Redhawk Caldera I will be waiting for you on the other side of the frozen pines

The world ran quiet for a long while - just Muse, and the crickets, and the dawning stars. She watched them blink one by one until they splashed the sky in a dazzling canvas of constellations and maps that could take her anywhere but where she wanted to go. Useless. Muse stole one last glance at the sky before she flopped onto her side. Maybe if she tried hard enough, she could imagine him there, on the ground next to her, pressing down the long grass with his shadows and laughing through the night. Maybe she could piece together where he had gone from here.

She stared, not really expecting anyone to appear - but when one did, she propped herself up and blinked. Still sprawled on her side, she leaned forward and tried to discern their features through the dark. He looked plain and nothing out of the ordinary, yet when he came close she felt something of a recognition kindle. Small, and minute - but there. She cupped her ear forward when he spoke.

"No," she gave a shake of her head and leaned back to process the weight of his words. So a pack had been here! For the first time, she felt something of a trust in her memory; this place felt so familiar because it had been her home. Though this boy didn't know where the pack had gone, and couldn't help her in that, he knew a pack had been here, and that recognition she felt - her interest stayed trained toward him. "I came here looking for them, but wouldn't you know it's been deserted. I used to live with them. Did you, too?"