Greatwater Lake trying to fit beneath the skin

She nodded, understanding completely. I told you about the time I was hurt as a child, Maegi murmured, gently taking in his youthful, unblemished face. It took a long time for me to go home. Even when my pack sent wolves looking for me, I refused to go with them. I wasn't ready to face the changes. It would never be the same.

And then she'd gone, and yes, things had been different. Did she regret it? Absolutely not. Perhaps one day, Scarab would return to his family. She hoped, though, that he would glean the kind of friendships and love from his stay in Blackfeather that she had from Undersea.

The faces she'd met. . .Coelacanth, Reed, Venninne, Mou. . . The island would always be home; a piece of her heart would always stay there.

It will be okay, she promised, feeling a kind of confidence that had been woefully absent for days upon end. Whoever we find, whatever happens. . .I know things will turn out fine. And Blackfeather will be there for you, regardless. She gave him the ghost of a smile, the expression more in her eyes than upon her lips.