Swiftcurrent Creek the sun will settle on dust

There was a reason why Paarthurnax feared the comfort of the familiar. Just when the dust seemed to settle, when her thoughts became less clouded, life had a funny way of turning itself upside down and inside out. It was unpredictable. It was terrifying. And despite her fears, she embraced it all the same, for it was beautiful in the forms of the best things she'd ever done: her pups.

When Scimitar offered to take them and give her some space, her heart had skipped an uncomfortable beat at the thought. Paar's children had been left in the capable paws of her pack-mates on several occasions, yet on that day there had been a niggling feeling of uncertainty. She considered tagging along, until Durnehviir protested and demanded that she stay put. Not wishing to further upset her only daughter, the crimson Frostfur opted to stay put while the boys ventured beyond the den.

Her girl was far from cooperative. Durnehviir complained and fidgeted, and it was because of this distraction that Paarthurnax did not hear or sense the approach of another until the creature was inside her hollow and upon her. It all happened so fast: a blur of black and tan, the clack of fangs accompanying ferocious snarls, the metallic scent of blood. Paar had never been a fighter, but in those moments, out of need to defend her baby, she parted her jaws and sank her teeth into the closest part of the dog she could reach.

Durnehviir did not run away. Instead, she cowered in a corner and whimpered, gazing up at her dam with eyes that revealed her true terror. When Paar shoved her opponent away, she made to pluck her daughter and flee, but her attacker pursued. Remarkably quick on its paws, the dog tackled her to the ground and in her surprise, she dropped the mottled pup before swinging around to fight back.

She wasn't sure how it happened, but in an instant Paar was flung against a rock and the world went black. When at last she roused, Durnehviir and the trespasser had vanished. Without a second thought, the wounded mother did not hesitate to follow the trail. Stopping before she found her girl was absolutely not an option.

What happened when she found the thief far beyond the land she called home, Paarthurnax could not remember. When copper eyes fell upon the familiar two-toned frame of the bitch that interrupted her blissful life, she saw red. The result? Many wounds, exhaustion, pain, but above all, success. Durnehviir was safe, and that was what mattered most.

Paarthurnax hobbled her way home, and it felt as though her trip took a lifetime to complete. But as she limped across Swiftcurrent borders, there was relief. There was the feeling of being able to breathe again. There was the feeling of being home. With her precious cargo held firmly between her jaws, Paarthurnax pricked a velvet lobe at the familiar call of her Alpha. She pressed on until she ducked through low foliage and emerged before the wolves that were her family.

She stopped in her tracks then, pausing to take in the beautiful sight before her, and let her aching shoulders slacken to accompany her heavy exhale. Paarthurnax' gaze lingered on the group - more so Scimitar and Bazi, her boys at their feet - as she stood there, trembling and rooted to the spot, before dipping her head to place Durnehviir on the snowy earth at her paws. Words did not come to her, but her eyes welled with emotion: I'm here. And I'm never letting go.