Heron Lake Plateau we haven't talked in quite some time.

Although Phoenix didn't like how Niamh had treated Colt — that is, if she'd even heard about it, because that thread still isn't finished — she found that she cared very little about it.  She'd grown up a little.  Colt and Niamh were both adults, and sometimes people said hurtful things to one another.  She wasn't going to fault Niamh for being a wolf, even if she didn't like that it had to be her brother who'd gotten the short end of the stick.

Hey, she says, softer than usual.  Are you — are you doing okay?  She's wary, and she feels she has every reason to be.  But months had passed since her last drag-out with Niamh, and the least she can do is be compassionate in the face of everything she's about to dump on her.