At last we've reached the end [death thread]

Arthritis was beginning to gnaw at her joints, stiffness becoming her constasnt companion when she rose each morning. Until this last year she'd aged quite gracefully, but now her age was catching up with her and slowly she'd found with it came pain. That hadn't bothered her too much though. Despite the discomfort, she had a wonderful youngest child, a mate she loved dearly, and a pack that for better or worse provided them all some vague sense of safety for however long that lasted under Abraxas rule. It was a much better life than she'd had before arriving in Boreas as a broken mess, or even a much shorter time ago when they experienced the same heartbreak as before when Dragoste was taken.

Lately she'd been feeling a bit worse, but she didn't bother mentioning it. She was content to enjoy her time with Zephyr and ignore the protesting on her aging body for as long as possible. Perhaps she should have visited a healer sooner, but Cae was never one to be quick to do such things. Today though, she wasn't thinking about healers. She'd gotten up this morning - or was it this morning? How long had she been out? - feeling a strong urge to wander outside the pack. It had been a long time since she'd taken to her old habit of walking far and wide, and while it didn't seem advisable given how sore she was, Cae could not ignore the feeling that she needed to leave and go far.

So she walked South, thinking she would just go a little way, see a few new things and come back. That's what she told herself, anyway. But soon she found herself a little bit disoriented, unsure of what way went back. Her internal sense of direction pushed her further southwest, away from Abaven. Once she was quite isolated, she stopped to rest by the great river she'd found cutting through the land. Shivering despite the warmth of the summer day, Cae curled up by the bank.

It would just be a little while. A short rest. She just needed to rest.