Golden Glade sky fire above, ice below the hearth

It still didn't seem real. It was strange, how something so seemingly simple -- moving from the top of the plateau to the bottom, basically -- could make such a dramatic difference for Raven's state of mind. She still grieved for Wildfire's passing, of course, and she still mourned for the siblings who'd left for greener pastures elsewhere in the Hinterlands, but over all of that she now felt optimism. Hope. A new excitement for life. The change was refreshing, rejuvenating, and it was exactly what she needed. And she would never again take for granted how comforting it was to have trees over her head!

Her friend walked alongside her now as they casually strolled about their new home, and as they talked of things that had happened to each of them in the time since they'd last seen one another (and it had been a while!), she felt a sense of contentment and belonging she hadn't known in a long time. She had so few friends that she sorely missed them when they were apart. It felt strange to share leadership with him, but she knew they would all get used to it with time. Rannoch inquired about her condition, referring to her pregnancy, and she nodded with a smile, "Oh yeah, I'm fine. I've been through far worse, while far more pregnant." A squirrel went scurrying from the path on which they walked into some of the tangly undergrowth off to the side, momentarily distracting her attention. Continuing, she responded to his initial comment, "It really is awesome here. We've hunted these woods so many times but I never really stopped to appreciate them like this. Never thought I'd be living here, I guess." She glanced up at him with a wry grin and bumped him lightly with her shoulder. "I sure never all of this coming. It's still surreal to me that you're here...and we've got a pack together!"