All grown up

Vanta felt his approach before she saw it, recognized the familiar cadence of her father’s heavy paws. The scent of him, intermingled with the earth and the tang of the forest, enveloped her before arms did. When his presence finally registered, a surge of emotions cascaded through her - relief, love, fear, all knotted together in the pit of her stomach. Her whimper intensified.

His arms encircled her then, and in that embrace, the years melted away. She was no longer Vanta, the knight, the warrior with a cause; she was a child, a Fatalis Princess, daughter of the strongest man she'd ever known and the woman she mourned every day. Sirius' voice, laced with concern, drew from her a soft, shakey breath. "I did this to myself, it’s all my fault." Vanta whispered into his fur. "I'm so sorry I left. I thought I had to get away, but I was just a child, scared and grieving." Her voice broke. "I just missed mom so much."

She clung to him and his embrace, a gesture that was achingly familiar yet distant in memory. Drawing a shuddering breath, she lifted her head from his chest just enough her crystalline eyes could meet his. "Can you ever forgive me?"