Emberwood someone say a hail mary for this house

Her heart was dark as the displaced Alpha strode solemnly at the back of their traveling band. She felt so overwhelmed by everything that had happened to their family; that was happening even now. Harlyn was a lover of nature, and so what she now saw brought such terrible heartache to get. The spring blooms were gone. Green seemed to have been sapped from the world entirely. It was as though ever blade of grass, every flower bud, and every leaf upon every tree had been replaced by a terrible brown insect that hummed and twitched and sucked away life itself into its disgusting body. There was a time when the Druid would have seen the wisdom of the gods in this; when she would have called this fate and deemed it a signs of hopeful new beginnings. She felt nothing of that former idealistic optimism now, surrounded by gloom and plague and the pitiful cries of her children.

Somewhere ahead of her, Shikoba had moved to join Mordecai, and beside her she felt Little Voice attempting to steal a glance. Harlyn's eyes were only for Larkspur as her little girl sobbed with each step. It was absolute torture, beyond all that the pack had thus far endured, to see her children so distraught. Torture made even worse by the fact that she could do nothing for them. There was so escaping this plague; the creatures were everywhere they looked. They could not just settle where they stood as they were just as few in number as they'd been when they'd abandoned their claim. They were small, and they were exposed, and quite suddenly Harlyn found herself unable to go on another step the weight of all of this terrible stress upon her.

"Mordecai," Harlyn called out suddenly, stopping where she stood, "We must rest. Now." Her gaze moved to Little Voice at her side and she gave him an imploring look. "Will you watch the children for a few minutes? It must speak with my mate. Shikoba will stand guard." She spoke loud enough that all parties would hear, then leaned down to nudge her children towards the pale wolf. With a significant glance to Mordecai, she stood tall and strode away a few yards, resolve steeling in her until finally she turned to gaze at him.