Bearclaw Valley starting with a clean slate

They both moved with a certain haste that both startled and pleased Blondine, although she felt that she had no right to the latter. It had been her decision to leave without saying goodbye, just as it had been her decision to return. I love you, she whispered to Indra, just before Laurel took her seat at the table. There was nothing else to be said; it would be a lie to say that she'd come back to stay, or that she was sure this time, and lying would have only deepened the wounds she'd already dealt. 

My brother died, she said to Laurel, plain and cold, I had to see him before it happened. He's dead now, so I'm back. There was an icy air between the three of them that Blondine tried her hardest to think away, but it seemed to be impermeable. Coming back to the Valley was supposed to be carried out as a joyous occasion, but things rarely work out as planned.