Sam's chilly feet swung a little with each of Ada's cautious steps. She thought Ada would have put her down by now, but she pushed on, her breaths deep and measured. The end of her ponytail was draped over Sam's left shoulder. It tickled, but she was afraid to let go to scratch it.

"Do you want to take a break?" Sam asked softly.

"I'm all right. How are you holding up?" Ada didn't take her eyes off the treacherous ground.

The trail had disappeared ages ago, and Ada had to contend with plants obscuring fallen branches, stones, roots, and so many other hazards. She felt guilty for making her do this, but as she didn't even have the strength to loop her ankles around Ada's waist, she knew walking was impossible. Ada never complained.

"I'm fine." Her chin came to rest over Ada's shoulder, and she tipped her head against Ada's for a moment. "So, do you regret coming to visit yet?"

"Are you kidding? All I want from any trip is to hike in the dark." She gave her a wide grin. "Of course not, this has been better than any vacation. How many people can say they've seen a wolf turn into a person?"

Sam blushed—she hadn't considered that she had seen the full shift, witnessed the horrifying mutation. That was somehow more embarrassing than being totally naked in the dirt. "You're not freaked out?"

She shook her head. "I might have been if you had tried to eat me, but I knew it was you."

"I could have hurt you," she pointed out, because it needed to be said.

"No, I don't think you could. You may have the means, but not the motive."

She said it so matter-of-factly; Sam hummed softly, unsure how to respond. Ada probably had a point. Hopefully she would never have to find out. If she did anything to hurt her, Sam didn't know how she would live with herself.

"What are you thinking about?" she asked when Sam didn't respond for a while.

She considered this and gathered her main train of thought. "Noah. I thought he was dead when I left him there. How the hell is he still alive?"

Ada waited a few breaths to respond. "What happened out here? Did you kill—well, almost kill him?"

"I'll answer your question with another: if your friend jumped off a bridge and you followed, is your friend guilty?"

"Please tell me this is a metaphor." By her tone, she seemed to know already it wasn't.

"I wish. It was a cliff, by the way, not a bridge." Her bones ached at the thought.

"You jumped off a cliff?"

"Not on purpose. I was running like hell and then ... trees under my feet."

Ada glanced back at her and asked incredulously, "How are you not dead?"

"Honestly? Sheer luck."

"I'm not hurting you at all, am I?" Ada seemed very aware of herself all of a sudden.

"Are you kidding? I should be asking you that. We can take a break whenever you need one, I'll be okay."

Silence extended, her breathing quickened. "Do you know what time it is?"

Sam glanced at her wrist reflexively but found nothing more than a welt. "Unfortunately, no. And I don't smell any of our trails, so we're not close yet. Do you want me to try to get your phone?"

It was wedged in her front pocket just high enough the flashlight shone over the fabric. Sam had dropped it a few times. She just couldn't keep her eyes open.

Ada groaned lightly, then her cheek pushed up in a shy grin. "It's okay, I don't want to know; I'm not complaining. I knew what I was signing on for when I flew out here."

"You thought you might be carrying me through the woods in the dark?" Sam snickered.

"Well, not this exactly; I mean I knew things might get ... unusual. You're as far from typical as one can get."

Sam opened her mouth to protest, but found no worthy argument. "I hope we don't have to do something like this ever again."

Ada made a small sound of agreement. After a moment, Sam let her eyes fall shut as the careful sways of Ada's steps lulled her into comfort, but for her aching bones. She could pretend for a while they were safe at her home, that the breeze was coming in through an open window, bringing with it the music of the night. She recalled the way it felt when, in her sleep, Ada had rolled over and slung her arm over Sam's waist. Even in memory, the soft, gentle warmth of her embrace was soothing.

She woke with a jolt as Ada stumbled, heart kicking into high gear.

"Sorry," she murmured.

Sam must have been asleep longer than it felt, because the ground had at last levelled out, and she began to recognize some of the older trees with their unique protuberances and mosses. She pointed one of her favourites out to Ada. "We're getting closer. Less than an hour, I think."

"Okay, let's take a break then. My fingers are going numb." Now she mentioned it, they were quite frosty on her skin. She took a cautious knee on a clearer patch of ground, and Sam arranged her heavy limbs into a sit. "What do you say to a little fire?"

"Please," Sam said en lieu of a brasher sentiment.

She dozed lightly, chin on her chest, while Ada searched around for some wood. When she began scraping scree out to create a damp divot in the earth, Sam jerked awake. The flashlight was off, and at last her lowlight vision kicked in properly. She could watch Ada work with ease, and wondered idly how dark it was for her. She piled some dead brambles in the centre with a pyramid of thin sticks surrounding it. Ada took a lighter from her back pocket and sparked it beneath the frayed end of a mossy twig in her hand, amber light dancing on her cheeks. It took a while for the tinder to take, as everything was still a bit damp, but it eventually caught a strip of birch bark, and in minutes there was a wee fire between them. She smirked as she got to her feet and came to rest beside Sam. Sam leaned into her arm, watching the flames lick their way up the branches as a pleasant warmth reached them.

