Herbalists' Cache westward leading, still proceeding

There it was again - that strange stirring in her breast. Moorhen was too tired to do anything but heed it. She approached the child and curled herself around him, hiding the boy under her body the way she used to hide under Coelacanth. It had been a source of great comfort in trying times of the past, and she hoped the boy would take similar comfort in her.

She could not hope that he would replace the child that had been lost, but she was tired and heartbroken, and she knew that Coelacanth would welcome her back with an open heart, even if there was disappointment hiding behind her welcome. Moorhen hated to do this to the one who had done so much for her, but she knew her searching could bear no fruit with her in this state, and with a storm brewing all around them. "I will protect," she said to the boy, dipping her head to try and lick at his paw.