Stavanger Bay and the fire with all the strength it hath

She hadn't seen Doe leave the den, wrapped up her in her own needs,l of hunger, and she feels a lump form in her throat. If she hadn't been so needy, maybe she wouldn't have been left alone. Maybe she'd still be here, next to her, and instead she'd managed to do the exact opposite. Is it why her parents hadn't come looking for her? Had she been too needy for them? She tries (and fails) to swallow the lump in her throat and the threat of her meal returning remains in the pit of her stomach, twisting the contents enough that she might spill them.

But then she turns her head when she catches a glimpse of tawny fur from the corner of her eyes. Qilaq's face brightens in a mix of relief and fear as she stumbles forward, legs giving out beneath her and she crashes into the woman. Qilaq stays in a heap for a few seconds before she untangles her limbs and buries herself into the woman's soft fur. Tears had welled up in her eyes and spilling over only to dampen her multicolored coat and she keeps herself pressed up close should the other move to leave again.