The place where Pride had burned the Earth had refused to grow back most of its life. He didn't blame Pride for it, not at all, but saw it as a place of memory, containing the evil that had plagued his forest during the battle. It was the center of all the memories, all the horror and wounds. It was a dark place but as Rift sat among the burned, destroyed earth, he had a sudden idea.

Right in the center of the hollow, he dipped his head and gently touched the earth. The ground shifted and small sprouts began to push their way past the blackened dirt and blossomed into flowering rosemary. It was a small patch but Rift preferred it as such. Plants grown by magic were not as special as those grown by hand. He would care for these and finish their growth without the use of magic.

He stepped back to admire his work and he suddenly found himself shivering with emotion. Rosemary...it was a plant of remembrance. He would remember those that had been injured and fallen in the war, those that would have given their lives if their own crystals had not saved them. And the berry child...crushed to death. He had tried to kill him in the fight. He had felt that deep instinct to tear and maim, the primal cougar urge to rip into his fur and destroy him. His stomach turned at the memory of the feeling. He could not...he could not ever be like that again.

He had paid his price, though, for that evilness. He had thrown himself right into it. Blackberry may not have won in the way she wanted, but she had defeated him. She had wounded him with her hatred. She had sent her children to destroy his forest and tear apart his own family. And for him...worst of all...they took away his face.

His paw came up and pressed at the bark-like texture of his mask and found himself shivering worse when it did not touch the skin underneath. It only touched a plate, something unnatural. He hated it. He wanted things to go back to how they were. He wanted to think that the war had never happened, that this Hollow place didn't exist. That Enka was a regular deer again, that Sebastian was at his side and grooming the fur on his head. That he didn't have the responsibilities of the Kingdom. That the Kingdom wasn't even needed.

He sat there, wishing that this reality was gone, his whole body shaking uncontrollably as he mourned.

Rift didn't hear Enka approaching as he continued to shiver in the small hollow in the corner of his garden. He could hear everything in the forest, so used to the sounds he had become that anything that was not the gentle rustle of wind or lessers he could detect. But he didn't this time, so lost in memories and grief that he couldn't notice her approaching.

When she sat down beside him, though, he didn't react further then a glance to see who it was. He remembered that he wasn't the only one who had changed. Long fur and scales adorned his daughter now but he couldn't help but selfishly think that at least she still looked like Enka. Him? Nobody could ever see his face now.

But the thought melted away quickly. He didn't care that she had at least had a kinder mutation, the fact that she had gone through it, that somebody had harmed her so severely that her body could not recover, sweet, gentle Enka, it boiled his blood and made him despair further for the world they lived in. There was so much evil...how would they deal with it all?

After a moment of sitting there with his daughter, Rift finally broke the silence. "How are you...coping with everything?" He glanced her way, eyes filled with concern. And he didn't just mean her mutation, although he was sure that it would take adjustment. No, he needed to know how the battle was affecting her. How the memories of such violence and injustice were weighing on her. He had seen Oliver after the fight. The hybrid had once been full of life and joy but now he was subdued, nervous, struck so hard by trauma that Rift feared he would not come back. He dearly hoped that nobody else was bearing the torment in such a terrible way.

Rift turned towards Enka when she began to speak, every word that she said making him feel worse. He remembered when she had hatched. So gentle, so innocent. Her love for the forest mirrored his own dedication and teaching her everything he knew, walking through the forest and listening to the sounds, growing flowers and herbs together...it had been the best time of his life. But now, now that was behind him. He didn't know if he would ever be able to do anything like that again. And, even if they did, would it ever be the same? With his own responsibilities to the Kingdom and the scars both of them had suffered from the battle, scars that may never heal, he wondered if he would ever feel such happiness again.

