Duskfire Glacier and suddenly i'm someone that prays

Lane had grown so used to being a zombie in the weeks previous, with all of her waking hours and mindspace consumed by worry-- worry for the pack, for her children's father, even for Issorartuyok and Meerkat away on their journey-- that she felt rather empty now, especially without Wintersbane's care on her endless list of tasks to complete. Lane drifted up toward the Frostfire Ridge, where she had been brewing Wintersbanes saiyu medication. She meant to get rid of it. It wasn't needed anymore, after all. 

The fact remained that Wintersbane had teetered on the edge of life and death for far longer than any wolf should, and he had lived his days in a blurry haze of intense pain and confusion. His death was a blessing, in many ways. His was the easier death to adjust to-- the death that the pack had been prepared to face. Veteran and Wayfarer (and Tzila's children, Lane imagined) had been encouraged to spend time at Wintersbane's side, and to tell him anything they might wish to say. They had hoped for the best, but prepared for the worst.

Therefore, Tzila's sudden loss had affected Lane in a more profound way. Lane was angry, so angry at Tzila, she was guilty (should she have tried to be a better friend? Was there a way she could have been more supportive?), she was heartbroken for Tzila's children, and there must have been about a dozen other feelings on top of that that Lane couldn't put into words. Her thoughts could not even touch on Tzila's memory without sending her emotions boiling over, and so every time her mind threatened to go there, Lane forced her thoughts in a different direction. 

Lane heard footsteps behind her, and she turned to find Arius approaching. Arius, Tzila's boy. No, no, push that thought away. Arius, the young medic. "Arius, hello," she greeted him, tail swinging gently. "I was just going up to Frostfire Ridge to, ah, to tend to the saiyu." Arius would be familiar with the hot-brewed medication, given his involvement in his father's care over the last few weeks. "Would you like to join me?" Perhaps cleaning out the medication would help them both get some closure.