Paradise Falls the sun goes up and falls so fast

OOC: Continuing the conversation from the join thread with @Ryder

Father and daughter walked toward the den with a somber silence between them. Only the soft crunch of their paws over the ground broke the stillness. Snow started to fall and gathered along the length of Indigo's back. It felt like the world had slowed around her and she felt dizzy.

The den was at once a warm comfort and a cold reminder of what this conversation entailed. She stopped in front of it. Her eyes lingered over the entrance, dark and inviting. She was nearly overwhelmed by memories. Soft white fur and familiar sweet scents of home, family, and her mother. Those seemed so distant now. Indi turned to look at Ryder.

"Do you know... Do you know where she might have gone? Did you find something?" She was terrified of what he might say-- no possibility could pull the seed of dread from her belly. The girl's mind jumped to the worst conclusions, that maybe her mother was... She shut her eyes tightly to stop that thought. It might have been better if he told her it really was all her fault.

Ryder stopped a beat after her, not having expected the hesitation. His ears swept back with guilt as the questions started again. He had wanted to settle inside the den first, to have the comfort of togetherness as he told his lie. The young father swallowed before speaking.

"Indi I... I don't think..."

It was hard to get out, even without it being true. It would hold the same gravity for her, and in the moments he hesitated it was still a decision he could take back. Yet if it wasn't this, wouldn't she always wonder? If Hazelnut wasn't here by choice, if her own mother hadn't loved her as she should have?

"You know how... Grandma is, gone... ? Your... your mom went with her, hon."

The girl's breath hitched. Indigo opened her mouth to reply. She froze, exhaling a soft cloud into the still air.

She remembered watching her grandma grow weaker, then still. All the life had left her body in the span of a breath. Finley was there one moment, then gone the next as her eyes closed and she left them behind forever. Indigo tried to imagine her mother like that. It was hard to imagine. Just that morning she had been at Indi's side, watching over her. Hazelnut had left her. It couldn't have been long, but it was long enough for Indigo to wander off.

She already regretted that day. But knowing that was the last time she would ever see her mom sent a knew wave of anguish through her. She bit her tongue against the tears that threatened to spill over.

"I didn't even get to say goodbye," she whispered after a long moment of silence. "Why did she go? Why did she leave? It's not..."

Indigo shook her head. "It's not fair. And now everyone is leaving. Why are they all leaving?" She pressed her face to her father's shoulder and took a shaky breath before beginning to sob.