Epilogue
Terra
“Hello, little ones.” I kneel to pet the three little wolf cubs. They climb and flop all over, vying for my attention. “Where is your mother?”
I’m answered with a series of yips and pants, and I laugh.
“Very well. Stick with me for now. I’m working on something very special.”
This patch of Aevium teems with life. It’s the closest edge to Dawngrass, and therefore the easiest to repopulate. Using the magic of ancestors I’m still learning about, I’ve slowly made good on my promise from three years ago.
Watching the cubs argue and play as they follow at my heels tugs my heartstrings. We’ve discussed having children. The first time I brought it up, Vulf spiraled into a rut. So that was a fun thing to learn about.
Ultimately, we decided to wait until I’d found my footing in Eldrunna.
It’s important to me that I fulfill the promise I made to Aevium and reconnect to roots I never knew I had before taking on the responsibility of children.
At least I know that whenever it happens, there will be three of us, and endless babysitters with Azuran’s reflections.
Apparently, the thought of children has been on my mind lately, because the special project I enlisted the cubs for is a nursery.
Plants that have trouble growing in the blighted land deeper into Aevium, I will grow here, and transplant them further in once they’re healthy enough to weather the first days in their forever home.
“Careful there,” I tease as a cub rolls into the arbor.
The arbor and the trellis that encircle the nursery space are made entirely of sturdy vines and thick wood that grow directly from the ground, a trick I found in a Vitalin book in Azuran’s library.
Turns out, my magic speaks directly to the ground of Aevium, and we’ve become quite good friends.
With Vulf’s water and Azuran’s wind, there was never a trio of caretakers better fit for this job.
I don’t know how long I spent in the nursery. By the time I hear Azuran’s smug chuckle, my arms are covered in dirt up to the elbows. I wipe my brow with my wrist, likely smearing dirt there as well.
“Hey, Az. Did I miss dinner again?”
“You can’t miss dinner when you’re on the menu,” a breeze whispers on the wind.
I turn, but no one’s there. My loose tunic whips in a sudden gale. Raindrops kiss my forehead.
Laughing, I raise my arms. The wind sweeps me away, flying low to the ground. Lighting splinters in the distant sky, mirroring the sensation in my blood every time my mates touch my skin.
This is the way my life was meant to be lived. Dancing in storms. Feet only attached to the ground when I want them there. Free.
The end
Thank you for reading!