Dawnlark Plains all that summer was fire and rain

Easy had been angry. For a long time she had heaped all her woes on the woman before her, hating her because her last had been a transgression — but people didn't stop living just because you couldn't see them anymore. Just as Easy was not the little girl that Akuti had left, Akuti may no longer be the woman that'd left her. And regardless, Easy had done enough leaving of her own, by now. Forgiving Akuti had been a lot easier than it'd been to forgive herself, and if the other woman had had half as much trouble, Easy was sure she'd find redemption.

Whatever redemption she had to offer, she gave it now: "I forgive you." Oh, she still wondered at the reasons, still thought it had been a deep betrayal and a great injustice — but she had come out the better for it, and she didn't fool herself into thinking that leaving them behind had left Akuti free to live the easy life, without any pain or regret. Grayday had never said why she had left them, but he had been sure to tell them it hadn't been for lack of love. So she had suffered, and Easy was comfortable assuming they'd suffered comparably.

"I haven't seen Dauntless since just before Daddy died — but Lav's living in the valley with Sunspot. That's our aunt. She's got a mate and children of her own," Easy explained, feeling oddly reluctant to share this information, even if she'd decided to let the past be in the past. It was different, she decided, to pretend like Lavender had done the same. She realized that she and her sister had never spoken of their dam.

Some of the wonder was now fading. Easy searched the woman's face for answers, even knowing she would find none there. "What do they call you now?" she asked without judgement, bringing them back toward more present subjects; Akuti and herself.