Herbalists' Cache run, rabbit, run

time skip!

time passed in a blur.
the blood had dried. the cold had settled.
the road back was long, endless, unforgiving. morwenna did not feel it.
she did not feel anything at all.
her limbs burned, her breath sharp against the frozen air, but she did not stop, did not falter, did not slow until the den came into view.
until home was beneath her feet.
she entered with the weight of the world draped across her shoulders, the scent of gjalla’s blood still clinging to her skin.
but there was warmth here.
the soft mewling of her children.
the familiar presence of ishmira.
she moved forward, gently, carefully, nuzzling the girl in a quiet greeting before stepping past her to return to where she belonged.
her body sank into the nest, and the pups responded instantly.
tiny mouths latched onto her swollen teats, suckling eagerly, unbothered by the cold that had followed their mother in. she breathed then, slow and deep, pressing her muzzle against their wriggling bodies.
alive.
whole.
still hers.
only then did she speak.
what of my husband?