He looked away, his throat clenching up at the thought. His claws slunk out of their sockets and sunk into the ground as he tried to control his shivering. It had been a long time since he had felt such intense emotions before. His grief for the lost past and the carefree future that would never come back, his sorrow and pain for what had happened to his family and friends, all of the physical wounds and the emotional scars they had suffered, and his anger, his hatred towards those Bloodberries, towards Blackberry, for tearing apart everything he ever knew.

And, most of all, guilt. This had all happened because of him. He could have died...he should have just died. If he had not sent the tree shaking, then Enka would still be the gentle, loving springbok. No scales or draconic features. Sebastian would not be weighed down by his own failures, the long coma would not have damaged his mind. And poor Oliver would be himself again, not ruined by trauma and terrible memories. And the berry child, even though he was an enemy, his life was still precious. He would not have died.

This was too much for Rift. He let out a low, mourning moan, his eyes squeezed shut as he sunk to the ground, hise nose buried in the small tuft of rosemary he had grown. "I-I'm sorry...you would never have had to cope with it if not for me. You would be yourself and so would everyone else! If I had not been so weak all that time ago, Blackberry would not have come back. If I was a better protector...a better father, I would never have let that wolf even touch you or anyone else! But I failed, I failed to protect my family! My home! I failed everything!"

Rift shuddered. "You shouldn't have to be afraid. You shouldn't have to feel responsible! I've dubbed myself the Guardian of Eridanus and when Eridanus needed me most...I couldn't do it. I COUDLN'T!" As he screeched the last bit the rosemary in front of him quivered as as spark of intense rolled through his body and out his nose, which was touching the young plant. A second later, the plant darkened and crumpled into ash at the smoldering touch, something that Rift certainly didn't miss.

He jerked back and felt his entire body fill with anger, not fully comprehending what had just happened. He swiped away the ashes with his claws, his eyes snapping open, blazing with fury. "I hate them," he spat suddenly. "I hate all of them! Blackberry, the wolf, those three hybrids too...we should have killed them!" His anger was so terrible and so sudden that his shivering turned into a violent quaking as every inch of his body felt the strength of his anger. It was like he had completely forgotten Enka was there, focusing on the pile of ash as he claws dug into the earth. Was he imagining them sinking into the flesh of the goose and her spawn?

Rift continued to shake with anger, watching the ashes drift from his paw, when Enka's words brought a new batch of rosemary to take the place of the one he had burned. It was a sentiment he hadn't really been expecting, but watching this new rosemary grow, stronger and more beautiful then the last among the ashes of the first, it clicked something in his head.

He pulled back with mostly surprised and his eyes softened as he turned towards Enka again. The rage fell away to be replaced by a whole lot of guilt. He had always promised to protect nature and here he was destroying it and wishing death on those who probably didn't deserve it. It was Blackberry who had wreaked such havoc on the forest. It wasn't his fault, nor was it her children's.

He sighed. "You're right. I'm sorry...I...it's been hard for all of us. Growing back is the hardest part, I think." He gazed over her face and stood up a little taller so he could lean forward and rub the underside of his chin against her cheek. It was the best he could do now. "You won't fall. Nature be damned, I won't let anything like that happen to any of you ever again. I won't fail ever again, or else I'm not fit to call myself the Guardian of Eridanus." His words were sincere and strong, probably the most confident he had said in the last few minutes.

Rift could feel a bit of confidence coming back and leaned a bit into Enka's nuzzling. Perhaps the one good thing about the battle was that it had drawn everyone so much closer together, although he wasn't actually sure if that was something he would call "good".

In a moment of inspiration, Rift reached a paw forward and touched it against the stale earth in front of him. Next to the rosemary a sprout sprung from the ground and began to grow, blossoming into a gorgeous sunflower that seemed to shine under the lights. He wasn't really sure what he inspired him to grow that specific flower, but it reminded him of Enka. "You're the light of my life, Enka. I don't know what I'd do without you and Sebastian. I'll protect this Kingdom. I'll find others that will help me protect this Kingdom, for your sake, for Atinneas's sake, for Oliver's sake, for everyone."