Horizon Ridge You like to drink and to smoke to take away the pain

hope you don't mind ^^; I was already tempted!!

Now the boy had left her too.  She tracked him with mild frustration, but in truth, didn't mind the delay as much as she'd made it seem.  Despair had settled in, hopelessness that she'd ever find the ones she sought.  It made her indifferent and lethargic; added to the hunger, she felt a bit as if nothing actually mattered.  

When she had tracked down her most recent company, he had wandered up the cliffs to the ridge.  She meant to head east next anyway - it was becoming clear no one was returning to the coast anytime soon.  It took a moment for her to realize that he wasn't alone, but once that dawned on her, she froze.

Nieve's coat was a distinctive enough pattern of gold for the mother to instantly recognize it, but at first, she didn't quite believe what she was seeing was the truth.