Stone Circle And the universe reigned again.

True to her word, Nanook patrolled the perimeters, while the confrontation with her sister rang fresh in her mind. How long, until her sister's devotion became their undoing? The bison had not returned, the deer had dispersed -- and there was more now, too, wasn't there? Indra was gone, something had knocked Greyback to the ground, and both Merrit and Clay had not been seen in days. The Stones still stood, but their family crumbled around them, yet still, Valette would not budge.

And here she was. Still standing by her sister in the wake of these decisions, and wouldn't she stand by her still, even if the stars rained down and the Stones crumbled all about them? Her devotion would be her own undoing. Life had been safer and easier alone, but life had not been good.

She sighed, and stared into the barren fields. The empty grass rolled on for miles in every direction; she almost forgot what it was like, to see bison spotting the hills, roaming through the herd, grazing with their young. They had not been a noisy lot, but without them, there was an empty space where even their seldomn voice was missing. The bellows they would pass to one another, and Nanook paused, and closed her eyes, and stilled. She knew she would not hear their calls today, but if she concentrated, she could almost trick herself, if even for a few short moments, that the titans had returned, that they would be there when she opened her eyes.

What she did not expect was for the noise that took that empty space, a horrible wretching, nor the pale shape that broke up the endless grass when she fluttered open her eyes.

She came upon him with quick strides, and slid to the ground, "Child, it is okay," her quiet rasp sought to soothe, and she stole her gaze across him with a practiced eye. Unwell; worn-down; her fur stood on end. Where had he come from, and what sickness did he carry? There was no one else in the perimeter; he was alone, completely so, and much too young. She knew to stay away, but she found herself reaching out her foreleg anyway to place a gentle paw against his flank in an effort to comfort him through the worst of his heaving.