(Caius)
I found the clothes exactly where Sera said they would be. Folded neatly beside the fallen cedar without any sign she'd stayed nearby. She understood immediately what Isla needed and handled it quietly, which was exactly why I trusted her with things that required no explanation. Good.
I picked up the clothes before turning back toward the clearing again.
Isla still sat near the stream where I'd left her. Cold air moved strands of dark hair around her face while water rushed over the rocks nearby. She had her knees drawn slightly closer now, arms wrapped loosely around them while she looked toward the stream beside her. The wolf in her had settled but the stillness she carried wasn't emptiness. It was the particular quiet of someone processing something that had changed them and
