The exhaustion refused to leave, no matter how many hours the Tinuvel King spent prone on the ground. Dreams of those he had lost jostled endlessly against his mind, the pain of their absences stirred by the gaping hole where his heir had once stood. Two full days had passed since he had wearily returned to the islands, and yet he felt just as terrified of his upcoming visit as he had been when the thought occurred to him on his return.

And yet he could not put her off any longer. Could not keep himself away a single second more. His mares had reassured him that Valka still reigned over the Bay, and that their child, a filly, still lived; and while this knowledge dulled the razor-edge of his worry, it could not file it away completely. He should have been there, as he should have been for the other births that he had missed. After the vows he had made to Valka, and the emotions that he felt for her, he should have been there to support her… again.

His gait was sluggish still, his steps lacking their normal grace and cadence, but it was enough to carry him beyond the border of the Cove and eastward toward the Bay. Her scent reassured him, and as he lowered his muzzle to trace the print left in the mud, the scent of what he assumed to be their daughter lingered as well.

Lifting his head before his courage could falter further, Solomon called out for the Queen of Bay, in the hopes she would return to him - fire and all.

Solomon