It's the end of the world as we know it

What.. why was mother here? He'd not seen her for a while - okay, several days, but he generally went not even a day. It worried him, especially... especially after what he saw. When they were in the caves, her breaking, her making him the prince, the heir. That which led to his training, which had barely started when... this happened. And now, to have tracked her erratic path from the pack to the swollen river... Why? He stood at the edge, well, what was now the edge, feeling the water lap at his toes as he searched for the woman that meant so much to him.