Silver Creek life and livelihood

As someone who'd heard and told plenty of stories in her time, Shreya was grateful for the structure. They'd had the childhood, the growing up, the tragedy, the necessary adapting, the beginnings of a trade, and now they were on to coming-of-age. Spring, it turned out, had been a leader in her home pack as well as this one — and, inevitably, had fallen for someone. Shreya had always assumed that Spring's lack of mate had been due to sheer lack of males in the pack, but perhaps it was down to a broken heart.

But it turned out there was quite some twist to the tale. Spring was a mother — another sign that she was older than she had at first seemed to Shreya.

And then, true tragedy. Spring sobbed out the final conclusion of Starlit Hills, and Shreya listened with wide eyes, having never heard such a sad story in all her years. Spring, I can't even imagine what you went through, she murmured sadly, and took a step closer in case the younger female wanted a shoulder to lean on. It's a tribute to your strength that you've lost so much only to rise so high. And you've kept your head on your shoulders, she added as an afterthought. Staying sane after all that... I don't know if I would've.