But I put it out of my mind Long enough to call it courage To live without a lifeline

She had spent the night pressed against her daughter sleeping soundly for the first time since she caught her faded scent at the border. She was too big now to wrap her limbs around and encompass her in a ball as she might have once done. Rising early that next morning, not refreshed but no longer gripped with the stress and panic she had been experiencing, she made her way out of the den. She let the cold air hit her face. Her daughter was still recovering from her exposures, and she had no doubt that she would sleep for a little while longer.

She would not go far, instead settling and watching as the sun started to peak over the horizon, embracing the peaceful feeling she rarely felt anymore. Everything was fine now… Kateri was safe. Nash was by her side… it all felt like it was falling into place… and that was precisely what scared her. Everything had fallen into place once before, and at the end of it all, she had lost her mother… she had failed to treat her mother. They all trusted her as their Shaman, but that was because she had never yet revealed to any of them that she had failed once before.

All she could do was try to mentally prepare for the oncoming storm.

The Vuesain ended up finding himself having a more peaceful night's sleep after finding Oksana along the lakeshore that night. It had been too long since sleep had actually found him, so he was relieved to be able to wake before first light without much fight from his body. Moving his way towards the infirmary to check up upon Kateri and Aquene, he was greeted with the sight of the Shaman's dark form already outside of the den. "How did she sleep?" Aleister asked gently as he came up alongside the dark woman. "I hope you got some sleep too," he added as he looked over her form, knowing how much both of them had worried for their daughter's safety and still did.

But I put it out of my mind Long enough to call it courage To live without a lifeline

For a second when the scent wafted towards her she thought it would be Nash, but it was not, her head turning as she caught sight of the Vuesain man, a soft smile finding her features. “Much better than I did. She’s still asleep now.” She offered back with a kind smile. “I tried… I was afraid of her disappearing again… I kept waking up and I was restless.” She explained softly as she let some of the tension try and fade from her shoulders. “Even now being out of the den I worry she’s disappeared again.” She had never experience such panic in her life.

It was comforting to have her home. She had missed her daughter greatly, of course. “I don’t think I’ve ever been that scared before… I’ve been scared a lot, terrified even… but never that much.” She voiced, because while she tried to be graced and poised, she needed to let it out sometime, and the stress of the situation was working itself out now that the crisis had been averted and their daughter had been returned home safe. “She’ll have a bit of a recovery still, but I’m relieved it wasn’t worse.”

A soft smile graced his ebony lips at her words, he was happy Kateri was resting, though he wasn't surprised that Aquene found sleep difficult. Sleep had been evading him as well, ever since her disappearance, the Vuesain hadn't been able to get more than a couple of straight hours of sleep. "I can barely get myself to be far from the den for too long. I just have to keep checking to make sure she's really still home," the father admitted to the dark woman as it seemed they shared the same troubles with their daughter.

Aquene admitted how their daughter's disappearance affected her, bringing a slight frown upon his features. "Me either," he agreed, reliving the moment he realized his eldest daughter was gone and missing from the Cove. With losing so many within his lifetime, he was used to the pain, but he never wanted to feel the pain of losing a child. Not when they were innocent, young beings that had so much life ahead of them. Aquene talked about Kateri's injury recovery then, prompting him to nod in agreement. "Well, she has the best mother and Shaman around to help her through it," Aleister told truthfully her in response. Kateri was in good paws.

But I put it out of my mind Long enough to call it courage To live without a lifeline

There was a part of her that worried that suffocating her daughter would just drive her away. She was admittedly relieved to learn that Aleister had felt the same way about their daughter’s disappearance and his own hypervigilance. “I kept waking up from a dead sleep terrified it was all just a dream and that you hadn’t actually found her.” She admitted softly. She had started to consider medicating herself for anxiety if it came to that and she continued to be so restless. She just hoped it didn’t get to that point.

She had no doubt he had felt the same. There might not have been love lost between them. She very well might have been his midlife crisis, but he was a damned good father, and he took care of them both as best as he could always. He loved their daughter, and she was grateful. She knew it was possible to not be so fortunate. “No one else is allowed to get hurt this winter… with all of the surprises and injuries, my herb stores are running lower than I would like. I fear if our luck continues, I’ll run out before I have a chance to restock with the thaw and rebudding of plants.” She admitted again, because it was a legitimate concern she held onto deeply that helped aide to her state of mind.

The father hated that Aquene was going through the traumas that she was, as he wished he could have prevented it all together for both of their sakes, but unfortunately the man could not change the fates and now they could only learn and deal with the situation they were dealt with. But at least he had truly found Kateri and she was safe within the Cove unlike their nightmares liked to depict. 

