Emberwood the sorcerer’s apprentice.

She sensed his shift and felt his nose press. Apparently he didn't feel any need to answer, which was fine by her - all of her questions had been essentially rhetorical. If she couldn't answer them, of course her brother wouldn't be able to either. And while it might have satisfied her on some level to hear Figment tear into Bronco, affirm that she'd done nothing wrong, she knew that couldn't be true. And she knew that Fig would never do that unless he knew that it was. He was just to damn respectable for it.

That was enough of that, then. She swallowed and leaned into him briefly, then tried to level set once more.

I don't think I want to do this anymore. The pack, it just... I can't. She knew that she could kick any one's ass, and she'd never doubt her own ability when it came to claiming this territory. But a big part of her leadership had been founded on co-leading, and without Bronco, she didn't even want it. This had been their home, and now making it only hers felt empty. If it weren't for Killdeer, she'd say they should leave tomorrow. But her son deserved to know where at least one of his parents was.

She knew Fig would understand. He always did. Still, she felt awful admitting it. She should have known when she'd found the dead tree - everything they'd built was rotted to the core. She was so fucking stupid for thinking it was funny then.