there was an echo, far and faint

All of her life Atreyu had heard stories and received religious teachings about the Summerlands and their spirits, it was part of being the queen. She was a spiritual leader as much as she was an alpha, keeping the pack together through tradition and ritual. Now she supposed the members that were left would be closer than ever, if she could find them. She was sure they had come here, it was the closest land mass to their cold little island. As the tone of the conversation became more serious, Atreyu began to let the wound in her heart shine through. Tears began to flow freely as she listened to Ellara's sincerity.

Ellara moved closer to her then, she said she was glad they made it home. That statement alone was enough to drive Atreyu towards real kinship with the woman. Maybe they didn't entirely share a faith, but Ellara accepted her beliefs with no problem, not even a hesitation. "Thank you, Ellara. I'm sure they're just happy I survived." She could tell that her belief in the Summerlands brought some kind of solace to the darker pink healer, Atreyu could see it in the way her eyes shined with hope.

There was a need to offer Ellara her own friendship, in that moment she could feel a real bond forming. The early buds of a beautiful friendship were beginning to blossom. Atreyu listened intently as Ellara spoke, saying that she too had lost her own family. "I am deeply sorry for your loss, you will meet them again in the afterlife. You have me too, any time." She fully believed they could be strong for each other, no matter what. Their kinship may be just beginning, but it had a strong foundation already. Ellara moved closer once again and Atreyu moved to offer her a hug. Knowing that the pain of loss ate at her friend made her want to hold on to the other woman so that she didn't float away in the sea of grief.

The empathetic gaze she received from Ellara wasn't shocking from the darker woman and it was welcomed with Atreyu's own empathy. "I'll be there for you as well, Ellara. Through every high and low. You're a very good friend now. You're stuck with me." Atreyu smiled at Ellara, her own heart wide open and ready for friendship. It wasn't easy for the spotted dire wolf, the fear that something bad may happen to those close to her was tangible. Atreyu wouldn't let it stop her from living her life, however. She wouldn't be kept down by worries or fears, it wasn't her way. "We should get back under the shelter and dry off before we get sick." Atreyu called for Bigs, who was still happily chasing his butterfly around the small clearing. Atreyu led the way back to the shelter they had sought before the rainbows. Looking to the sky once more, Atreyu smiled, sending a silent message to the heavens to keep her family safe in the afterlife.