Northstar Vale after many miles

That was a good enough reason for Easy, who would not have thought less of Disa's desire even if she'd only been interested in material comfort during the colder months. A girl had to look out for herself, after all.

"No one you want to meet," she said wryly, glancing back the way she'd come. Blue Ridge and her own young sons were somewhere back in that directly, but she was thinking mainly of the cross-eyed Speckletooth. As nice as the young man had been, Easy wouldn't have hung her survival on his shoulders. She doubted very much that he'd last through the new year on his own or with a friend.

She moved past Disa instead of stopping, but her steps were slow so as to invite the woman to pace along.

"I like to visit my family around this time of year," she said with a happy whisk of her tail. "My nephew has lived with a pack called Moonglow for a few years now, and my son and my grandson are bopping around here, somewhere. I think they're going to start a pack of their own."

It wouldn't surprise her. She saw a lot of Dutch in Katmai, and she saw a lot of her own father in Kindle. Both of them were far too silly to truly resemble their elders just yet, of course — but Easy wished them every success.

"My name's Easy, by the way," she added. "What's yours?"