you doing here?”

“Kira! I never thought I’d see you again,” Brenner said, not listening to Dusty, “And your pups! Where’s the third one?”

“She’s dead,” Kira said flatly.

“I’m sorry,” Brenner said with as much concern as he could muster up.

Gail stretched upwards to whisper in Kira’s ear, all the while keeping her eyes trained on Brenner. Kira sighed. “This is Brenner. He helped me get better so I could go back to Nome with you and your brother and sister…and your father after we got lost out in the wilderness.”

Gail dropped down to all fours and scrutinized the wolf curiously.

“I’m not dangerous, kid,” Brenner told her, and lowered his voice to address Kira. “Thanks for not mentioning the part where I got you and Dusty lost and separated in the first place.”

Kira gave him a cold stare.

Gail cocked her head, having caught about half of Brenner’s whispered words to Kira, and Silver gazed in admiration at the tough-looking wolf.

“What are you doing here?” Dusty demanded.

“I’m a Healer, remember? I come after battles to help the injured.” He jerked his head towards the sky. “I follow the ravens.” Several black birds were circling overhead, descending slowly, and Dusty knew many more would be flocking to the free food. “They’ll be having a feast tonight,” Brenner said with a dry chuckle. Then, suddenly, he was all business.

“How’s your leg, Kira?” he asked, inspecting the front left limb that had been broken and battered the last time he had seen it. He gazed fixedly at it, especially since it seemed to be all right.

“Fine,” Kira said curtly, but then she opened up a little more. “My owners took me to the vet and he gave me a cast for it awhile ago. It still hurts a little sometimes, but it’s fine.”

“Hmm,” was all Brenner could say. Seeing Dusty and the pups were mostly unhurt, he threw back his head and bellowed, “Who needs help?”

“Kaila does!” Sarai called out, which earned her a playful slap from Kaila.

Brenner rolled his eyes. “I meant with your wounds.”

“I do,” Sage called, “But who are you?”

“I’m a Healer,” Brenner cried, trotting over to Sage. “And a friend of Dusty and Kira.”

Sage smiled. “Well, in that case…” and immediately Brenner was surrounded by an eager crowd including an urging Cheyenne, a sulking Nilak, an imploring Lakota, and others.

Dusty shook his head. “Imagine meeting him here!”

“Our past just can’t leave us alone, can it?” Kira muttered.

Dusty thought a moment before answering her. “No…” he said slowly, sitting beside her and entwining his tail with hers. “But we’ve got a good future, don’t you think?”

Gail snuggled between her mother and father. “I love you, Mom,” she said all of a sudden, “I’m sorry we ran away. We just wanted a little adventure. Maybe because we were born out here.”

“Well…I think you’ve learned your lesson,” Kira said reflectively, and nudged her daughter affectionately.

“I’m sorry I said all those things about Robin,” Silver admitted, nestling into Kira’s side. “I don’t really hate her. I was just mad at her…for dying…I’ll try to make up for her not being here.”

Kira kissed the top of his head. “You don’t have to make up for anyone. It’s enough for you to be my Silver.”

“Hey, getting a little lonely over here,” Dusty joked, “What about me?”

Gail giggled and flung herself at him in a hug. “Oh, Dusty, we love you, too!” Silver grinned sheepishly as he, too, joined his sister in giving the hug, and Kira leaned her head against his neck and tossed her tail playfully in his. Dusty broke out in a smile of his own as he felt his loved ones around him. This was his family, broken but beautiful.

Dusty caught Kaila’s eye from across the way, and just by that look he knew it was time to say goodbye. Kira understood, and she lay down in the grass and gently pried her pups off Dusty. They shrieked as she play-growled, and they scrambled out of her grasp and ran around and over her as she tried to catch them again.

Dusty shot Kira a grateful look, and took a deep breath. He trotted out to the center of all that had happened thus far this day, with the Anvil Creek pack and Taya and Ketch and Balto and Jenna to the north, Kira and the pups to the south, the battlefield and the setting sun to the west, and the Anvil Creek pack cave to the east. Copper, Kaila, and Chase were gathered at this spot, waiting for him so they could say their farewells to Kaila. Dusty hurried and took his place with them, already feeling the loneliness of Kaila’s absence and the pride of who she would be.

It was time.

The four siblings looked at each other, a little uncertain how to start. Finally Copper stepped forward and caught Kaila in a warm hug, saying, “Well, I guess this is it. I’m actually hugging an official alpha female of a wolf pack!”

Kaila laughed. “If you think it’s weird hugging one, just think about what it’s like beingone! I still can’t believe it!”

Copper grinned and released her. “You’ll be great. I’ll miss you. See you, Kaila…hopefully.”

