Chapter 28: Retrieval
Sahari rolled out of bed with surprisingly little difficulty. Normally she would roll into Nalah and need to shake Tell off her leg from their sleep pile but the fire watch she had taken the late shift for had offset her enough that she ended up spending most of her rest alone. It felt a little lonely, but also somewhat freeing. It was something that she wouldn’t mind doing more often, though she wouldn’t want it to be a regular thing.
She was groggy. The slow blinks as she forced herself awake clearing the mental fog somewhat. The lumbering footsteps and difficulty putting her clothes on spoke volumes to the level of protest her body was yelling at her for not sleeping the rest of the day away. It was a losing battle, however, as she forced herself to move and rejoin the den in the world of the living.
The hub was sparsely populated. Violet lounged on the Atmo couch while she sculpted something and Harrow was watching one of her latest prototypes temper over the fire through a window. Jax and Nalah should be back for supper soon and Mama was likely either in the bath or workshop. She stifled a yawn and plopped herself down next to Violet, the den-daughter giving her a sideways cuddle as she purred at the company. Sahari reached out and lightly dragged her claws over the small of Violet’s back to intensify the purr while being careful to only drag them over the chitinous plate and not the scales. Joseph didn’t have the claws to discover this particular scratching spot, but Sahari didn’t have the extra finger strength to properly rub the scaled portion either, so it was a wash. Not that Violet complained either way.
“Have you seen Joseph?” Harrow called over her should while maintaining her gaze on the fire.
Sahari fought back another yawn as she answered. “No, i have not. I am- awh. I am only just now waking. Why?”
“I haven’t seen him since earlier, is all.” Harrow replied with a drooped ear, her head inclined as she considered something.
“I am sure he is around somewhere. He may be inspecting the new buildings or checking our snares. He has a habit of refusing rest.” She offered lazily. Violet placed down what she was working on and picked up another unfinished project to continue. Harrow tipped an ear and glanced over her shoulder.
“He was checking them out this afternoon. Tel was out checking snares and got back as soon as he finished. The two came in here and i haven’t seen either since, now that i think about it. It’s starting to snow pretty hard...” Harrow placed a fist to her lips before pointing at Sahari with a smirk. “I know! They’re off having some personal time, as Joseph would call it.”
Sahari snorted. “I would worry about Tel’s health more than her success when it comes to her attempts at bedding him.”
“Haah.” Harrow mixed a sigh and a chuckle. “Well, someone needs to cook and if Tel is occupied with whatever Joseph has her doing, it isn’t going to be me.”
“We could ask Mama, she was the cook before Tel.”
Harrow tilted her head. “Yeah, that works. Wonder if she’s had a chance to get to know the random spices Tel’s made. I’ll go ask her la-AH!”
Sahari glanced over her shoulder towards Harrow. “What?”
But Harrow had already begun sprinting out the door. A quick glance out the window showed that the piece she was working on had caught fire while she was busy talking. Sahari shook her head with a laugh, petting Violet who had grown curious. Never in her time on this planet would she suspect that they would be under the care of an alien Grand Hunter, nor that it would be the happiest that she’d seen every member of her pack.
Joseph had single-handedly saved each of them and even allowed them enough security to start wooing one another. Not a small feat considering the lethality of the environment. She glanced out the window to a panicking Harrow and chuckled. The logistics member being a Head and being this committed to her work? Now that is a miracle. The dulled female who once sat at a desk with little will to do much was now panicking because the task she had taken on was going slightly less than perfect. It was refreshing to see the fire in her eyes.
Her thoughts were broken by the sound of the hub doors opening, Jax and Nalah stomped their way into the room to shake off the snow.
“The fence is mostly done.” Nalah spoke up when she noticed Sahari’s curious glance, rapidly brushing the snow off her head and causing a contained flurry. “Weather’s starting to go to pick up so we figured we’d call it a sun early.”
Jax took a more casual approach to clearing himself of the frozen water flakes and scanned the room for something. “Where is Joseph? I wished to ask him about his plans for a gate.”
“I have no suggestions.” Sahari shook her head. “Harrow claims that she last seen him with Tel.” She thumbed to the window at Harrow. She was in the process of covering up the fire pit and adding some larger logs so that the weather wouldn’t extinguish it while it they waited out the snow.
