The Heartwood the stone remembers

Aneira had gotten out and never looked back. She’d gone north, tried to forget. Part of Towhee inwardly squinted at this, though she couldn’t really blame her. She’d done the same thing, in a sense. Before she could dwell on it too long, Aneira said a name that earned a sharp intake of breath. She let it out with a little smile.

If they’d only met once, Towhee doubted Aneira would be affected by the news of Wraen’s death long ago. She opted not to mention it, which was easy to do as the pale woman posed another question that was somewhat impossible to answer. Towhee huffed a laugh.

I did a hell of a lot of things, she repeated, including running a pack or two. I’ve never left the Teekons, excepting a brief foray to visit my sister once. And I don’t suppose I ever will, at least not in this life, she mused, thoughts drifting to Wraen again.

Then she blinked and shook her head lightly. Even though she didn’t remember a thing about Aneira, she didn’t want to be rude to her. Besides, she was curious…

So, why did you come back?