Blacktail Deer Plateau we are in a state of flux

for a moment she thinks that's the end of it, that furi will shake her head and walk away, leaving her (probably deservedly) to her fate. and what could she do? she can't go anywhere yet with her ankle and she can't leave drageda (can she?) to stay here.

instead furi smiles at her and her heart skips a beat. furi's explanation -- well, she doesn't need it -- but now she has it and a tiny frown tugs the corners of her mouth back down. "but you didn't," blixen says in the same soft voice, not accusing, just... saying. even if she hadn't meant to leave permanently she'd chosen to stay away and to build a new life for herself... and all blix wants is to bring her and the other girls back with her but will that be what furi wants? what furi needs? she opens her mouth and closes it again, her teeth snapping together anxiously, for once in her life afraid of saying the wrong thing instead of just throwing a bunch of verbal spaghetti at the wall and seeing what sticks.