Ankyra Sound the brink of war as my judge and jury

It truly had.  Children did not make things worse, but they did make things harder.  So much of their time had been shared five ways that it was hard to remember the last they'd sat like this, alone.  

It has.  Confirming it aloud, though, she smiled.  It reminded her suddenly of their place in the bay, isolated by the cliffs, where many of their early moments had begun.  It has been quiet.

Not necessarily in a favorable way, but silence was better than angry packs assaulting their borders.  Caiaphas and now her family were gone, Raleska's departure felt with some measure of irritation and regret, but you could not deny that the grotto slept while the witch was departed.