When they had agreed on this hunt, they'd tracked an aging doe from Ashen territory into Armada's plains. Prey hadn't necessarily been scarce this winter, but certainly not big. Lucretia was slavering at the idea of a real kill. They had both had their paws full raising their families - and Sirius with his pack - but she did miss the old brute. Fatherhood suited him well. Not quite as well as Bourbon, but no one did anything as effortlessly as her love. His unending affection made life just a little bit easier. As she trekked towards their agreed meeting point, the wind began to pick up. Luce didn't think much of it. She'd hunted in all conditions. By the time she had arrived at the designated spot a steady stream of snow was coming down from an ominously slate-grey sky. The shamyn folded her ears against her skull and stared with anxiety at the sky. Where was Bourbon when she needed him? Oh well, Sirius would arrive soon. He wouldn't let her get lost in a drift. Deathbelle (and Zee, and Bourbon...) would never forgive him.

He had spent very little time with the Ashen healer now that he was Warlord of the Armada. He remembered the days they had spent, side by side, watching over Deathbelle with a similar passion for their job. It had been that which had first brought his respect for the woman, and the next had been her tenacity. If she started a job, she finished it. He knew she had become a mother, but had seen her only in fleeting passes, and offered but a brief congratulations. The suggestion of a hunt together had been a good one, and would give him a chance to enquire after Deathbelle’s health. To hear the parts she wouldn’t freely tell him. The Trek to the North would be a long one, but now that they were both parents, and loyal members of the Empire, he figured they would find something in common to talk about. She was also right that he would never let her get lost in a snow drift, his loyalty to her still existed, despite all the changes in their lives. He found her and offered her a faint bow, a measure of respect to the clever healer. “Luce, it's been some time. How are the kids?” "Speech"