Noctisardor Bypass arrival

she crested the rise at his call—and the world stopped.

for one breath she could not move. could not think. the fog thinned just enough and there she was, slight and sharp and heartbreakingly real. not a ghost. not a dream hauled from grief.

her girl.

morwenna broke.

she ran.

the cold tore at her lungs, the stone cut at her paws, but nothing slowed her—not the ache, not the fear that this might vanish if she blinked. she closed the distance in a rush of white and breath and soundless prayer, skidding to her knees in the snow before her daughter.

fa’liya, her voice tore free at last, raw and trembling, the name a sob and a crown all at once.

she gathered her into herself without asking, without restraint, arms and neck and body folding around her girl as if to shield her from the entire world. her face pressed into the damp fog of her daughter’s fur, breath shaking, a broken sound caught low in her chest.

i have you, she whispered, again and again, fierce and disbelieving. i have you. you’re here. you’re here.

her hands framed fa’liya’s face, thumbs brushing her cheeks, her brow resting against her daughter’s with reverent care.

my star, she breathed, voice steadying only through sheer will. my girl. you are safe now.

she did not look away. she would never look away again.