be as you've always been

She spoke gently to him, though he seemed to be slow to react. Likely he was still a little numb from everything that had happened. She was, too, she found it hard to believe that any of this was real. How could this happen to Abaven? What issues were going to arise from this? From all her injured wolves, with burns and smoke inhalation, to the loss of a land, and its resources and room. The dens and resources, gone. The sense of security in her wolves, gone.

It hurt, it hurt more than she wanted to admit, as she concentrated on Epitaph’s raspy voice, and heard the hope he was trying to give her with it. He agreed with her, going a step further to point out that ash held a lot of nutrients. She hadn’t known that, and was grateful to hear it. It would take time, and care, and hard work from all of them, but they could rebuild.
It also helped to hear him speak, to see his eyes concentrate on her, when they had been filled with pain before.

Her tired face managed to form a smile, and her voice was wry when she spoke. “It’s that obvious?” she wondered, knowing it no doubt was. “I.. I fear if I sit down, for even a moment, i’ll be letting them down.” she admitted, the pain heavy in her voice as she moved closer to him, resting her head just above the water as she looked to the younger wolf. Feeling a little like her children must when the looked up to their Uncle Taffy after a nightmare.