Duskfire Glacier Phantom Limb

The earth was cold, the air dry and biting. The land looked different than she remembered -- the rich aspens now barren by winter's touch. All at once the scents of familiar borders reminded the mother that this was Duskfire's land, though it had changed dramatically. Tuwawi's hard, sliver eyes were seated upon an despondent visage, cheeks and maw wore thin by many lean nights, as she looked through the territory with a scrupulous gaze. In the distance a wolf appeared. Malachi.

He hastily approached as Tuwawi's ears canted forward to receive him, though her expression remained unmoved. A potent concoction of emotions had braided themselves within her spirit. Anger, grief, and sorrow all gathered -- hidden away from prying eyes. The result was a shelled husk and an apathetic gaze; a mother who had not yet come to terms with her loss and abduction.

He stopped short just a league away, quickly joined by the loyal Danica and Hatshepsut only moments later, but there was only one thing on the ember's mind. "Where are my children?" she wheezed, glassy eyed. Without waiting for a response, Tuwawi began to call for them. "Jökull! Valtýr! Mae! Lár—"

Tuwawi sputtered the last syllable, choking it out. Suddenly she felt unbearably hot; the thick leather wrung tight 'round her throat like suffocating hands.