Jax raised an eyebrow. “I see.” He seemed to think about something for a moment before nodding to himself with a mischievous grin. “I will go check the rooms.”
“Is it really that urgent?”
“No, but now I am curious if Tel has succeeded.” Jax replied.
Sahari opened her mouth to speak but needed to close it to try again. “Joseph was right, you are very much a bad influence for Harrow.” Nalah laughed and jabbed Jax in the rib with an elbow.
The male shook his head with his own chuckle, brushing away the limb and walking towards the dorms. “I merely bring out the best in those around me.”
“Our hero.” Nalah deadpanned, much to Sahari’s amusement. Jax pushed open the doors to the dormitory while giving a dramatic bow, spinning with the door as it closed.
Nalah stared with a half smile at the doors, turning to look at Sahari after a moment. “If Tel is gone, who’s cooking?”
“Mama, i presume. I doubt she will mind.”
Nalah nodded. “I’ll ask. Workshop?”
“Should be. Ask Pan if she knows where her bond is as well. He is usually not one to hang around in bad weather.” Sahari added, a mild concern on her face. Joseph had a habit of grumbling about precipitation rather than immersing himself in it. From what she’s had translated for her, he had a bad experience with a storm that had almost killed him and he’s been annoyed by the phenomenon ever since. Given his hatred of shovelling the powdered white fluff that layered by the second, it was safe to assume he hated this kind of storm as well.
Harrow bumped open the dorm doors, looking slightly less energetic and much wetter than when she left, grumbling about the snow. It took a few seconds for her to remember that she had something to say. “Why is Jax poking his head in every door?”
Sahari smirked. “He is checking if Tel had finally worn Joseph down.”
She tilted her head at the response, eyes tracking the ceiling in thought. “I didn’t smell anything, unless they changed venue to the baths?” Sahari shrugged.
“Grab some towels for the three of you while you are in there. You three are all soaked and Joseph will throw a fit if we drag water through the den.”
“Good idea. He’s Getting violent.” Harrow giggled as she headed off to the baths and leaving Sahari mildly confused.
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Supper was loud as the pack ate. Stories were traded while the Atmo soaked in the company and their tales of their exploits. Sahari found herself absently looking towards the doors every so often, distracted while she awaited her Grand Hunter to return. Pan was the first one to comment on her actions.
“Is everything alright, Sahari?” She asked, her own worry obvious and the tail behind her was wrapped firmly around her waist.
She stiffened for a moment, stopping herself from replying in the affirmative. “N-no. I am concerned that something may have happened to Joseph. He should have been back long before now, and the weather is only getting worse.”
Pan lowered her gaze. Harrow took the opportunity to raise a paw. “Should we go look for him?”
“He will be fine. If he can beat me, he can beat pretty much anything he could run into.” Jax chuckled.
“Jax, you forget I’m bonded. You’re worried sick.” Harrow replied dryly. Jax tried to counter her statement but quickly dropped the facade with a frown replacing the bravado.
“It’s starting to get... ‘Cold as all fuck’, as Joseph would put it.” Nalah commented. “Does anyone know his comfortable temperature range?”
“...It’s not this low.” Pan placed a fist to her lips and furrowed her brow. “He’s fine for short periods of time, but it’s distressing for him after a while.”
Sahari shot a glance towards Harrow. “How long can you withstand this cold?”
Harrow perked up, staring at the ceiling for a moment as she considered it. “Two hours, if we consider it in Joseph’s measurements. After that it starts getting very uncomfortable. Why?”
“Because you and Tel have the same coat type. How long have they been gone?”
“Maybe four?”
The pack sat in silence for a moment as they considered this, each shuffling in their seats. Sahari’s attention was broken when a pair of blades tugged at her arm. She met the eyes of Violet who was trying to pull her off her chair. “All is well, young one. I’m sure he’ll be back soon.” Her words came out hollow, herself unable to believe them.
Violet didn’t relent at the assurance, instead doubling her efforts to remove Sahari from her seat. She acquiesced after a moment, allowing herself to be brought to the cartography table. Violet made a display of tapping her blade on an empty spot on the map layout.
“Harrow,” Sahari glanced over towards the one responsible for creating the maps. “I feel like there is one of these sections missing.”
“Oh? Lemme see.” She bounded off her chair and walked over, staring at the missing tablet for a moment before landing a fist into her open paw. “He went mapping!” Her smile at solving the mystery as to the reason of his absence faded as quickly as it appeared. “Oh no. He went mapping.”
