She knew many things had happened over the past season, making it feel like eternity. Her move to Fiori had been a bit nerve-racking, especially after she had gotten off on the wrong paw with one of her new pack-mates. New to the pack and she was already going around being an absolute brat. Well, that was his problem. Trying to settle into the pack and figuring out if anyone actually liked her (not that she expected them to) was another one of her problems, on top of the recent challenge. That had been exhausting, and she hadn't even fought. Mentally draining, she meant, and she still wasn't all that bright. After all, what would she have done if Leo had lost? Just move back to Borealis after all that effort she had gone through to persuade her mother out of the pack? Hah. No way had she planned to do that.
The gulley remained quiet, too quiet. Had it been this eerie when she had been around? The pack had been alive with wolves, bustling with activity, if she recalled correctly. Most of her former pack-mates had been the remnants of Sonticus - adults and pups alike. Were they still here? It didn't feel like it. It felt like she was visiting a different pack. This didn't feel like Borealis, not like she remembered.
Cold drafts swept her vivid fur around as she awaited the arrival of her mother. For a moment she fretted the woman wouldn't wish to speak with her. Yes, she had left the pack though she wasn't abandoning the family. Never would she leave her kin. What more was she to do? Visit every day? No, she assured herself with a shake of her head. She'll come. She'll love to see me...won't she? Ears perked at the long-anticipated sound of paw-steps. She studied the soft noises carefully. Those didn't sound like her mother's paw-steps. She recognised them. They were...
"Oh Zeph. I'm so sorry."
Ren. It was Ren who answered the call. Her scarlet eyes met his azure gaze, instantly noticing the sunken look in his features and the defeated, deflated posture. Oh, he looked awful, like he had gone through many sleepless nights. Something had happened, she knew it. Surely it had nothing to do with her mother's unusual absence, or that strange emptiness she felt in the pit of her stomach. Surely not. "Ren," she began shakily, feeling her voice crack. She craned her neck to see through the ferns, praying a familiar rainbow pelt would emerge through the flora. "Where's mum?"
