Phoenix Maplewood But I'm here to remind you what's lost is never gone

She thought of her recent conversation with Freyja as she crossed the river and loped westward, teeth chattering from the chilly dampness of her fur. There was nothing particularly compelling about the maple forest, yet Wildfire headed there all the same. Leaves crunched underfoot as she weaved between the trees, their boughs nearly bare as November already waned toward December. She dropped her smudged snout to sniff along the carpet of detritus and found several promising scents. She sifted through them, trying to pinpoint the most favorable one even as her gut grumbled hungrily. She hadn't eaten a square meal in days.

Wildfire decided to pursue the trail of an old groundhog, which led her deeper into the woods. She heard running water long before the stream came into view. She paused, considering a drink, when a spot of white caught her eye. She blinked in surprise when she realized she wasn't looking at an early snowdrift but her own wayward half-sister. Even in repose, Saena looked somehow more aloof than Wildfire remembered. That made sense, all things considered, their location particularly. The Bandrona's still-damp fur prickled slightly.

Moving slowly along the bank, the yearling woofed lowly to announce her presence. They were actually on opposite sides of the winding brook, Wildfire rooted to a spot perhaps fifty feet upstream of Saena's position. She decided against coming any closer, just in case, even as she called, "I'd been wondering whatever happened to you..." Although she didn't say it, the tilt of her head seemed to add, What brings you back here, of all things?