“That is your specialization, is it not? Why would he take up the task?” Jax asked, walking up to Harrow’s side.
Violet pointed a blade at each of the mates and made a show of holding them at a distance then bringing them together, repeating the action until Pan apparently caught what she was trying to communicate.
“He wanted to free up some time so Jax and Harrow could be together.” Pan surmised with a listless smile. Jax sunk a little upon the revelation with Harrow mirroring the emotion. “Why is it bad if he’s mapping?”
Harrow flinched at hearing the response, slowly laying a claw on the missing section. “Because this spot and the others around it are difficult to navigate. I’m guessing he brought this piece as a reference for where the boundaries lay, so he should have started around here.” She gestured to a spot slightly to the right. “It’s not impossible that he may have gotten injured. I didn’t want to do these areas while the snow was so thick since it’s easy to get a foot caught in the roots and underbrush.”
Sahari felt her heart lurch.
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Alarms flashed, obscuring their vision as the atmosphere generator slowly failed to replace the oxygen that was being siphoned through the breach. Their footfalls amplified by the strained hearing and thundering throes of combat that echoed through the halls.
Pan’s curious, if worried, gaze steeled itself. “So you mean to say that there is a high likely hood that he may be injured and stuck in hostile temperature?”
The drumming in her ears intensified, blood drowning out the wind outside.
Shouting. The smell of ozone and scorched metal. The paw holding hers trembling as they fled.
“N-no! Tel would have come to get us!” Harrow waved her paws while taking a step away from the increased pressure from the diminutive Lilhun.
“Tel may have gotten hurt. Joseph would be more likely to attempt to bring her back himself and get lost or hurt doing so.” Nalah commented, joining the group around the table. Everyone paused for a moment, knowing exactly how true that speculation is. He would be very likely to get injured if it meant helping his pack.
No.
Her limited vision through the grate showing snippets of the horror before her, her breath stilled in fear.
Sahari’s heart raced, anxiety forcing its way through her like a fire alarm and the urge to do something surged within her. “I’m going to look for them.” She blurted, spinning rapidly in place and taking three rapid steps towards the exit. Pan grabbed her by the wrist, staring her down when she turned to protest.
“You will do no such thing without preparation.” The Ice that coated her tone matched the chill outside. “I will not have more of the pack at risk of harm. I am not being responsible for explaining to him why, under my care, any of you are hurt in any way.”
Not again.
“Sahari. Hide here. Wait until you hear the ‘boom’. Then... come get me. I’ll wait for you.”
“We have wasted so much time already! What if they need help and any delay makes us too late!” Sahari almost shouted, her adrenaline failing to cease as her scowl intensified. Harrow shifted the tension with a statement.
“It’s a lot colder than it was before.” She had laid a paw against the window and noticed the shift. “We don’t have the equipment to wander around in the woods looking for someone. Like Pan said, we’ll just end up needing help ourselves.”
No.
The metal hull shook, the attached ship ruptured from the inside, spilling its crew into the void. She hesitated, frozen as tears rained down her face. She forced herself to move, fighting every screaming instinct that urged her to flee. Each one demanding she forget him and live or join him in his purpose until her last.
“WE’RE GOING TO BE TOO LATE!” Sahari yelled, shaking dominated any commands her brain tried to give the muscles. The pack all flinched at the volume.
Pan’s pained expression betrayed the battle of will inside her. She took a deep breath before coming to a decision. “I’ll make something. It won’t be long.” She turned to Jax. “I’ll use the sheets that Joseph distributed. I’ll only have enough for three coats, so you and Sahari will go find him. Use the third for whichever of the two needs the help. Keep her here until I’m done.” With nothing else to say she stormed off to the dormitory wing, presumably to collect materials.
No. Not again. Not this time. Not again. No. No. No.No.No.NoNoNoNoNoNONONONONONOTAGAIN.
Warm blood. A chilling body. Her claws mangled and torn from piercing the armour of the one who was taking this away from her. The insignia burned in her mind as the final words in her arms whispered towards her.
Sahari covered her eyes with her paws, the claws digging into her face. Trembling overcame her as panic set in, her focus too weak to fight the hyperventilation. Shaky steps towards the exit followed her diminishing peripheral and the screaming of action deafened her. “We cant wait. We’ll be too late. If we go now there is still a chance.”
