Ouroboros Spine she'll take this test

A little shiver went down Angel's spine. Perhaps she wasn't the only one who could have died. It was miraculous to be back in each other's arms, and deep inside her, Angel began to feel misgivings about her plans.

"I'm glad you're safe," she said softly, lifting her gaze from her new brothers to her mother's face. Identical blue eyes met, and Angel took a deep, shaky breath to keep from crying again.

"It was a good trip," she assured her mother, "but a difficult one. I was injured, and for a while, I grew very sick."

She told her mother about the sharp reed that had pierced her paw, and the terrible infection that had laid her low for weeks. She spoke of the recovery afterward, and of regaining her strength. She spoke of the taiga — and then she spoke of Sega.

"I wouldn't have made it if not for a kind man who fed me and protected me while I was ill," she confessed, knowing this would pain her poor mother to hear, even having her daughter safe and sound before her. "His name is Sega. He leads a pack called Great Sky — that's where I've been all this time." She nosed at the beautiful caribou pelt. "This is from him as well as me, and Great Sky as a whole. He asked me to bring a gift to you."

A pause.

"Mama, I think that he is courting me," she said, her voice surprisingly calm.