was grown, and though old as well, still had time. 
 Her lifemates had long since died, and her father with them.   
 	As fragile and delicate as she had been when she was young, but
 now frail with sickness and age, Dewshine lay comfortably on her furs,
 breathing in the spicy-sweet scent of her sons' dens.  She could feel
 Windkin's strong grip on her hand, and smell Pool on the opposite side
 of her.  Her eyelashes fluttered.
	Windkin's soft, tentative sending drifted into her mind.  **
 Mother..? ** 
	Her eyes opened, bright blue and shining.  She smiled into her
 sons' worried eyes, her wrinkled face folding with the expression.  "Is
 it night yet?" she murmured, starting to sit up only to lay back down
 again as her bones protested.  She had forgotten how tired she seemed
 to be lately.
	Pool smiled sadly, his brown eyes, so much like her beloved
 Scouter's, moist.  "Yes, Mother," he whispered. He had taken to calling
 her that after Tyleet had disappeared.  "It is night."

	
	"Oh.." Dewshine smiled, turning her head slightly to look towards
 the den door.  A leather curtain barred the outside world from her
 sight, but she smiled anyway.  "Good.. I would not want to keep you
 dear cubs up so long.."
	Windkin's smile was bitter, but he said nothing in response. 
 Instead, he reached to brush a white-streaked blonde curl from her
 face, murmuring softly, "You have a visitor.."
	Pool nodded, his brown, unkept hair falling over his face.  So
 many lines, Dewshine saw, beneath Pool's eyes.  "Tyldak has come,
 Mother.  He's come to see you again."
	"Tyldak," Dewshine breathed the name.  Her Recognised.  After
 Scouter's death, she had grown closer to the winged elf, but his soul
 was not a forest-born one and he left to take to the sky once more,
 leaving her.  It had been many turns since she had last seen him, and
 the thought of his return seemed to bring color to her cheeks.

	Windkin smiled, still so young to her eyes, a single line beneath
 his gentle eyes the only betrayal of his years.  He was more than twice
 his mother's age, perhaps more than thrice it, yet he looked barely
 older than she did before she left the Sun Village to return home.  The
 pure-blooded turned-Wolfrider reached to touch her cheek, gently trying
 to smooth out the wrinkles in a soft gesture.  "Yes, Mother.  Tyldak. 
 He.. He wants to see you."
	Dewshine closed her eyes, a small smile lifting her lips.  "How
 wonderful.  How.. wonderful," she repeated, at lack of how to describe
 it and too tired to think of it anyway.  "Please, cubs.. send him
 in..!"
	** I am here. ** 
	And he was, his slender form silhouetted in the den's doorway, his
 leathery wings oiled and so thin the light shone through fuzzily. His
 headsail was slicked back, his great brown eyes blinking back at her. 
 He was as she remembered when they first met, his soul-form shining
 through his physical one, so beautiful it brought tears to her eyes as
 she remembered how repelled by hers, that of an animal, a wolf turned
 elf.  But his eyes settled on her without revulsion, without hate, but
 of concern and.. dare she think it? but it was.  Love.
	She moistened her lips, then parted them, calling out as if caught
 in strangleweed.  "T-Tyldak!"

	At her side in a moment, the bird-elf knelt beside her, reaching
 to touch her with his single talon.  His eyes glittered with tears as
 he returned with a gentle touch of souls, whispering her secret name. 
 ** Lree **

	Somehow, that gave her a sudden strength, and Dewshine surged up,
 winding her frail arms around his neck, burying her face in his chest
 before her strength gave and she clung to him limply, prompting him to
 turn a wing over her, holding her close to him.  ** I missed you.  I
 thought you were gone forever, ** she confessed, her send's voice
 strained.
	** I promised I would return, ** he reminded her softly, holding
 her as if he would a precious item that might break at the slightest
 moment.
	"I know," she could only whisper, mumbling it into his shoulder as
 tears rolled down her cheeks.  "I know."

