Leaving the children under the watchful eye of @Nauja gave her enough peace of mind to make a pass of the borders, until she reached a point she had stood almost a hundred times already. It was like an invisible wall rose up in front of her, drawing her eyes eastward. It was the last place she had found Kerb's scent before he vanished. Of course, her attention had been quickly averted with the absence of her son and neice, both promptly returned by her sister once they were located. It had been a measured decision. Kerberos was an adult, and the scent of the stranger yearling followed him. She could only assume that if they had meant to return, either would have showed up long before now.
The only logical assumption to make was that he was missing because he wanted to be, and that hurt a whole lot more than she cared to admit, but she couldn't really bring herself to feel any more than disappointment. With herself. Of course he wouldn't say goodbye, not to her. Maera had been right all along. She should have been more careful.