Duskfire Glacier all we wanted, was a place to feel like home

Lane also flew to the border when the familiar voice lilted across the Glacier. She had been working so long and hard trying to prepare the pack for their departure, that she wondered if it had just been her imagination. 

She did not have to wonder long. As she approached the border, her eyes landed on the three family members. Lane forced herself to stop at a distance, leaving time and space for them to reunite. After a long few moments, she approached slowly, tail whipping back and forth and eyes shining with delight. 

"Imaq!" Lane spoke, announcing her presence before she joined Rye in the hug. "Welcome home." As she pulled away, she turned to the boy. "And you too, Sikuliak. You're so big! Veteran will be excited to see you." How much would the boy remember about the home he had left behind when he was hardly the size of a caribou's skull?  

"Are you staying?" Lane ventured tentatively. She would welcome Imaq and her son back into the pack eagerly, if that was the shepherd's desire. 

Finally, Lane's gaze fell on the missing limb, and her breathing hitched for an instant. Imaq's fluffy hindquarters did a good job in concealing the extent of the damage, but it did not smell of infection. The injury also offered a wordless explanation of Imaq's absence.