Aquene went on to voice her concerns with the winter and their stores of supplies. Nodding in agreement, "I will do all that I can to make sure we can all stay safe this Winter. Once spring arrives, we can deploy as many as we need to go search for supplies to replenish what we have lost." He replied, his gaze looking to her once again. His mind had been wandering lately and he couldn't help the question that came next. "Is there something going on between you and Nash?" He asked tentatively as his gaze searched hers. "Not that I would be opposed at all, but I thought I saw something between the two of you before we left," he continued.

But I put it out of my mind Long enough to call it courage To live without a lifeline

Aquene had handled the situation as best as she could. Truthfully, she had been through loss and pain before. It had been almost comforting, and familiar in some sense… while terrifying at the same time. She was just thankful this time had a happier ending than it had before. Her mother and Peyter still regularly weighed heavy on her heart though she tried so desperately not to let it show. No one needed to be burdened with her own problems. They were for her to deal with and her alone.

He offered his support and she smiled softly at him. He would always hold a special place in her heart as the father of her firstborn, even if her heart belonged to another. “That would be wonderful… I was considering making a trip to the Backwater myself once Kateri was recovered to see if there were herbs they might have extras to spare… we have plenty of mountain herbs so perhaps Clover and I might be able to trade some back and forth.” She hoped the Backwater had a larger supply of the forest herbs that Aquene had not had a chance to properly stock up on before the winter had struck.

The silence reigned over them for a few moments, and then his gaze came to hers and her eyes softened at the question, her gaze glancing down as she lightly scraped at the snow under her paws and hummed. “Is it really that obvious?” She asked softly, uncertain of how to hold herself in that moment before he insisted he was not opposed. She nodded. “Just before Kateri went missing… we discussed it… and then everything got crazy.” She explained, feeling incredibly awkward talking about this with her former lover. “I love him, and... he loves me. We're mates now.” She confirmed simply.

"That sounds like a great idea," he responded to her idea of trading with Clover and the Backwater wolves for herbs. Aleister definitely was impatient for the warmer weather to come in this aspect, knowing that their medicine supply was low and being in one of the more dangerous places in the winter, he was ready for it to be over. Then the worry couldn't keep him awake at night.

He hoped he didn't embarrass her too much, but Al was a curious man. "Unfortunately," he murmured truthfully, having witnessed the way they sought each other for comfort in moments of uncertainty. Not like it was a bad thing at all. Aquene went on to explain, his head nodding slightly once she confirmed they were now mates. "Well, I am happy you are happy," he replied with a soft, genuine smile. Aleister was happy to see how much she has grown since the first day he had met her. How much she has changed. "I think you two will do great together."

But I put it out of my mind Long enough to call it courage To live without a lifeline

She was glad that the man agreed with her idea; she thought it a pretty savvy one too… though it would require her venturing for a time, the trip there and back and she feared what medical disasters might happen in her absence. Chan knew a little, Kateri was starting to learn, but it was impossible for them to be prepared like she was with her detailed and length of training.

She felt the heat rise to her cheeks when he confirmed. She had not thought herself that obvious, though most of the panic she had experienced over the disappearance of their daughter had left many of her memories from the time a blur. She doubted she would have remembered anything at all accurately in that state, much less touches of comfort from a man she loved, something that felt as natural as breathing.

“Thank you.” She offered sincerely. It meant a lot coming from him. She offered a kind smile in return, a hint of thankfulness in her eyes at his words. “And what of you?” She asked, curiously as she tilted her head to the side. “Has the bachelor of the mountain finally found himself someone to tame him or will you go where the wind takes you?” She could not help but tease, remembering the multiple litters he had sired and the rather sticky situation she herself had put him into last spring. A part of her wanted to be able to plan for what the future of the Cove might look like come the summer.

The dark woman then turned the inquiry towards him this time, her playful banter prompting a chuckle from his lips. He was surprised nobody else teased him about his recklessness last spring, but perhaps Aquene was the only one brave enough considering she was one of the parties involved. "I'm not sure I'll ever be tamed," he teased back with a chuckle leaving his lips as his mismatched gaze brightened. Aleister had always been a wild spirit since he had been born and he wasn't sure there was any taming that part of him until he was in the grave.

However, there was someone. "Actually, I—" He started before pausing, throwing his mismatched gaze down to the earth for a moment as he collected his thoughts. After last night under the light show with Oksana, he wasn't sure what she was feeling, but he had the night to reflect on his own and Aleister had come to a conclusion. "I'm in love with Oksana," he admitted softly, his gaze pulling up to meet her caramel gaze. His feelings for the ebony woman had been slowly forming over the past year since he had met her and after becoming fast friends with her choosing the Cove as her home, it was hard not to fall for her. But the Vuesain wasn't sure his feelings were reciprocated.

"But I'm not sure she feels the same," he finished as a subdued expression crossed his face after the admission. With everything she had said, it seemed she had found someone, but she never said who it was. And the Vuesain wasn't the luckiest with woman, so he was sure it wasn't him she was talking about.