Kaila laughed again. “Oh, don’t worry. You haven’t seen the last of me!” Her smile wobbled just a little as she became serious. “Goodbye, Copper.”

Chase brushed her paw uncomfortably across the grass. “Normally I’m not big on hugs, but…oh, what the heck!” She embraced her sister as hard as she could.

Kaila choked for a few seconds, but she managed to pull away a little to allow for breath and words. “Well, I don’t know about you, but I think I’m feeling the love a little too much,” she joked breathlessly.

Chase stepped away. “Sorry,” she said sheepishly.

“It’s okay.” Kaila regained her breath and grinned at her sister. “I’ll miss you, Chase. Oh! Lakota did come back, just like Ketch said…Tell Ketch I said…thanks.”

“I will.”

Dusty looked away as Kaila stood expectantly before him. He saw Brenner had finished his duties and slipped off onto the tundra again. His brother and sisters watched as he struggled with these questions: What could he say that hadn’t already been said? How could he make this meaningful for him and Kaila?

“Dusty?” Kaila said, concerned.

Dusty ducked his head and muttered, “I love you, Kaila, and I’ll miss you, and…you’ve taught me so many things–”

“What kind of things?” she asked curiously, with a hint of teasing, “Never follow white wolves out into the wilderness to join a wolf pack? Fall in love with former spies and traitors?”

Now Dusty looked at her and flashed her a smile. “That, and a lot more.”

Kaila hugged him close. “Oh, you. I love you, too, Dusty. I’ll probably miss you even more thanI think. Oh…and I’m sorry about Robin.”

“Yeah, me, too. I mean, thanks.” Dusty pulled back, feeling awkward but relieved.

The four siblings stood in a heavy silence, each trying to think of a way to break it without making everything worse. Somehow they all knew they wanted something special, something final, to make it clear they were parting ways to start new lives a little more distant from each other.

A streak of soft blue flashed across the darkening sky. Kaila gasped, and instinctively looked Jenna’s way. But the broken shards were wrapped in her mother’s bandana, and the lantern had been snuffed out long ago. This was the real thing. The Northern Lights were making their own farewell lightshow.

Kaila turned to her brothers and sister. “Do you remember…”

“…that song?” Copper finished for her.

“How could I forget?” Chase said.

“ ‘Reach for the Light’,” Dusty whispered.

Kaila took a deep breath, and released her song, her alto voice blending with the reds and blues and greens shimmering against the sky:

“Deep in the night, the winds blow cold,

And in a heartbeat the fear takes hold,

Deep in the storm there’s a place that’s soft and still,

Where the road waits to be taken if you only will,

The voices inside you will lead you so astray,

Believe in what you dream,

Don’t turn away, don’t you turn away…”

Kaila’s voice grew stronger as the Aurora deepened into blood red, and then faded into a pale, icy green:

“Reach for the light,

You might touch the sky,

Stand on the mountaintop and see yourself flying…”

Copper took up the song, starting low, but his voice grew louder as his grin at Kaila broadened:

“Reach for the light,

To capture a star,

Come out of the darkness and find out who you are…”

The Northern Lights shone with all three colors, and in them Copper saw the past few years of their lives: blue for the blue of Hawk’s eyes, of Taya’s eyes, of Steele’s eyes; red for the blood shed in the final battle; and green for hope. For the future:

“Somewhere in time, the truth shines through,

And the spirit knows what it has to do…”

“Somewhere in you, there’s a power with no name,

It can rise to meet the moment, and burn like a flame,

And you can be stronger than anything you know,

Hold on to what you see,

Don’t let it go, don’t you let it go…”

Chase sang this part of the song fiercely, a proud grin on her face. She knew she was crippled, but she had overcome the odds, and she was strong:

“Reach for the light,

You might touch the sky,

Stand on the mountaintop and see yourself flying…”

“Reach for the light,

To capture a star,

Come out of the darkness and find out who you are…”

Dusty sang shyly, but he was suddenly hit by the memory of singing this lullaby to the pups. Grief prepared to squeeze his heart into ice, but he forced it away. Robin was in heaven, and Kira and his two remaining children were fine. He had seen it himself. He could not let himself go bitter on them:

“There’s no turning back,

Your destiny is calling,

Listen to the thunder roll,

And let your heart break free…”

They all looked at each other, and each one knew what the other was thinking, just like when they had been close, when they had been pups. All four finished the song together:

“Reach for the light,

You might touch the sky,

Stand on the mountaintop and see yourself flying,

Reach for the light,

To capture a star,

Come out of the darkness and find out who you are…”

Kaila ended the song with her