"Where did you learn to do that?" Sam wondered aloud, earning her a smile.

"My dad took me camping a few times after Charles and Jocelyn moved out. I hated it, but I guess I learned a few useful skills." She chuckled, gazing up through the canopy to the painted sky. "I thought he was bonkers teaching me that stuff. We lived in the city, where would I need to start a fire for a good reason?"

Sam cocked an eyebrow at her. "What about for bad reasons?"

"Well ..." She pursed her lips, then grinned. "I haven't done any bad fires yet, but there's still plenty of time." They shared a laugh.

Sam held her hands out in front of her tented knees to soak up the warmth and groaned, "Oh, I can't wait to get back and and finally sleep!"

"It's going to be cozy, that's for sure. That is if Noah makes it. Yeesh, that's morbid, sorry."

"If it makes you feel better, I'm pretty sure he's immortal," Sam grumbled, only somewhat sarcastic.

They shared a guilty chuckle. The stout fire crackled merrily at their feet as nocturnal creatures went about their business nearby. Sam could hear a bird of some kind scoop a mouse from the ground just beyond the firelight. A moth landed on her left foot briefly, and her toes were tingling as feeling returned to them.

"Can I ask you something?" asked Ada after a time, and Sam urged her to go on. "What happens now? I mean for you, not in general."

Sam glanced up at her, drawing her eye. "Well, I'm not too sure what's going to happen with Noah; it's impossible to guess what he will want to do. If they're going up to Northwest Territories I want to go with them for support, but I wouldn't stay. Right, I forgot to explain that, um ... So their dad leads a pack of our kind, and he makes sure everyone in North America follows the global laws that keep everyone safe. Chase, that's their dad, wants Noah brought back to their home because of all of this. I don't know what they're going to do next, but as for me, while I want to stay involved in this world, I really want to go home." A warm smile lit Ada's face. "I don't have any plans beyond what I'm going to do tonight, but nothing could make me move."

Ada squeezed her gently, placing a kiss on her forehead. "Maybe you can talk to Aidan about letting me in on this?"

"I don't think that's going to be an issue." Sam scrubbed her palms in a vain attempt to dispel the tingling. Ada looked quizzical. "He invited you out here, didn't he? Aidan doesn't do things without reason."

Her gaze trailed to the brilliant sky as thought overtook her. Sam leaned into the warmth of her side, happy to enjoy the ambiance in the mean time. She was almost herself again. The quiet got away from her; her eyes had fallen shut without her noticing, and it wasn't until Ada moved her leg that she noticed and jerked awake. The fire was just embers, thin smoke coiling toward the canopy.

"Sorry to wake you, we should get moving. It's just going to get colder."

Ada made sure she was supporting her own weight before standing to better kick damp soil over the pit. She pressed more on with her palms and then stood on it for a minute, scrubbing her palms together to remove the grime. When she was satisfied, she offered her hands and helped Sam to her feet.

"Do you think you can walk?"

"Yes, I think so." Sam would for as long as her legs would let her.

It was slow going, and Ada spent more time making sure Sam had her balance than anything else. The warmth left her in minutes but she didn't dare complain. It would do little good for either of them. When the ground began a steady slope upward, she knew they were coming close to their regular routes. As soon as she picked up the first whiff of old passages, she told Ada as much. She groaned in relief. Sam's tail bone was throbbing steadily, her feet were raw from stepping on twigs and pine needles. She could barely smell the blood over all the damp soil, and she dreaded seeing the damage.

Sam was the first to spot the dull orange glow through the trees. Ada squinted through the darkness, her phone pointed behind them for a moment, but it wasn't bright enough for her eyes for another dozen steps or so. Every light was on in the cabin, turning the building into a beacon. She couldn't help crying out at the sight in all its glory. Never had a house looked so welcoming.

Ada swept her up in her arms as they crossed the lawn and carried her up the eight steps to the deck. Through the sliding door Sam could see Cain washing up at the sink. There was a bloody sheet over the dining table and the enormous first aid bag was spread wide on the floor. Sam could tell it was usually quite organized by the select items still in their holders, but a great deal had been pulled free and tossed haphazardly back in. The door caught on its fault, and Cain glanced back as they entered. Relief smoothed his forehead.

"I was getting worried," he said, pausing to rinse cherry-red suds from his forearms. He continued in English as he dried his arms. "I was going to come search for you if you weren't back by the time I was done cleaning up. I'm glad you are both safe."

Judging by his relaxed posture, she knew the answer to her own question, but asked it anyway. "Did he survive?"

