Firefly Glen Caledonia

She had left the Caldera and instinctively, her paws had begun to lead her to Neverwinter Forest. Her heart ached for the home she had left behind – the regrets she clung to at its downfall. She never should have stood aside, allowing Jorunn to lead a pack he had not been part of. She should have risen to the challenge – to the expectation. She would have seen it thrive, along with Shrike and Cypress. They would have been safe.

As she got closer to the forest, her pace had slowed greatly. Was there a point in visiting a land that held nothing but ghosts for her now? No one waited for her there – the land was only a silent reminder of what had once been, in a time she had been happier.

Yet what was happiness? The days when Scimitar and Bazi had fought not just verbally, but physically? She had gotten glimpses of it growing up, and had made herself scarce when their tongues would begin to lash at one another with venomous words. Had she been happy on the high slopes of Nova Peak? A part of her heart clung to the home they had left behind – but the fire had consumed part of it, ensuring the family needed to relocate at the time. Jade Fern Grove had felt promising.. and yet the bear attack had left Swift without an eye. Whittier was dead. Pasha was missing. Rannoch was likely dead. And now, Cypress was also gone.

Her thoughts consumed her, the grief growing heavier on her shoulders until she felt she could no longer breathe. Shrike was gone from her now, too, and the bi-toned she-wolf could not envision a reason other than he was also dead. Of all of them, he never would have left her behind otherwise.

The sob escaped her, and she shuddered, holding back as a gentle whine escaped her. She could not cry any longer – she could only move forward. But for the moment, forward could only mean mentally.. and physically, her body stretched out to the cold winter ground. Her body shivered, not from the cold, but from the grief that quietly wracked at her quaking chest and shoulders.