Sun Mote Copse I'll be resting my eyes

i cried and you get a book.

Fin had kept a watchful eye on her daughter ever since Wildfire's fateful visit to their home. Thus far, Small (as Fin had affectionately begun calling her) hadn't shown any signs of illness, nor had she or any of the other Blackthorns enclosed in the den with them. It should've been a massive relief. It was, really. But her relief only managed to last a short while because while her youngest children were safe, her eldest was not, and it was terribly clear to her now that she never would be.

She had known the call was coming. Her heart had tried to reject the truth, but Finley was too old and too experienced to get away with denial for long. She didn't know much about medicine, but she knew what bad signs looked like, and what had happened to Wildfire in her den that day was one of the worst she'd ever seen. It was a terrible thing to know because knowing it did nothing to help her put a stop to it. Her daughter was dying, and Finley was completely powerless to save her.

She moved like a woman walking to her own execution as @Elwood's side as they left their kids with @Colt or Maia (Fin knew who, I just don't for sure :D) and headed to answer the call. There were tears streaming down her cheeks before they even arrived. She pressed herself against Elwood as they walked in silence to the den, using the motion of his body to keep her moving forward. She might not have ever had the strength to make it all the way there were it not for his support. All she wanted to do was lay down and cry until it all just went away. Then maybe she could wake up and things would be back the way they were supposed to be, with Wildfire okay and raising Fin's grandkids alongside of her son.

Finley just couldn't imagine a world that didn't have Wildfire in it. Even when her goddaughter had been off on the Cliffs, starting a new life, Fin had been comfortable in the fact that Wildfire was alive and she was well. Her life was just supposed to have Wildfire in it. She was supposed to be somewhere, anywhere, happy. A life without her in it was just too unreal to be bearable. It was too infuriatingly, devastatingly wrong. It wasn't the way things were supposed to be. Wildfire was hers, even before Peregrine and Fox had left them. Wiffle had been hers from the moment she was born, and to be losing her was just too horrible to be real.

All too soon, they had arrived. Fin took a few shuddering breaths before lifting her gaze to set her eyes on her kids and shortly found herself surprised to see her grandson walking towards them. "Elfie," she called gently as she stepped forward, her grief slipping off of her as she fully took the scene in. Something clicked with her then and she realized with staggering clarity how horribly selfish she had been on the way here. This was not her time to wallow in her heartbreak over losing Wildfire. Her kids needed her.

Finley moved to them, looking quickly to see that Wildfire had not yet gone, but Eljay was. She nudged her son gently and gave a soft whine to let him know she was there, and also to gather his attention. "Eljay," she murmured tearfully, "Your son. He needs you." She glanced up, seeing Weejay and reaching to touch the girl lightly on her crown before her eyes landed finally on Wildfire. Her chest clenched fiercely at the sight as a lump swelled in her throat again. She swallowed it as best as she could. After all, Wildfire was her kid, and Wildfire needed her most of all.

"Hey little girl," Fin said, offering her a tear-filled smile. She considered all of the things she could say then. How much she loved her, how she had always been hers for all of her life. How much she would miss her, and how much her life wouldn't be the same without her in it. But looking at Wildfire then, Fin knew that those weren't the things her daughter needed to hear. Those were the things she knew. There were far more important things in a moment like this. Because the tragedy here wasn't a mother losing her child. It was a mother leaving her children when they were so young and their futures yet unknown.

"We'll take care of them," Fin said, holding Wildfire's gaze in her own, "Your kids. All of them. Your uncle and I, we'll look out for them. We'll make sure they're taken care of, that they're okay. We'll ... We'll keep them safe for you. In every way."