Cerulean Cape The awakening

She took a step back when he made a mixed sound, her face a mask of concern and pain for what he must've endured. It didn't take him much to muster up the courage to explain the situation, something Saena knew she couldn't have done herself. In his position, she'd be a blubbering mess. The last time a family member had "died", she'd withdrawn into her own head for a little while and imagined that Osprey Jr. was still there, alive and well. It was a brief tragedy that ended well, but nevertheless, it hinted at Saena's inability to cope with loss on a permanent level.

She was shocked to know the real reason behind Gunnar's grief was not his mother's dead in childbirth nor the loss of his new siblings in their first hours. "Oh, Gunnar," she said softly, "I'm so sorry, I never would've thought someone would go after your dad..." With Thistle Cloud and the newborns alive, she guessed it wasn't a matter of Ragnar defending his land from an outsider. It was logical that it was a targeted event. Murder was something Saena couldn't really understand, so it was difficult to even wrap her head around the idea that anyone would dislike Ragnar that much.

"Your mother is very strong," Saena said thickly. Although she didn't know the Lodbrok's, Thistle Cloud had indirectly saved her life and had directly saved the life of her sister. The woman had to be a living wonder. "Your pack's security is probably double," she guessed, "but if you want to stay to make sure, then... I won't blame you in the slightest." To his claim that the land was cursed, Saena made no comment, mainly because she wasn't sure she believed in things like curses. She didn't know about Akhlut or Pump, or she might've rethought her own view.