Dragoncrest Cliffs and you flutter after andromeda

The red lady disembarked without a proper introduction, so her name—and whether they might be relatives—remained a mystery. Erzulie left too, mentioning “the boys.” His face scrunched, the expression rapidly wiped out by a look of surprise when his grandmother told him she wanted to speak to him later. He nodded dumbly.

Then his attention turned to his sister and the man beside her. This must be his brother-in-law, Njord. He looked vaguely familiar, though he could not recall meeting. Caracal waved at them both, flashing a quick smile. He didn’t notice that Meerkat didn’t come any closer, nor was he aware of her scent for the moment. He was back to thinking about “the boys.”

Hey! I’m here ‘cause Etienne told us—my friend, Heda, and me, I mean—that Swordfish was hurt by a bear? Was Stingray hurt too? he asked, stuck on the plural even though Etienne had indicated otherwise.

There was a lot more to be said between them, including proper introductions, though Caracal didn’t worry about that just now. His eyes flicked between his sister’s face and her husband’s, holding his breath as he waited to hear about his nephews’ fate.