Qeya River ground zero

It was not a leader who found Shadowpaw first, but a child.

The apprentice was stone-faced and unamused as the boisterous pup investigated her.

Who you?! it questioned. You here for mothers?

Slowly, the pieces of the puzzle Ksura had alluded to were put together in the girl’s mind. If there were new children in the clan, Shadowpaw could see why they had hastily moved: to ensure their protection. It was a bitter feeling… to know that in Shadowpaw’s absence time continued to move on. The next generation had arrived with or without her.

“Shadowpaw,” she answered the pudgy boy in a low, drawling voice.

“Yes,” she affirmed in the same tone and waited for an adult to arrive.