He convinced her, somehow, to flee with him. They ran, afraid at first, but when they collapse in a clearing so far beyond the fringe of anything they've ever known, paws bleeding, they're giddy. Sablefrost doesn't mind that they're intertwined, that they've just deserted everything they were raised to uphold. She had no friends there. She has her children, of course, but they'll be safe, and they still have a father even if they don't know it. Maybe one day they'll even understand.
She doubts that, because what kind of mother runs out on their children without a word, without a single goodbye?
Strongclaw curls tighter around her, as if he's sensing her inhibitions. As if she's about to leap up and run back, and he's the anchor that can root her where she lies. He doesn't know it, but she's tied to him. Fettered. If he fell, then she could only fall with him.