Northstar Vale If the world was ending.

His observations were not shared, and so Ibis remained oblivious to the condition of her body; she had not yet learned of her pregnancy and merely suspected it, being too immature to handle the thought. It was why she had come out here - to be alone, to hash out her feelings and maybe decide on a plan. Any thought to do so had vanished with Collision's arrival. That wasn't a bad thing either, as he gave her something else to focus on.

Even if it was awkward for her to lead a strange man through a territory she had only begun to understand, at least they were together, and he could be trusted to keep her safe. Somewhere in the back of Ibis' mind came the accusatory tone of Reiko: Were you safe? Did nobody force you? It hearkened back to their little argument—and Ibis almost tripped on her own feet because of it.

She recovered hastily, feeling her face warm with embarrassment. He did not appear to notice, or he was wise enough not to mention. His voice rolled like soft thunder as he questioned her, and Ibis swallowed a lump in her throat.

Well, I met Reiko many months ago. She started to explain, trying to remember the exact day, but struggled. So much had happened. She was kind, and she needed help, so she joined my pack — at the time I was a young leader and I needed counsel to learn how to, um, do my job. She served on that counsel. That might've been wrong but Java is tired so just go with it. When our numbers dwindled we sought out Kaistleoki, as we both had friends there, but it didn't feel like home. Reiko came up with the idea of the Vale.