there's so much down here

Avantika took slow, lingering steps over the quiet earth. It was dark, but warmer than it had been only a short week or two ago. It was spring now, it was clear. The snow had melted nearly completely. She was feeling better too. The night felt open, hopeful; there wasn't a cloud in the sky. She didn't have to watch the horizon like it owned her tonight -- instead, she gazed up, at the stars. They were different too. She didn't look at the constellations much, but she knew they changed with the seasons.

She smiled. She was on patrol again, but she felt less stressed than usual. She'd actually gotten a good night's sleep last night -- she wasn't lazy, she was resting, resting was important -- and really, you only needed, like, one of those a week, right? She took naps when she could, and she was doing better at that too. She was really trying to clean herself up. Her conversation with Art had impressed that into her. She needed to balance her work worries and her own life. She never wanted to be the kind of wolf to work all the time and never spend any time at all with her kids. She could never figure out quite how to convince herself that she should rest simply for her own good, but she could weaponize her desire to be a good mother.

She wondered if anyone she knew knew much about constellations. They wouldn't usually hold her attention, but maybe there were good stories about them. There was a lot she wanted to know.

"Speech"