Arrow Lake tomorrow will be worse

Despite being in the prime of her life, Fern had not seen very much of the world around her. This was probably the furthest she'd ever been from her parent's claim —  but that had been her choice. She'd given up any chance at a future for herself and done what duty required of her; she'd cared for and protected her younger siblings for years, but it had taken Cyclone's spontaneous visit to get her moving in the first place. She'd gone from being a protector to being a loner in the big cold world. She could relate to the stars in the sky in this moment because they stood alone, no longer fighting for their place beside the gregarious moon; perhaps this was her shot at doing something more with her life. The woman was not fully aware of this string of thoughts as she stared heavenward but she did feel like she was witnessing some kind of celestial malformation — an omen maybe, but certainly nothing normal. A change to the moon and stars seemed like a fundamental shift.

—only one other time, shared the first wolf, and then after a pause the second added an even more intimidating concept: I have seen the stars fall and burn the earth. Was that about to happen? It jarred her to think about the stars falling, and even so Fern wondered what it would look like to witness it. But before Fern had a chance to ask her for more of her story, the wolf was reminding her of important details. The Blackthorn paused and looked around at the mountainside for a moment and her ears twisted with uncertainty.

Serve a purpose. When had Feidhelm ever had a moment of peace from purpose and duty? One might suppose that her jaunt to the north had been exactly that. I could be useful, she countered with a touch more vehemence in her tone that she meant; her thoughts lingered on all her own missed opportunities and she was a little bit soured when thinknig about her duty to her parents — and then, counter to that, the duty to herself, which she never acted upon. This time she'd do things differently, she thought. I'm a skilled warrior first, hunter second. I've also got experience with pregnancy and childbirth — ah, the medicinal end not the having kids part. Think someone like me could be of use to you? Why not start over here, in the middle of nowhere, beneath a black-moon? Her parents could get along without her; Feidhelm had lost Cyclone ages ago and it wasn't like she was put on this earth to be her sister's keeper forever.