	Pool and Windkin watched quietly, their faces expressionless.
  Though neither was bound by blood, they were brothers in the ways that
 mattered, watching the mother they somehow shared, their own eyes
 beginning to tear.  Pool had never met Windkin until after his sire had
 died. Somehow, Windkin had sensed his dam's distress and come,
 comforting her as Pool comforted Tyleet, and stayed. Now, as they
 watched mother and sire-of-one reunite, Pool's hand slipped into
 Windkin's and squeezed tightly.
	** Lree, ** Tyldak's mind gently touched hers, strengthening the
 soul-bond between the two.  ** The Mountain fell years ago, and my
 lover, Kahvi soon after.  I have not known death since then. **
	Dewshine's touch was weak, but a bitter laugh rang through it.  **
 Everything dies, soulmate. **	
	** Perhaps.. a healer.. **
	Dewshine pulled away from him, lifting her watery blue eyes to his
 ancient brown.  "Oh, Tyldak, Wolfriders are not forever.  You know
 that," she whispered, her voice strangled as he had struck at her very
 core.  "I am not afraid to die."
	Pool's grip on Windkin's tightened, and the floater squeezed back.
	"But.." Tyldak looked deep into her eyes.  "I am."
	"Oh, Tyldak."  Dewshine smiled, a shadow of her former beauty. 
 "Who wants to live forever anyway?"
	Tyldak swept her up into his wings again. ** I do, Lree.  I do. **

	The night stretched on and Dewshine fell silent.  Tyldak lay her
 gently back upon the furs even as her eyes closed, watching her fall
 asleep, praying she would awaken and smile at him again.  When it
 seemed that their mother was peaceful, Pool and Windkin exitted the
 den, leaving the two soul-mates to their privacy. 
	Tyldak could not remember the last time he cried, but now, as he
 shuffled his gangly limbs into a parody of a sitting position, he felt
 those foreign droplets roll down his cheeks, tasting them upon his lips
 as they escaped there.  His chin trembled, his bony frame trying to
 keep his heart from bursting out from its shell.  Oh, Lree. I wanted to
 say so much, to tell you so much.  I never had the chance  to tell you
 how much I loved you, even when you ran with wolves and left me far
 behind.  

	As if sensing Tyldak's words, Dewshine inhaled deeply, her
 eyelashes fluttering.
	Tyldak held his breath.  ** Lree? **
	"Tyldak?" her voice was barely above a whisper.  Her eyes opened,
 but she stared blankly into space.  "Tyldak, where are you? I-I can't
 see you..?"
	** I'm here, Lree, ** Tyldak sent, reaching out to touch her hand
 with his single hand-talon.  He felt something in his chest go cold. **
 I'm here. **
	** Always there, ** Dewshine suddenly sent. ** With me.  In my
 heart.  ** She turned her face slightly, as if trying to look away.  **
 So bright.. the light, its so bright.. **
	Tyldak swallowed. ** I see no light. **
	"I can see them!" Dewshine's words escaped from her lips like
 birds from a cage; fast, fleeting, yet with a strange, frenzied grace. 
 ** Father, Mother!  Sohn, Jial!  Even Cutter, my chief-cousin! ** Tears
 shone in her eyes.  ** Oh, Tyldak, they're all there! **
	Tyldak's eyes started to close.  Unable to send, he whispered
 hoarsely, "Please, Lree.."
	** They want me to come with them. ** Her sending was confused,
 then took on a horror.  ** Oh, High Ones, Tyldak!  I don't want to die!
 ** Her fingers bit into his bony arm, leaving small impressions.  "I'm
 scared, Tyldak!"
	Tyldak bit his lip until it threatened to split.  ** Lree.. ** he
 sent, unable to speak now.  
	Dewshine closed her eyes as well.  ** But I have to, don't I?  **
 Slowly, her fingers relaxed their grip.  ** Its the Way.. death isn't
 to be feared, it simply.. Is. ** As she sent, her voice grew fainter,
 the color fading from her cheeks.
	Tyldak's eyes opened. ** Lree! No! **
	** Oh, Tyldak, I have to, don't you see? ** Dewshine sounded
 amused, the lightness to her voice she had lost over time returning
 with sudden vigor.  Despite the lines that wrinkled her face and the
 flesh that weakened her body, she seemed young and her soul sparked
 with sudden life even as death called to it.  ** Tell Pool and Windkin,
 I love them.. you'll do that for me.. won't you, Tyldak? **
	"Lree.." Tyldak croaked.  "Please.."
	** I love you, my soulmate.  Please tell them for me. **
	** I.. I will.  Lree. **	
	** ..thank you.. **
	Tyldak closed his eyes again, unable to watch as Dewshine's body
 relaxed, her eyes closed forever, the last breath escaping from her
 lips.  But he felt it in the depths of his soul.  He loved her in a
 strange way that wasn't meant for lovemates or lifemates.  He loved her
 in the way that could only happen when soul touched soul.  Her death
 scream did not echo in his mind, as it did when Kahvi had died, but
 slipped away with a soft whisper and a promise that she would see him
 again.  They would be together again.

