Noctisardor Bypass zodon

a misted rain covered heda's flight from the hollow. she had told @Etienne she meant to return, that she only wanted to gather some things from the den in the bypass that they had left behind. and this was true, for heda would no more leave dinah and ava than she would consider a more merciful path for herself out of the potential of pregnancy.
the stretch of forest-punctuated land between the sunspire and the bypass provided little hunting and no warmth; heda was near-frozen under her sluggishly thickened coat by the time she reached noctisardor.
a sharp pungency at its edges told her that someone else had taken it.
the familiarity of the trails brought her head up in a gasp.

She had never minded the rain, even freezing rain like this one. She’d spent so much of her time in water, perfecting her craft, that Druid almost thought of herself as amphibious. That thought made her grin, even as she shivered at the icy water sluicing off her flanks. Patrols needed to be done, rain or shine.

The smile dropped from her face when she saw a pale figure ahead through the misty rainfall. A growl bubbled in her throat before Druid could think to stop it. Her tail arced over her back, flinging cold water as she marched over to the unwanted guest lurking at the edge of Rivenwood.

You’re, she rumbled rather grumpily at the soaking woman, eyes raking over her and abruptly changing her tune. Heda?

desperation and anger raced through heda. she could invade, find the piece of fur she wanted, and leave. but that would be a risk, and she had taken too many of those.
a backward step would have come next but for the growl, the approach of a figure both fierce and far too familiar — "druid?"
her voice was tiny in the downpour.

Her sister looked just the same as she remembered, yet so very different. The instant her own name left Heda’s lips, Druid flung herself at the bedraggled woman. She clutched at her, though only briefly. Heda’s slender frame shivered and Druid remembered that most did mind the rain, particularly this time of year.

Let’s get you out of this weather, she insisted, pushing a shoulder against Heda’s, then loping into the bypass.

She didn’t go far, leading her sister to the nearest overhang within its rocky arches. She crouched and crawled underneath, then turned, crooking a black paw to coax Heda to join her. Druid flattened herself against the far wall to make room, fully prepared to set upon Heda to dry her coat as soon as she settled.

numbly she followed, unable to make sense of anything. the bypass seemed that much more unfamiliar, to have druid here, and then in the next moment, blessedly suffused with the good warm memories of rivenwood.
then her sister was close, shoulder to shoulder, swiping the wet from her coat, and as she became once more aware of her season burning under her flesh, heda began to cry, helpless, relieved sobs that racked her thin frame; she clung to druid and tried to forget everything else.

Heda’s scent filled Druid’s nose as she brushed her tongue over the wet strands of her fur, the strength of it in this damp, enclosed space likewise filling her mouth with red, red, red. She ignored it, concentrating only on warming her sister, then holding her close as she felt Heda shake apart in her grasp.

For a long time, Druid simply embraced Heda, though eventually she nosed her way to the other woman’s cheek and brushed away the salty warmth of her tears. Her eyes caught on Heda’s, seeing how tired they looked, and she wondered what caused this pain she could see written into every plane of her sister’s body.

I’m here. You’re safe, she said quietly, easing her stockinged forelegs around Heda’s slim frame again and resting her head against hers. We’re home.

we're home.
she repeated it over and over in her head, sagging against druid and quickly finding something like a doze in the arms of a sister she had not thought she would see again.
eventually, the story came out in halting sentences. the island. her husband. their children. their god. their bliss. and all the loss and change that followed, everything except anselm. she said nothing about him or what they had done.
and after that, heda slept, something untroubled for the first time in months.

Druid said nothing as the tragic tale poured out of her sister. Heda fell into an exhausted sleep shortly after finishing and she just did her best to stay quiet and still. The ache in her neck was a small price to pay to have one of her loved ones in her arms again.

She couldn’t help but compare Heda’s sufferings to her own loneliness these past two years. They’d both gotten raw deals. Druid sighed and shifted, tucking her gray body closer to Heda’s pale one, her nose resting in a shock of damp red fur.