Sun Mote Copse It’s been a long day without you, my friend.

Njord regretted the words as soon as he saw the change in Meerkat’s face. His mind began to fill with the what-ifs that plagued him so many seasons ago on the journey to Moonspear. What if Njord had joined Sapphique to slay the bear? Would they have killed it? Would the nightmare have ended? If he had died... at least his family would’ve had closure… instead of…. this.

“Shhh, mo leannan, shhh,” Njord murmured as he pressed his forehead against his wife’s to comfort her. If he had hands, they would have rubbed her shoulders. Both mother and father were caught in a depressive spiral, and so Njord held to Meerkat for dear life like a buoy.