They've been gone for so long.

Not only that, it had been a miracle and a half that Verbena had remembered how to find the way home, after following Pennyroyal on his manic search for the runes, coming face to face with another area of the plague and it's effects.

She could still see the memories of war...slaughter...as if they were her own, could still feel the blood in her teeth, even after they had placed that stone tablet together with it's brother and fixed something wrong in the world. But after that, Verbena needed to go home.

They both did.

At least, for a little while, enough for the pair to rest and for herself to get her strength back up. To take comfort in their parents embraces.

It never really occurred to her that her parents wouldn't leave for elsewhere, or stay on the borders, that they would willingly stay in this hellscape after all the prey around them had died.

But when the wandering pair had finally reached the end of their journey home, the screech that reached her ears was enough to abandon Pennyroyal in her sprint towards the source.

It sounded like Pine, and it brought ice into her veins, the girl for once having worry on her features when she got closer and burst through the bushes. She hadn't even noticed the fresh stench of death, Elysium had smelt that way for...so long.

Verbena sees Pine first, going on alert for the danger, before seeing.....

Them.

And she just stood there, staring, processing.

She never said goodbye.