Swiftcurrent Creek the road that led us here

she's come to accept that in this, she will be more or less alone. solitude's something she's become used to, and with the members of Swiftcurrent few and far between, she finds herself missing the life at the Hollow time and again. she is content, however, with her wanderings within the territory. occasionally she ventures near the mountains, and on one of these trips did she discover a scent she could not place, but reminded her dully of the figure within the Vale so long ago. 

besides, she was never completely alone. now, in the late stages of her pregnancy, she could feel them kick. did she want them? this? no. she'd found that answer one morning, and while it didn't cause her the anguish she would have expected (it took a great deal more to do that, now) she felt somewhat removed from the life inside her. she would love them, care for them, but not in the way a mother who'd wanted them so desperately would. 

the relative absence of Aditya had to caused her to truly examine why so desperately she hoped for his return, what they'd had. why she'd followed him. perhaps it was because she sought to identify herself based on their relationship - it was synonymous with good times long gone, and memories she'd not only cherished but idealized. but his love would not bring that back, and chasing it would not either. 

so, ultimately, the mother to be was unwilling, but not unloving. she loved, but no longer so desperately needed that love returned. she'd reached a kind of contentedness, one that was not happiness but alleviated her burdens. she pulled herself from the den she'd etched into the base of an aging oak, making her way towards the creek. she finds Aditya there, fresh from the hunt, and chuffs a neutral greeting. "adi," she offered, muzzle twisting into some slight smile. she pauses, considering him, before moving to slacken her burning thirst; though her attention remains on him.