Sun Mote Copse First thing we climb the tree

It had been a while since Finley had spent time regularly patroling the borders. She had been quite content for some time as a retiree, leaving the "heavy lifting" to the rest of the pack. But then their numbers had dwindled and there simply weren't enough of them for anyone not to pull their weight, including their elderly.

Besides which, something had clicked in her head in the wake of Colt's death. His death had seemed so unfair, so untimely. He had died so young, and here she'd been all this time, acting like she was the one on death's door. If her littermate had been too young to die, it seemed to Finley that she might be too young to behave as though she were about to die.

And since when had that ever scared her anyway?

So, when Niamh's voice sprang out across the wintery wood, Fin hadn't been too far away. She'd turned her steps immediately, concern driving her to move faster than she usually did (I mean, she may be too young to die, but she still wasn't exactly young). She was panting by the time she arrived, but she closed her mouth and perked her ears when she spotted her sister-in-law.

"Damn, Legs," Fin said as she trotted nearer, "What happened to you? You alright?" She was clearly exhausted and a bit rough around the edges, but Fin didn't think she was in bad enough shape for need further alarm sounded.