Silence. The muted rumbling of speech fell upon deaf ears.
The still air. Still vessel. Still rage. The trapped moment of time where the light left his eyes, still focused on her. The frozen smile.
A set of arms held her in place before she could disregard the order to stay. A baritone voice broke the spiral. “We are not going to be late. Huntress Pan has given us the best course of action. It is our duty to trust in her decisions in the Grand Hunter’s absence.” Jax’s words cut through her. Her throat dried as she fought to keep her emotions in control. The whistling of the wind outside could be heard again.
“...I do not wish to be late again.” She whispered, freed of the memories.
“You will not.”
“...I couldn’t take it.”
“You will not need to.”
She slackened in his arms, still shaking, tears held at bay for the moment. “...Will we make it?”
“We must.” He stated softly.
Harrow joined the hug, hesitation in her voice. “I’m not sure what’s going on but it feels like doing this would help. I’m getting a lot of sad from Jax and i don’t like it.”
Nalah joined in short order, out of breath and her voice harsh. “We’re here for you, Sahari. We’ll get him back. You’ll get him back.”
She nodded, unable to do anything else.
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“Take this path up there. The area around here is a nightmare to walk through, even without a storm.” Harrow briefed them on the terrain they would expect to find before they left. Jax was taking in the information while Sahari tried to keep herself focused. Trying to keep her trauma at bay.
“Sounds good. Should cut down on the return time as well if we loop down through here.” Jax nodded, stowing a water-skin of hot water that Pan had gathered for them. It wouldn’t hold its heat forever, but should prove sufficient. Sahari shifted the one she held in her pocket, distributing the burning warmth to a new location.
“We should know the way now. Thank you, Harrow.” She whispered, anxiously eyeing the doors towards where they speculated Joseph was. Harrow nodded, shooing them with a worried look that was amplified by Jax.
“Sahari.” Pan’s voice drew her gaze for a moment, paw rested on the push-bar. Just long enough for Sahari to stiffen at the same resolve she lacked. The composure that was tempered by a taste of The Guardian’s true might. “Bring him back. Bring them back. Bring yourself back with them. Then we will talk.”
Sahari closed her eyes, pushing away thoughts and doubts. Her focus was reignited anew when her vision returned. She regarded the small and weak female that she had dragged away from the abuse at the camp. The one who rarely spoke nor met other’s eyes, now staring through her with a titanium will to her voice. She was not complete. Not yet. But she was shaping up to be a damn fine Huntress. A far better one than Sahari ever was. Better than she deserved to follow.
“I will, Huntress Pan. I will return with them in tow. Without failure. Without hesitance. And without exception.” She replied, steeling her resolve once again. Pan gave a subtle nod, pushing open the door for them to leave. The wind blew through the hub, pushing in snow and freezing air with it. Without a second thought, they pushed into the dark.
They kept close to avoid losing sight of one another, both using the cloaks Pan had fashioned from materials they could never hope to collect on this world. It kept the chill at bay and the hot water stored in their pockets kept them warm. The black of their fur standing out in the sea of white was the only thing they could rely on in gusts that obscured their vision.
The patch they chose would swing around the missing areas of the map, approaching from the right instead of behind due to unfavourable terrain. The trees, once silver, now blended into the white ground. They walked quickly, wasting not breath that would be useless at the moment. They looked through the forest floor for signs of disturbance. A trail left behind.
They walked.
“There is nothing here.” Jax called out over the howling wind. “No tracks from Joseph or Tel.”
“You would be hard pressed to see Tel’s tracks. Give up looking.” She replied, pushing a bush to the side to confirm they hadn’t traversed towards the den through that route.
“You assume i am too unskilled to see them?” He walked forward, waiting for Sahari to come closer before continuing.
“No. She is very good at what she does, Jax.”
“Cook?” He guessed aloud, thought it was clear it was supposed to be muttered to himself. The wind had decreased enough for her to hear it momentarily.
Sahari stared at him, a useless gesture as he was busy scouting the snow for footprints or otherwise, but a cold stare to match the weather just felt fitting. “Never mind, Jax.”
She passed by him, using the small increase in visibility to walk towards the hill. She scoured the ground, hoping for something that would tell them that they had been here. She heard a sigh behind her.
“No, i want to know. Joseph knows, apparently, and we have known her much longer. What am i missing?” He complained, passing by her this time.
