Bitterroot Valley i keep tellin' myself, i keep tellin' myself i'm not the desperate type

they did not continue on to the sanctuary, even as close as they were.  some miles off, she assumed, but she did not know how far.. and anyway, the children had been tired.  they needed to rest.  

dew soaks her paws as she careens uphill.  the boulder is somewhere in the distance, she is sure of it, but.. ah.  she would not go on without her family.  silhouetted by the morning fog is a stranger.  larger than her, but still small.

she eyes them for some time, silent, before she chuffs quietly in their direction.