Dragoncrest Cliffs viciously and fatally attacked by an unknown animal at Claire's

Easy felt a wild surge of affection for the other girl at this admission. I miss it, too, she said, her voice thick with bittersweet nostalgia. She felt a strong urge to start serenading Mallaidh, but they were perfect strangers even if they were pack mates, so Easy swallowed down that desire and held it deep in her chest.

It's easy, she repeated, stepping away from Malliadh to give herself room. You just take what you're feeling and hold it tight until you feel like your body can't possibly contain it anymore... and here, Easy screwed her eyes shut to demonstrate, even though she didn't usually when she was by herself.And then you let it go.

And Easy let it go with a wild, spinning leap, remembering how it had felt the day she learned of her father's death. She'd turned and started running with no plans to stop, and Easy danced to the tune of her grief and exhaustion, zig-zagging through the steps of her deepest despair.

The steps grew slower then, as she reached the part of the story where she'd met Aditya once more. She stumbled back a few steps, only to prance forward once more, and then a sudden bolt of lightning - coupled with the deafening roar of thunder - highlighted her as she turned and danced in a wide circle, spinning so fast it was a miracle her legs didn't tangle. Every way she turned, there was sorrow and emptiness -

Until she facd Mallaidh, and she came to a slowly swaying halt. The grief that she'd held in her chest was now flowing all around her, but there was hope, too, and a soothing balm to her loneliness, and the knowledge that although a wolf's body might die, their spirit lived on in souls of those they'd loved most. Easy paced toward Malliadh with a whisper of, Just do what I do, slowing the steps in a way that echoed the tentative formation of what Easy hoped would be a strong friendship. Step left, step back, meet again. Step left, step back, meet again. Step-left-step-back-met-again, stepleftstepbackmeetagain - and fast and faster if Mallaidh could keep up.