Redsand Canyon come home, little one

The small and plump pile of grey brindle had been swept away by the red particles drifting through the wind, playing peacefully one moment and gone the next. Though the woman's strength had since faded with age, muscles having forgotten their training years before, the one thing Leigh could pride herself on was her never-ending power, winding itself along an infinity sign with no end in sight. But upon hearing the news, she didn't feel a shred of surprise. Some part of her had expected this to happen the second she realized Alduin was just a greyscale copy of his father. And yet her heart momentarily shattered regardless, for this was only a cruel reminder that her power meant nothing, and that any pup, her's or not, could disappear.

Hope swelled in her chest. It had to. Or else, she'd drive herself mad with grief over a child that was not her own. Kynareth hadn't carried a single drop of empathy as Leigh's daughter dropped to the ground with rigid thump, never to awaken again. And she had promised herself to do the same, to turn her head away from her old friend's family and greet them with nothing but resent, jealousy, and hatred. That, unfortunately, hadn't ended up being the case.

For the little Alduin had stolen her heart. The pup didn't resemble his immediate lineage, and definitely didn't seem to contain a trace of his mother except for perhaps her strong spirit. Instead, his little grey head matched the agouti draped across the dragon's tired form. She knew, for a fact, that he was not her's. It was impossible. But the little piece of shit that was the beloved pup had sprung up like a little bloodied daisy, holding a sign scribbled with "what if". And for her that was enough. Enough to drag herself off the red floor and go searching for him.