“Jax.”
“Is it a secret? I think i should know since I am in charge of security.”
“Jax.” She hissed.
“What?” He turned to face her. “Oh. Oh, no. That is a full pack of them.”
The ground showed sets of wide paw prints, far too large to be Tel’s and each consistent with a quadrupedal gait.
“What are we looking at?” Sahari glanced at him nervously. Jax crouched to examine the partially covered tracks.
“No idea, but they found something they wanted. See here? The placement of their feet changed from a walk to a sprint. They found prey.”
Sahari stared for a moment, not willing to entertain the thought that tried to intrude.
“We should follow it.” Jax stood, walking along side the prints.
She gathered herself and decided to trust their hunter, herself too ignorant of the ways of beasts to make sound judgment.
The tracks widened out, revealing more than five sets of tracks that converged and separated. Each set stopping in front of a tree at odd intervals before bolting off towards a corrected course. They followed them, careful to inspect the ground for evidence of another set that matched the ones of their Grand Hunter. A second set of tracks, unlike the first batch, came into prominence as the previous diverged outwards into various facets of the woods.
“Here. Joseph’s prints. Harrow was right; he came straight through the rough patch.” Jax motioned to a set of footprints that deviated from any form of paw. They meandered around from location to location, presumably as he was detailing the map from different perspectives. There were a few spots that suggested he had tripped and fallen but none showed any injury in his stride after, much to her relief.
“They stop here.” Sahari motioned for Jax to follow her, pinning her hood down as the wind threatened to strip her of her warmth. The prints circled around a tree and splayed around the roots before seeming to slowly vanish beyond a few steps towards the mid-point of the hill. “No, Tel must have noticed the beasts.” She pointed to four subtle holes in the trunk of the tree. “She kicked off here. Probably to confirm before she took any actions.”
“Then why the wandering around here?”
“I doubt even Joseph could keep track of her in this weather.” She replied dryly. “He likely began searching for her.”
“The tracks fade out after this.”
“That would be her doing. Given that all of this has not been covered; she was in a hurry. Something, these beasts, spooked her.”
Jax stared at her for a moment before cycling a deep breath. “I will accept this as a respect for your service. So, she covered her tracks. Do we try to reestablish the others?”
She thought for a moment. “No. They were likely tracking them as we are now. We would just run into them blindly. I trust Tel to bring him to relative safety.”
Jax nodded. “Then we progress this way.” He pointed further along the hill side. “We will be more likely to notice their tracks if they moved towards a lull in the wind flow.”
“She uses her tail to brush snow over her prints. It is too cold to maintain that perfectly and she has to compensate for Joseph. Keep an eye on the ground. You will notice his long before hers.”
The wind returned, blowing once rested snow into the air once more, forcing them to slow their progress as they clutched their new clothing closed. The water in their pockets cooled to room temperature as time passed. The chill of their environment crept into their fur. The shelter of the hill provided some respite from the harsh weather, shielding them from the worst of the storm.
Eventually, faint outlines of Joseph’s shoes were visible, the redirection of the wind allowing them to show near trees.
Sahari held out a paw to stop Jax from disturbing one. “Here. They went this way. It is a lot sooner than i would have expected from her though.”
“The cold was getting to her.” He replied solemnly.
“Likely. Come on.” She pointed towards the almost invisible track some distance from them, the snow having blown into it since its placement.
The tracks slowly became more defined as they progressed, the wear becoming evident on their cook. After a while, even her paw prints were beginning to show through. They followed the trail at an increased pace, picking up more and more speed as the focus required to do so became available.
“Smell that?” Sahari broke stride to sniff at the air until Jax gave her an unimpressed stare with a single claw tapping his snout. “Right. I smell smoke. Weak. This way.”
She pointed further up the hill and mildly chastised herself for forgetting his injury. They quickly closed in on an easier to traverse area, the trees still abundant but their roots more recessed into the dirt and snow. The ground evened out as they approached a rock face on the hill, the air tainted by the smell of ash that whispered with the blowing snow.
A small orange glow flickered in the distance, footprints leading up towards it. She began rushing in that direction, stopping when Jax pressed an outstretched arm to her breast. A growl caught in her throat as she noticed his free paw pointing towards a convergence of animal tracks. Each matching the ones that had wandered away earlier in their search. With a brief exchange of nods, they approached the light cautiously.
