Arrow Lake Other things may change us, but we start and end with the family.

She looked down at the pups adoringly as he spoke, her pride clear on her face as he complimented them. She had never been more proud of anything in her entire life, not even the day she and Sia had claimed the glacier. She never knew she could love anyone as much as she loved the four new lives she had brought into the world, and with that love came a fierce drive to protect them at all costs. She was relieved to see that her brother already appeared to be enamored by his niece and nephews; she couldn't really blame him. She shook her head in response to his question. We have not named them yet, she answered, eyes lifting to focus on him. We are waiting until they are a little older, she continued. It was a suggestion from their father, and she had no problem agreeing to it. She knew them well now, but the older they got, the more personality they would develop, which would help them select the right names. 


She would love to keep talking about the children, but she had many questions for her brother. So she switched gears, studying his face a little before asking: What made you leave home? She never expected to see him here. He was more devoted to their father than even she had been, and he had not been happy about her decision to leave. She had sought him out the night she left, and he had tried to change her mind. But Taki was stubborn, and there was just no way she could serve their father any longer. She wondered how bad things were in Aningan for him to leave in search of her.