Nymeria

She was thinking about her brother.

When she closed her eyes, it was Volterra who came to the forefront of her mind: Volterra, as he was now—not the memories of their effervescent youth. To think about him was to think about his bruised sinew and his bloodied hide, to see once again the sweat that had gleamed in stark contrast to his black coat. It made her heart flutter, and forced her mouth into a mockery of a smile, but the emotions that had grasped her when confronted by his adultery and his tenacious fever was not so easily confined to mere familial love. She did not regret that day with him (nor the things she had said) but... something, she felt, had irrevocably changed between them. Occasionally her thoughts drifted back, and she couldn't help but feel guilty over how her heart simultaneously leaped and plummeted at the sight of him—how she both craved and abhorred how he looked at her, as if they'd never known one another, as if they'd never been siblings. She didn't quite think their distance... their distance was a bad thing, not anymore. Volterra's hungry eyes and wolfish smile kindled an unlikely and terrifying fondness in her breast, one she didn't want to think about, one she didn't want to worry about.

Now she was grateful for the sanctuary the Falls offered her. There was no chance of seeing her brother here, of that she was certain, and here she was able to conduct herself without intrusion.

Nymeria glanced up towards the sky. The sun was still low, hardly cresting the horizon. It should be around noon by now, but it felt like the day hadn't even begun. Off in the distance clouds were beginning to converge in a mottled pattern of chalky gray and silver; they looked like they bore snow within their bloated bellies. So far, the autumn had proved mild, but perhaps this was a sign of change. Nym would be lying to say she wasn't hoping for an early snow—it might make sleuthing a pain, but dark days and darker nights were always a better fit for her than the summer sun and rain.

There was a rustle and whisper of snow-tainted wind through the forest green; a groan and creak of cracking timbers. Snap, went her tail across her legs; Nymeria flared her nostrils, tipped up her head.

She wondered where everyone was.