Dawnlark Plains I get it cracking like a bad back

Two brief stays with small packs and several casual flings with nameless dudes later, Fiadh found herself on familiar ground. She remembered passing through on her way out of the Teekons when she left her family behind and set out to find her own way in the world. Now she was a little older and a little wiser, or so she believed. It'd only been a few months, but being alone and letting loose had a funny way of maturing wolves like Fiadh, who now resembled her mother not just in appearance but in behaviour too.

Because you see, although Fiadh was in familiar territory, she didn't have any intentions of returning home. Oh she would certainly visit at her earliest convenience and catch up, but like Finley before her, Fiadh simply felt suffocated in Redhawks. She hadn't realized it until she left, but being completely surrounded by family made it hard for her to shine—especially when several members of her family were far more outspoken and vain than she was. Her brief time with the other Blackthorns had felt the same. Out on her own, no one was comparing her to anyone else. It was liberating and she wasn't about to fall back under her massive family's shadow once again; she was a free woman now, much as she missed and loved them so. Really, the only difference between a younger Finley and Fiadh was that she had the benefit of her father's level head. She wasn't nearly as reckless.

The ground she trod was different now than it had been when she left (I think). A thick layer of airy snow hid most of the destruction, but where the snow was churned by passing creatures, charcoal peeked through and the whole place still stank of soot and terror. Flinging back her ears and biting back the natural fear that tried to crowd into her breast, Fiadh swung south and began marching through the plains as fast as she could without seeming too urgent.