Katja was glad her elder two children had recovered from their illness to join their siblings, though it still unsettled her slightly that they had missed out on the opportunity to stand beside their siblings at the blot. It concerned her at how near she had come to losing them both to disease, though Kassander assured her that it was not as serious as many cases of the illness had been. Still, it was with relief that she had seen them on their way to catch up to their siblings in exploring their limits. Yes, the world was dangerous and no, she would not hide them from that danger, but she could not teach them in such a way that they could stand against something so insidious as disease. It struck down bold and coward, learned and fool alike. But she could make certain that they were prepared and confident as a viking child should be. Her younger daughters had indicated their interests to her; it was time to learn what, if any, interests bold Raesa held. To that end she set herself beyond Yfir's boundary to the north, and raised her head to call the adventuresome girl who so reminded her of the friend Katja had lost, and the cat creature Raesa had befriended.

Ræsa had spent her morning entranced by the landscape she found herself in. In places the ice was exceptionally clear, darkening to blues so pure she'd never seen their equal. In some places she could see the skeletons of submerged trees. Elsewhere snow had mounded up and turned the vast expanse a carnival like experience of enjoyment in skidding about. She racketed about among the stumps with Bo in tow until she heard Katja's call. For all the fun she'd been having, she locked down and put ont he breaks, skidding to a graceless halt. She ended in a heap but scrambled right back to her feet and turned back to the far shore at a lope. The frozen world carried her mother's scent across the snow like a gift handed to her by the gods themselves.

She arrived where Katja waited in a fluster of powdered snow, enjoying the way it seemed to burst into countless fractals. With a wide grin and a flourished tail she dipped her head, a rare show of respect. There were not many in the world who could command such things from her, but apart from a deep fear of her disapproving reprimands when certain behavioral expectations were not met, she truly idolized her mother. "Fancy finding you here," she quipped with a sly smile, a wink. "What are the odds?" Her smile grew with warmth and intent as she forced herself into a more serious demeanor. She did not want to waste her mother's time, after all. She waited for whatever her mother would ask of her.

It didn't take long for her eldest daughter to scamper up, accompanied by her feline companion. Katja eyed the creature a moment, but she'd begun to grow used to her children's odd friends, and she could see the use in them. She had much less to worry about knowing that Raesa had such a dangerous creature guarding her back. The question would be how best to integrate them into a cohesive team...

She stepped forward, lifting her muzzle to allow it to drift across Raesa's neck in greeting. Raesa was even taller than Taufr, clearly taking after the male who had sired them. "It is good to see you so well, dottir," she murmured. So long she had worried for her two elder children as they languished in illness, but Raesa now showed no signs of the disease that had kept her denbound. That the girl felt well enough for playful teasing boded well for her readiness to take up duties as befit her age. "I regretted not being able to assign you teaching when your littermates took up their paths," she began with no further preamble. "It is on my mind that you perhaps may already have a preference as to what you would wish to learn." She paused, inviting a comment if desired, before swiftly adding, "Of course, I would be delighted to assist you in finding your path if you are uncertain what you wish to pursue. Not all wolves your age know what they want to do with their lives quite yet."