Limestone Bluff future-proof

He was prone to running, this boy of Rook's - that much the aunt had been quick to learn. While she was eager to get into the head of the polite, mild-mannered only-child, with her time in Relic Lore to be brief, she had placed other matters at a higher priority. When news had come back to the Reach that her youngest darling brother had reproduced - and with an Attaya! oh, she hadn't thought about @'Kade' in a long time - her curiosity had been piqued greatly. It would have been a lie to say that meeting this child hadn't been one of the many factors in why she had decided to visit the cedarwoods one more time.

That afternoon, she'd stopped for a drink in the Heartleaf when she'd spotted a fast-moving smudge in the trees, and instantly had barked to announce herself and distract from his run. Surprised to be interrupted, the boy had approached hesitantly, aware of who she was but not why she'd called to him. Nodding her satisfaction at how prompt his reaction had been, Trisden had blatently looked the boy up and down before jerking her head to indicate that he follow. As she expected, her nephew didn't protest, and fell obediently in line beside and behind her, though his bemused and faintly anxious expression hadn't been lost on her. She made sure not to smirk too openly.

Silently and without explanation of her actions, Trisden led him out of the territory, feet following paths which were familiar to her in ways which would have been very similar to Tomen, and yet years apart. Would he still be here in five years, tending to the pack, as had been her childhood dream? She saw very little of herself in the boy - both in manner and appearance - but that didn't mean much; the kid was hardly the future of Grizzly Hollow when his mother was gone and his father seemingly content to fall to a Second's place.

The longer they walked, the more it amused her that he didn't question it. She was tempted to see just how far she could take him before he'd hesitate and wonder if maybe it was time to turn around. In the end, though, she decided not to tease him quite so much, for he was truly being very patient, and ended up taking him to the bluffs, the limestone cliffs which had stood when she was born and would still stand for uncountable Lyall generations to come. Such objects of permanence always made her feel more grounded. Though she hadn't visited them in years, Trisden could remember the path she'd always used to climb them, and together the two Lyalls took the winding trail up and around the bluffs until they reached the peak, and, satisfied, Trisden had turned them towards the north-west facing cliffs and sat upon the edge, with Cedarwood Forest sprawled out in front and below.

It was quite beautiful.

"You know who I am, don't you?" she asked curtly, glancing down at the boy who had copied her and placed his rump down, finally breaking the silence she had imposed upon him.