Heron Lake Plateau last night i had a dream that i was brushing a horse.

The pet name and Finley's welcome soothed Wildfire's sort heart. After rubbing, catlike, against her godmother another moment, Wildfire eased down beside her. The stone felt icy to her belly, so she pressed close to share warmth, their shoulders and hips touching lightly. Her tail tapped silently against the cold stone as her body adjusted. Settling in beside Finley like this felt a lot like coming home, minus all the painful parts.

She sensed all the questions tucked neatly into the three words and managed a fairly genuine—if a bit careworn—smile for her aunt. "I won't lie: I'm not great. But it's really good to be here with you, Uncle El, Rave... everyone, really." There were some faces she missed from her last stay, though that was the warp and woof of a wolf's life (at least on wolf-rpg.com).

If Finley wanted all the gory details, Wildfire would offer them. But she didn't feel any burning need to unburden herself; she'd already unloaded everything on Raven. Instead, she queried, "How about you? How's retirement treating you?"