Dragoncrest Cliffs (for young is the year,for young is the year)

She has not spent a lot of time with her children as she should have. Bringing them back to Drageda and leaving their mother had been in part to keep both of them safe, and together. It is not easy, alone and with a pack to rule. She hadn’t realized how much Wildfire had done, especially once she’d stepped down. Most of Thuringwethil’s day to day hadn’t been interrupted as their lives had been quiet and she had been able to separate Heda from her family. Thankfully, the lot of them are old enough to start taking care of themselves. Artaax and Blixen have already earned their place in Dragedakru. They hunt for themselves, fight and defend. They kill. They can’t be swayed with false comfort and lies, especially when they know her will enough, and as Blixen (as expected) asks about Wildfire and her return.

“I don’t know,” she says, and sighs. There isn’t much she can offer in comfort, even if she is to lie. She can tell them that she’ll be home soon all she wants but they all know it may not happen. “If she does not, she is with family and they will take care of her,” she adds, for that she is certain. Having Wildfire out of their lives for so long to come, when she’d been gone for so long before has been like missing a limb. The longer they go into the winter, the more likely they’ll have to wait for spring to see her. Thuringwethil slows to a stop then, turning to look at her daughter while her words remained unspoken. “I miss her, too. Sometimes I want to go back to see for myself,” she trails off. It isn’t an impossible task but there is a lot here she is needed for the winter.

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