Herbalists' Cache When the levee breaks

morwenna sighed, pressing her muzzle briefly against one of the squirming pups at her side before lifting her gaze to ridgeback. he had always been steady, always been there. but now, like everything else, she felt the ground shift beneath her.
sun eater, he— her voice faltered, breaking over the name of the man who had once been her whole world. she swallowed hard, forcing herself to continue. he exiled blackfell. tore gjalla’s throat from her neck... the memory of it was fresh, red-hot, staining her mind as much as it had stained her fur. she shuddered.
i— there was so much she wanted to say. so much she couldn't. her heart ached, torn in ways she had never imagined. her mate, the father of her children, had become something unrecognizable. and now—
nagruk has declared war... darukaal the same...! her breath hitched, exasperation lacing every syllable. war, war, war. it had come for them all.
she inhaled sharply. steadying herself. i cannot fight. i won’t. the children at her side were proof of that. she would not risk them, not for anything, not for anyone. but ridgeback—he was different. he was strong, he was capable.
but you... she searched his face, desperate for understanding. sun eater has become engulfed. i cannot... i cannot stand by this. her ears pinned back, throat tightening. please, ridgeback. understand me. see me.
she was not asking for permission. she was asking for him to stand beside her. to know that even as everything fell apart, she would not let herself be dragged into the ruin.