Blacktail Deer Plateau pasiaktuk

Kigipigik took the bait, initially at least. He seemed to rethink after a moment though, bringing up exactly what Lane didn't really want to discuss. 

Lane was quite certain that her packmates would be extremely unhappy with her if she departed, although Lane was jaded enough at this point to doubt whether she'd be missed in the true sense of the word. Wintersbane and Tzila had each other. Rye and Imaq had each other. They would be fine. Iana had already bailed, likely for greener pastures somewhere else, and Lane was of half a mind to do the same. She felt like she'd been edged out of the club, and she couldn't help but wonder if Iana had felt the same way. 

"Wayfarer and Veteran," Lane hummed the names of her children thoughtfully, "..belong in Duskfire Glacier..." The pack was their namesake; Lane couldn't very well take it from them. Lane would keep the promise she made to Wintersbane where the children were concerned; they would be raised with him, whether or not Lane was also included. 

"But their mother does not. And someday the children will no longer need their mother so close by." Children grew up fast and wanted for less and less from a mother, but daring hunters like Kigipigik would always need a medic. Those scars of his could attest to that. 

Lane shrugged. She could play the long game if she had to, for the sake of the kids. It would just really help knowing she had options. That there was a way out. A light at the end of the tunnel, leading to a place where she no longer had to see Rye's and Imaq's blissfully-in-love faces every damn day.