Grouse Thicket drinking at a playground, tequila for one

 

set for the day after their return, after colt

It is finally apple season.  Although the Thicket isn't really filled with the best memories there are some shining moments that draw her back to her favorite haunt.  The orchard is touched with memories of Raven's kindness, and of the drunken day she spent with Screech.

Which is weird to think about now. If he weren't already dead, she could kill him.  Taking the strange woman's life had done a number on Ceara.  It had bent her but not broken her, and she believed herself stronger for it.  When it had all happened she wasn't sure if she'd be able to take another life, even despite her love for Raven.  

Now, she wasn't sure if she'd think twice about killing someone if they were proven dangerous.

It was that thought that disturbed her.  It takes more apples to have an effect when they are still ripe.  She devours them quickly and before long she is a drunken mess.  Beneath the turning leaves of early autumn she rests at the foot of a tree, too tired and drunk and sad to do much else.