He faced them fully with a little smile. "He did. He's by no means out of the woods, but surviving surgery was probably the worst of it."

The shower started, the curtain rings screeching from a sharp tug. Ada asked, "Is he okay?"

"He will be. It's a lot to process." Cain tore his eyes from the door and made himself busy setting up the kettle. "I'm sorry, I completely forgot to ask if you're hurt. Sit down."

Sam held the back of a chair as Ada swept back the soiled sheet and Cain spread out another. They helped her up, and she perched with her feet on a chair feeling horribly exposed for no good reason. She just didn't have the energy to be the centre of attention at the moment. Ada took a seat at the island and began scrolling through her phone. She was pretty sure, though, that Ada was just being polite; she doubted she was hiding her distress well.

He started with her vitals, his touch light and professional. She was mistakenly pleased when that discomfort ended, and harshly awakened when he began prodding her spinal column a section at a time. Most were just twinges, but her coccyx ached so fiercely she couldn't breathe for a second. Ada had abandoned her phone to watch and smiled reassuringly each time she winced.

"It's hard to say for sure since you've had a head start on healing, but I believe you broke four ribs." Cain sighed deeply as he took the chair her feet had occupied. He retrieved a pair of slender tweezers and began to pluck debris from her soles. "I'm hoping that's just a bruise to your lumbar and tail bone, and not a fracture. You're in remarkably good shape for such a fall. Were you unconscious before you landed?"

"Yeah, actually. I had my last memory right when I started falling. It- she talked to me."

Cain beamed, but Ada cut in. "What does that mean?"

"The wolf in me needed to make sure I could handle the strain, basically. Oh, and also to make sure that I was worthy." she shrugged stiffly. "I had to watch her rifle through my worst memories and saying no would have killed me. But that's over now, I can feel it."

"I swear," Cain began in a murmur as he started irrigating the wounds; Sam bit back a curse. "There are no more steps, you really are done."

Sam never doubted otherwise, but she still felt intense relief at the confirmation. Her feet stung as Cain applied a salve with a sharp, grassy scent before bandaging each. Inconvenient for bathing, but she could manage. Those wounds were minor and should heal overnight. She was starting to burn out, but she asked to see Noah before she began to self-care.

With Cain's blessing, Ada helped her pad across the room as best she could on swollen abrasions. It was odd to see the room in such stark lighting—Aidan typically used just the lamp on his nightstand which cast a soft yellow glow on the room. Crisp white sheets had taken the place of Aidan's monochrome bedding. Noah was prone, unconscious, the sheets pulled up and tucked under his arms. He, too, bore abrasions from the run, but the dirt and debris had been removed. Asleep as he was, his face had that same peaceful expression she remembered from the photograph. He didn't look gravely injured like this, but she knew that just beneath that sheet there would be a massive bandage covering his belly. Right in the centre of his chest was a blooming bruise.

Sam pointed to it idly and murmured, "I did that."

Ada snorted softly and covered her mouth with her free hand. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't laugh, you took me by surprise."

She smiled slightly, but it fell. "I can't believe he survived all that."

"He likely won't be the same if he makes it through." Cain spoke softly from the doorway. "I can't predict how his healing will go, but the spine is a tricky thing that not even our advanced healing can repair perfectly. There's a chance he'll have some permanent damage."

Her stomach churned, and she covered the discomfort with her free palm. "Is he going to wake up soon?"

"I hope not, but he may. I didn't give him anything for the pain since he was already unconscious. I wish I knew more."

Aidan emerged from the washroom then and they left the temporary infirmary. Sam had a lot of questions, but they could all wait. For one thing, she needed to clean up, eat, and sleep. For another, Aidan had his mask on, and she didn't have the patience to navigate that obstacle course. Aidan gently embraced her shoulders and murmured how glad he was that she was alive. She murmured something appropriate back, too tired to form consistent short-term memories.

Ada drew her a bath while Sam checked her phone, and a few minutes later Aidan brought in a tray with cocoa and a sandwich cut in four. Her brief moments of rest gave her enough strength to take care of her self, and she was given the space she longed for. She was barely submerged before she ate the sandwich in its entirety. The cocoa filled her with warmth the bath water couldn't. Peace was returning to her frazzled being. She felt more herself as the grime succumbed to the soaps she used again and again. Her bandaged feet remained propped on either side of the polished taps, even when it made washing up challenging.

Sam was grateful for the physical exhaustion, because without it, her mental state would not have allowed for rest. She was offered the long couch to sleep on, but took the love seat. She was the shortest person, after all; she could fit comfortably enough on it. Aidan insisted on the floor, so Ada begrudgingly took the other couch. None of them talked about what happened. She didn't have it in her yet. She passed out before Ada had finished spreading out her blanket.