Ashe had been in contact with a siberian husky in Russia under the name of Auburn, and she had called him with a report that she had found his birth mother in Siberia, but she didn't have much time left on this Earth. She was over 80 years old and of low life expectancy. He flew straight into Russia and into the position reported to him. It was a log cabin in the middle of a forest covered in a blanket of snow. The wind was howling a death rattle as he approached the loose door and opened it with a loud crack and a creak of the hinges.

Ashe saw her lying in the bed, a very old timber wolf in the last throes of life. He took a seat next to her and was thankful that she was lucid. Of course, he put on a brave face for her, but he couldn’t hold it for more than five seconds. No sobs came from his mouth, but tears poured from his eyes as the old wolfess reached up to touch his face one last time. She knew he was coming, Auburn had told the old timberwolf to wait just a little longer and see her long lost son

<“To think such a scrawny thing like you would be such a fine soldier? I’m so sorry for leaving you behind...”> The wolfess said in Russian

<“Well...Im a mercenary. Sorry to let you down on that...I’m sorry but, I don't want to hear apologies...I want to know who I am.”> Ashe said, also in his fluent Russian

<“What a better time for you to be here...it's your birthday after all, my little Demitri...”>

<“I-...I call myself Ashe.”>

<“Ashe...I like that better, you wouldn't want a name like Demitri in a place like America...”> The old wolfess said as she reminisced back to the 1950’s

<“What about the rest of your...our family...?”> Ashe asked, looking around to see lots of old polaroid pictures tacked to the walls of his past family.

<“They’re gone...terrorist attack on a train on a trip to france.”>

Ashe didn't really have anything else to ask at that point, realizing that even if his family was still alive, he would never want to be part of again. He had to remind himself that he was there for answers and that alone.

The old timber wolfess spoke again, her voice becoming hoarse. <“Ashe...I have a job for you...when I’m gone...forget about me. My life’s no precious thing, I’ve done so much bad for this world already...”> The old wolfess said in a somber tone. <“Make my memory disappear from this world so you can live your life...I want to be forgotten forever with the rest of the family...”>

Ashe opened his mouth to ask one more question, but upon looking back at the old wolf, he found that she had fallen into an eternal sleep. Not breathing, a single tear falling across her face. No matter, He had what he had came for...and now he wanted to finish the one job he owed his family. He grabbed a bottle of accelerant from a nearby fireplace mantle and threw it into the burning coals that were keeping the cabin warm, making the fire erupt into a torrent of hellfire that started consuming the log cabin. He couldn't have looked back if he tried, the tears he was crying had blurred his vision.

Ashe had a long and silent trip back home, and when he arrived, he sat down in the middle of his floor, staring down a small cupcake he had bought himself with a candle sticking out of it. The wick had burned down to the bottom of the candle, and the wax had all melted and covered the icing on the cupcake entirely, no longer appealing or edible.

The saying goes that you shouldn't cry over spilled milk; but Ashe had gone through so much already, he found himself crying over a ruined cupcake. Nevertheless, he was very glad that he wouldn't have to worry about his past any more, he just needed to vent his frustrations in his own way. He was legally 18 years of age now, his life was now officially his own to do what he wished with it, and he wouldn't be anything other than the mercenary he is now to make a real difference in the world.