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The climb up wasn't hard. She'd scaled colder, snowier, icier. She was built for this. And! She could see more and more of the mainland with every step, fueling the fire under her ass that had gotten her to this point in the first place. The burning desire to be home, stronger, even, than her boundless curiosity or wanton sense of adventure.

Bragi hadn't seen her family since Apollo's... fall. She... didn't even know if he was okay. (Not that she even cared. The brat was her... hers.) It was just... It would be nice to know how they were doing. To see them again. She missed them. She didn't know how long she'd been gone.

She missed them every time. And she could actually spend time with them, now! Without having to worry about it all getting wrenched away from her the next time she closed her eyes. She could hug Cupid without her skin getting all weird and prickly. She could train with Tyr without it being all awkward afterwards.

...Did they miss her? Would they even recognize her without...

She... shook it off. The setting sun had painted the sky in familiar tones by the time she crested that final rise. The first gust of wind whistling through her fur, unbidden, as she looked out and saw land stretching out far below her for untold miles. Plains and forests and mountains and rivers. But she couldn't see the ocean.

Now, Bragi was no expert, but she was pretty sure that the like, main thing about an island was that it was surrounded by ocean.

So where the fuck was the ocean.

She turned and just saw more mountains. She turned again and saw mainland. She knew she lived in the north, and the sun set in the... west? But the sun was gone, and she couldn't remember which direction it had gone in.

Her breath hiked. She didn't know where she was. She missed her family. She wanted to go home but she didn't know where home—

But then, a bark. Bragi turned, saw the owl first, thought huh, and then finally saw— holy shit? Sindri!

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leaving any potential injuries vague <_<

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Sindri sprinted at her the second they locked eyes over the mountain, and Bragi's tail began to whip up a gale force storm behind her. Her heart seemed to soar as high as her little owl friend, because Sindri was here! And she was excited to see her!

That nagging anxiety at the back of her mind was swept up and away on the breeze of her tiniest sister skidding to a stop in front of her, Bragi's body bowed to meet her. A wide grin split her face, glee dancing in her ember eyes as she immediately sought to close the distance and pull her into a tight hug.

What are you doing here? She asked, incredulous, as she finally pulled away. I've been trying to find my way back but I couldn't see the ocean and didn't even known where to start looking and what did you roll in? It all came out in a breathless, albeit teasing, ramble as Bragi made a show of wrinkling her nose at whatever pungent aroma was wafting off her.

This was great! There was a million and one questions she wanted to ask her, like, How'd you get an owl? How's everyone doing?? How long have I been gone???