The tracks lead to the hole, now evident that the animals had not entered it but have seemingly investigated instead. Sahari breathed deeply, searching for a hint amongst the scents. A crack of a branch drew her attention to her left, the sound originating from Jax stepping on a fallen branch just out of her view and piercing the wind. She returned to trying to parse the air for information and got it in spades.
Her heart pumped. Her pupils widened as far as would be allowed. She felt a shiver bolt down her spine as adrenaline coursed through her system. She felt fear. Uncertainty. Then determination. An undying will to destroy whatever dare put hers at risk. She felt her entire body abandon every option but pure unadulterated violence put on a razor thin ledge and her mind scream to protect. Her claws instantly extended fully, pushing themselves to their limits as muscles tensed.
Jax stared at her, taking the reaction as confirmation and called out something in Joseph’s language.
The fear turned to relief. The determination diluted but remained. The deafening roars inside her subsided, replaced with a simple urgency. She shook from the rapid endorphin climb and descent, falling to her knees as the pressure released her from her tensions.
They found him. He’s alive.
With little else on her mind she scrambled to her feet and ran to the hole, looking inside to find a half naked human. He was shivering, armed with naught but a chisel and cold sweat glistening in the dim fire light. His solid stare at her through the small entrance caused her to flinch but the rest of the scene concerned her. Tel was wearing both of Joseph’s upper garments as well as her leather piece haphazardly over it. She lay curled around the dying embers of what once may have been a sufficient fire. Without even entering the cave or asking, she knew that Joseph was enduring the cold so that Tel would survive even a little bit longer. She could tell by his tepid satisfaction that he felt he had succeeded with his minor goal. She could feel the last strings of determination leave him as his legs gave way beneath him, causing him to fall to his rear.
He spoke with heavy breaths, weakly gesturing to the bundled Lilhun.
“We are to secure Tel first and foremost. He has done all he can but lacks the strength and surefooted nature to carry her to the den.” Jax translated for her.
“What about him? He is freezing to death as we speak.”
“He says that he will be fine.” Jax dismissed, clearing out the snow of the entrance and moving to wrap Tel in their third coat. Joseph spoke, but Jax didn’t translate their brief conversation. “Come. We must guide him.” The words left his mouth as he passed by her with Tel carried in his arms, Joseph returning shakily to his own feet behind him. The male managed three steps before he fell into Sahari’s arms, her having felt the sardonic amusement when he attempted the first.
She held the Human, panic only subdued by the emotions she felt from him. The memories of blood and noise replaced by the reality of cold and wind. The emotions the same. The self sacrificing smile directed towards her with a half-focused stare.
She pulled him to her chest, tears welling in her eyes as she relived those moments yet was given a chance to repent. To right her wrong. The warmth seeped out of her into him as she held him tighter to her bosom, his heartbeat muted by the cold.
She felt pressure on her cheeks. The same pressure she felt suns ago from him. Joseph, as weak as he was in the moment, still felt crushed by concern for her. Felt echos of her pain merely through observing her with nary a pheromone perceived. He brushed her tears with his hand, a weak smile assuring her. With a nod, she stood up, grunting under the effort of forcibly carrying him.
She felt his embarrassment but ignored it for the reluctant gratefulness as he relented to holding her by the neck with a whisper.
“Not you too.” Jax quipped with a grin. She glared at him for a moment before directing her attention towards the path forward.
“No, Jax. I have lost what i once held dear. What i have now? What i have now i wish to keep. I find no better solace in my sins than to carry out my Grand Hunter’s will. I can feel how important it is to him that we succeed. How important we are. I would have traded the worlds, Jax, for just one more moments in his arms. One more moon...” She cleared her throat as she choked up in memory. “The Hunt Mother has blessed me with a chance, Jax. A chance to repent for my hesitation. A chance to follow one who may lead us. She has given me what i need to carry out that duty as i atone.” Her words were steadfast and spoken with conviction. Jax’s jovial jab at her had solidified her resolve and clarified her emotions. “Let’s get them back.”
She would no longer envy for the bond of others in which they seek to embrace their other.
She would be this Human’s mirror, and she will reflect his will upon all who seek to impede it.
She will accept this second chance her goddess has given her.
For the Hunt Mother. For the pack. For her bond. For The Guardian.
She will fail no longer.