Broken Antler Fen I’m tired of Goofus and I’d like my Gallant back

The autumn air greeted the long-legged wildfire before any of the familiar scents did. It whisked leaves from the boughs of the trees and carried them against the backdrop of blue until they fell far from where they had originally grown.
 
As Piper passed into the wilds again for the first time in a while, she wondered if those leaves ever found a way to return to their home. Even though she had been gone for months, the feisty Redleaf girl knew that she had overshot her mark and had missed where she might have been able to slip toward the entrance of Bearclaw Valley. She did not think that her family had returned to the secluded hold, but something in her bones had ushered her in that direction in search of signs of familiarity.
 
The further into the fen she trekked, the more Piper felt her worries spring up inside of her.
 
The image of her sweet mother left alone filled her with indescribable dread. When she had first left, her only intention was to find Lucas and Wyatt and return them home. After some time in the wilds, the phoenix had discovered that such a task was much easier planned than accomplished. When the dream of finding her brothers had finally died, she hadn’t the strength to return home.
 
Pausing at the foot of a small stream, the Redleaf girl lowered her crown and drank until the dryness in her throat had been quenched and then dipped her forepaws into the cool waters with a sigh.