Northstar Vale Its the sunrise

Liri falls into step by his side, feeling dwarfed beneath the raven's towering height. Snow clings to the Vale's heights, shaping against her pale paws and numbing them as Sorin leads them nort. 

Silence presses between them - something the healer has grown accustomed to in Sorin's presence. The fae could not deny that to hear the shadow's promise to stay amongst their small band, only for him to withdraw coldly the following morning, had stung. Liri couldn't help but wonder if perhaps he regretted telling her about Livia, if he regretted making such a pledge. The healer withheld her bewilderment, allowing him space to sort out his emotions, for fear of hearing Sorin say as much aloud. 

Even now, the tundrian can't bear to break the silence - woodland optics flicker to ledges and outcroppings below where deer might graze in warmer months, to the territory beneath, to the peaks and skies ahead. In the end, it's the stoic Direwood who ventures into conversation. 

Liri nodded, thinking to the summer past. It had been humid, though the rains had let up some days before. Their pack, which had swelled with characters of all shape and color, had been weary with travel. Finding the Vale had been like wandering the desert only to stumble upon an oasis just as you were about to dehydrate. Its lush, shady forests were home to scores of prey; steep walls promised protection both from outsiders and the elements. Its water trickled in streams that wove through the verdant blades like veins beneath flesh - constantly replenished by an underground source. It was paradise.

"My pack intended to claim this land last summer, " she informs him softly. "It was overrun with bears when we arrived and we were met by a hostile she-wolf from the Sunspire. It seemed best to move on at that point, but it is a beautiful place with great value. I have always believed it would make a good home, " the healer continued, gazing upon the valley and attempting to recreate the bountiful image in her mind. 

"It seems familiar to you as well, " the sylph murmured, studying him with a knowing gaze. It was buried beneath that calculated expression of indifference he always wore, but the healer could see a nostalgic, haunted glint in his summer eyes when he looked upon their new home.