The wolf known as Star came bounding up to Nadia, startling the albino lass just slightly. Nadia’s albinoid eyes stared at Star, trying to figure out what to say. She looked down again. Would he remember she was the mother of Wraith? Would he simply know Nadia as the mother of the one who had thrown herself into the sea to escape a miserable death? Would Star consider Nadia a failure, who couldn’t even keep her own daughter safe from such a path? She shifted, wishing Hesperus was by her side right about now. She missed her adopted son’s comforting, energetic warmth.
Would she fail him, too?
“Y-yes, I’m Nadia.” She spoke softly. “I was just . . . thinking.” About my family. Larentia, Huginn, Muninn, Raven, Skadi. Seraphina and Wraith. “Dawnshire is small. More will come in time.” She wasn’t sure if she was reassuring Star, or reassuring herself.
She wasn’t aware that over time, her voice had developed into a smooth, rolling cadence. She never raised her tone, and so her voice was always calm.

“Just not home!”