Northstar Vale Go ahead and cry little girl, nobody does it like you do

While Phoenix Maplewood is en route. Maybe @Luke @Casmir @Indra @Laurel ? No obligation to play with me, though! Marked private 'cause any lone wolf that approaches would instantly be mauled so it's technically not all welcome, lol, but any PHX/Nomads character is welcome!

The first day felt long, but the second feels even longer somehow. The pack rose with the sun in the shadow of the mountains and ascended into them without hesitation. As they crested the rise into one of many passes, Saena chanced one last look back over the taiga she'd lived in for over a year. Her eyes touched the charred Redtail Rise and the towering Nova Peak behind it; the sun glinted off the face of the glacier and glittered across the Qeya River; and with a wrench in her heart, she stared last over the tops of the distant maple trees. Never again would she smell their sweet, sugary aroma and know she's home.

From there, the pack travelled through the mountains and descended into a heavily wooded vale, walking endlessly, until now. By the time a rest stop is called, partly because the babes are fussing terribly, partly because Milo has shit all over himself and partly because Saena can't hold her neck up any longer, the sun is beginning to sink as early afternoon becomes late afternoon. They still have several hours of travel time left, though, and she isn't worried about this break. She flops to the ground, coiling her legs around a screaming Milo, and attempts to soothe him with swipes of her tongue. No doubt all of the cubs are cold or hungry or tired or all three. They aren't meant to be out this early in their life, and she's desperately worried they will perish before the pack finds safety.

She gathers her remaining cubs from the pack before they disperse to find food and water and to rest, and for the time being, Saena curls around her greedily nursing brood and stares blankly across the vale.