	
	It was later.  Ember stood tall and proud, despite her own
 advanced age.  Her green eyes flashed with promise.  She was the oldest
 chief in all of Wolfrider history, the one that had lived the most,
 save Kahvi, who was rumored to hold the blood of wolves in her veins as
 well.  Her orange-red hair whipped in the wind, her fingers tight over
 her spear, her eyes catching the moonlight and reflecting it sharply.  
 Few words were spoken before the Wolfriders' howl sang over the
 forests.
	Pool forced his heart into his song, crying out his grief for his
 second mother, and for the parents he had lost long ago in the Final
 Quest.  He looked so much like his sire, brown hair flying wildly,
 escaping from the wolf-knot that it was held in.  But Windkin stood off
 to the side, with his sire, arms folded over his chest.  He had been
 seperated from his Wolfrider heritage for so long; he could not howl
 out his grief as the others could.  He was too much his father.  He
 held it inside.

	
	** I will miss her. **
	Windkin gave only a simple nod in return to Tyldak's quiet
 sending, keeping his bitter thoughts to himself. How could you miss
 her, he wanted to ask.  How could you love her if you were never there?
 if you left her to live out her mortal life alone, even as her mates
 were killed?  Disturbed by Windkin's silence, Tyldak lay brown eyes on
 him, his lips pursing.  ** What is wrong? **
	** You couldn't miss her, ** he sent tersely.  ** You never loved
 her. **
	** I loved her, ** Tyldak countered. ** In all the ways that
 mattered. **
	Windkin turned furious eyes on him, turning his back to the Howl
 and the grieving Wolfriders.  ** You never told her that!  You never
 showed her!  Even when Scouter and Tyleet died, even when her -father-
 died, you were never there! ** 
	Tyldak looked away, saying nothing.
	Windkin glared at him, boring holes into his back, then
 straightened, his fingers clenched into fists.  ** You are a coward.  A
 loveless, ugly coward. I'm ashamed to share blood with you. **
	When Tyldak still said nothing, Windkin rose into the air, turning
 to go, but paused when a soft, strained send reached out to him.  **
 Wait.. **
	Windkin turned, looking down at his sire. ** Yes? **
	Tyldak looked up, tear-trails of sadness left behind on his
 cheeks.  ** I never showed her.  I never told her.  I never shared her. 
 But I loved her.  But she was in love with Scouter.  We weren't meant
 for each other, even I know that.  Even I grew out of that.  But.. I
 still loved her for who she was.  She was a part of my soul. ** The
 bird-elf folded his wings in front of him, lowering his face to the
 ground.  ** I will miss her. **
	Windkin's face softened some. ** You were never there.. ** he sent
 weakly.  ** You couldn't.. **
	** In sending, ** Tyldak sent softly, eyes still to the ground. 
 ** In sending, there is only truth. **
	Windkin's eyes shifted to the Howl, where the Wolfriders were
 still singing.  Then he gave a slight incline of his head, nodding. 
 His send was soft, nearly inaudible.  ** I.. will miss her too.