The night before they were set to leave, Cosette slept closer to the castle, abandoning the little spot she’d been sleeping in for the last several months since Indigo’s group had gotten so large. She had no belongings to pack, no friends that she needed to say goodbye to, so when she heard his call she moved to join him and the others. The idea of going off had been exciting to her and she was thrilled for Indigo, but reality was beginning to set in that she didn’t know most of the wolves she would be traveling with. When they were on their own there wouldn’t be borders to keep them safe. She wouldn’t be able to go off to the farthest reaches of whatever land they were in to hold herself at a distance from the others anymore. Ir would be for the best, in the end, but the thought of suddenly being thrown into the mix after watching them all from afar for so long made her feel anxious.
Duchess and another small girl who she thought she’d heard referred to as Gypsy were already there, sitting side by side. Cosette wanted to sit beside them, but she still couldn’t help but second guess her place among them and sat to the side on her own. It felt like her stomach was twisting in her abdomen as she thought about the others they were waiting for. She wasn’t even entirely sure how many others there were. She should have tried harder to meet them all before now. Maybe if she had she wouldn’t feel so nervous now.
