My birth pack was small, Kirain began, her voice quiet and distant. We were nomadic by nature, always wandering the winter white of the north.

Her eyes grew glassy with memory.

We had a healer, devoted and wise, and she was teaching me the art of healing. But then... the illness came.

She hesitated, the pain tangible in her voice.

It took their minds first. I can't describe the agony of watching those you love go... mad. And there was nothing I could do to stop it.

Her voice dropped to a whisper.

I wanted it to take me too. But it wouldn’t. It just... wouldn’t.

A sigh escaped her, heavy with years of solitude.

I wandered the arctic realm alone for so long. The silence, the cold... they became my only companions.

She fell quiet a moment, then spoke again with a bittersweet resolve.

It would seem nature and fate had different plans for me.

Kirain listened as Stardust voiced her distrust of this strange land. She understood. The way they had all arrived here, ripped from their lives, thrown into the unknown, was heartbreaking. But even so, Stardust’s fierce determination warmed her heart.

You’re right to be cautious, she said gently. There’s still so much we don’t understand about this place. But I have to believe it can be a good place. A real home.

Her gaze softened.

What would doubt and fear bring me now? I’ve already lived in that darkness. I let it take root in my heart... let it nearly consume me.

She glanced down, a flicker of sorrow crossing her features.

But then, kindness found me again. Hope found me. And I realized—I don’t want to live like that anymore. I won’t.

Her voice steadied, warm and resolute.

You have to keep your head up, darling. It’s the only way through.

As her thoughts drifted, she felt the heat rise in her face again, flustered all over. She dropped onto her haunches and covered her face with her paws.

Y-yes! It’s what mates do! she stammered, muffled and mortified.

This is normal! We c-can’t help it! He’s just so—so handsome...

Her voice cracked completely, and she practically folded in on herself with embarrassment.

Stardust! Why must you torment me so?!

But then her friend’s tone shifted, serious, somber, and Kirain’s heart stopped. She dropped her paws at once, ears perking, eyes searching.

The words that followed hit her like a falling stone.

I... I didn’t consider that, she breathed, her chest tightening as dread took hold.

It wouldn’t. Right? My pups... they’d never lose me. This land wouldn’t be that cruel..!

Panic bloomed, quick and suffocating. Her breathing grew ragged as fear clawed at her.

My family... my children... Her voice broke, tears springing to her eyes. I haven’t even met them yet and the thought, just the thought..

She choked on her words, voice shaking.

You will? You promise?

Her gaze locked onto Stardust, desperate, pleading.

I don’t know what I’d do if it happened. I-I'd fall apart.

The tears spilled freely now, trailing down her cheeks as the full weight of the possibility bore down on her.

And yet, even in her panic, she clung to Stardust’s presence like a lifeline.