Redhawk Caldera give my regards to the reaper

She hadn't expected this. It was always a possibility, of course— but she had been determined. Whatever her start had been with Dove, the pale woman was still family. Her half-sister. Her blood.

Magpie had been gathering more herbs for her stores, enjoying the summer weather, before making her rounds and tending to those that needed a healer's attention. If she had realized that Dove was this perilously close to the end— was so far from stable— she never would have left her alone. But there was still a chance, if slight, that the pale wolf was still alive. If there was even the thinnest of threads, Magpie might be able to revive her.

And so she dropped the herbs and began to run to her half-sister's den, dashing across the caldera at full tilt. Her sides heaved as she came to a halt, where Peregrine and Fox stood watch. Wildfire and Raven were already there— and with flowers. Magpie could feel her throat tightening, her eyes burning, as she struggled to catch her breath. Wordlessly, she moved past all of them, to verify for herself that there was nothing to be done...

But she could sense it already, and she froze before she ever stepped into what had been her infirmary. Again, silently, she moved past the rest of them— this time in the opposite direction, her movements automatic. Torn between the need to stay and the increasing desire to run and never return, the yearling began to pace... her gaze never meeting anyone, her jaw firmly shut.