The sisters returned, one in the arms of the other.

Kolfinna may have been taller than Pyri but she had nothing resembling the warrior’s bulk, and the last few steps were stumbles. The two skyscales trailed behind them, too weary and cold and injured themselves to be of any help.

Sentries from Jora’s keep shouted at seeing them–at recognizing Vigil livery, at least–and so aided, the rest of the trip was a blur.

Tove found out. Tove always found out, one way or another, and she was at their respective bedsides within the day. “Wolf’s teeth, ladies. You sure do know how to find trouble.”

“Fuck you,” Pyri said faintly.

“Oh now I know you’re in bad shape, as you’re off your game,” Tove tutted. “But I brought your mate here to fuss at you, so there’s my revenge.” And the druid slipped off to Kolfinna’s side, to make room for her cousin Rajisa at Pyri’s. Not that the large guardian wouldn’t have just picked her up and moved her in a second, anyway.

“Kol,” Trove said, sitting on the edge of the infirmary bed. It was quite crowded, seeing as how Kolfinna had not one but two mates of her own to contend with. Neither of them was a healer, however, which Tove felt justified her presence. Her fellow Vigil had done well, but they were still stretched thin. She could do a bit more.

“Here there songbird,” Kol said, smiling faintly. “Should’ve known you’d turn up.”

“I asked folks to keep an eye out for you,” Tove said with a shrug. “Are you up to talking about what happened? I know you two found your homestead empty, and wanted to figure out why.”

Kol closed her eyes. “We found most of them. Some were okay. Some were…not. I’m not ready to share the gritty details yet. But I think we have solved the mystery as much as we’re going to.”

Tove nodded, stretching her fingers out over her fellow ranger and sending tendrils of magic to suss out her injuries. Tove promptly lost her eyebrows up in her hairline somewhere. “Wolf’s tail, woman, what the fuck were you doing?”

“Uh, getting the shit kicked out of us by some Svanir. And then resting a bit, and going out on our own trek once we saw Jin back-”

“Don’t forget the avalanche,” Pyri pipped up.

(Tove heard Rajisa take a deep breath and didn’t envy the warrior the lecture she was about to receive.)

“…and the avalanche, and then trekking across nowhere following vague trails and possible signs to figure out where the rest of the family went. And more Svair died in there somewhere, fucking assholes.” 

Tove leaned back and let Yrsa, Kol’s dark and broody girlfriend, have her moment. Tove merely wrapped Kolfinna in some vines to numb the pain and took a few steps away, thinking.

Tove would finish up the healing back at the infirmary, if Kol obliged. Raji could handle Pyri without a problem, for her healing skill ran deeper than Tove’s. The personal problems between the ladies and their lovers for haring off into danger, well, that wasn’t Tove’s to meddle in and she was happy to turn a deaf ear to the whispered conversations.

But it was good that they were back–yes, even Pyri, Tove’s longest running frenemy. 

Tove rubbed her forehead, stepping further away from the domestic murmur behind her. She was glad, because they’d need them out on the field. They’d need everyone they could get.

Author Ambrosine
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