CAUTION: Spoils aspects of Innocent Hopes, Twisted Realities, as well as aspects of When Nothing Remains.

Seriously, major spoilers here.

Assuming you wish to continue, read on…

Background: This sat mostly-written for several years, for no good reason. It's small, low-stakes, and gives a bit of narrative space to something assumed but never otherwise mentioned; Valka is around! Sometimes. Occasionally. She visits, at the very least. Thus the title.

Long flights were a fact of life, and even as a passenger Valka had responsibilities. She split her time between watching the sky and watching the ground because she had things to look out for in both realms. In the sky, dragons of all kinds. Most would be friends, and the foes wouldn't dare strike at a Stormcutter on the move, but she would like to see them coming, in any case. She also had more reason than usual to be wary of an ambush that only the sharpest of eyes could detect.

Meanwhile, the autumn forests below rolled away at a rate that would make any Viking green with envy, and possibly green with nausea, too. Cloudjumper pumped his four wings with wild abandon, foregoing his usual stately pace for the fastest speed he could maintain. He would be exhausted by nightfall, if he were to fly all day. That would not be happening on this particular trip. It wasn't yet noon, and by the directions she had been given, when the endless forests below terminated in open ocean and a rocky shoreline, they were close.

"I see water in the distance," Cloudjumper remarked, breaking the silence of the skies with a low rumble.

"You have better eyes," she admitted, straining to see the horizon. There was a glimmer of blue, unique against the mostly cloudy upper skies in the distance, but it could just be a break in the cloud cover. She would have assumed as much, had she noticed the glint on her own.

"And a better sense of the seasons," her friend said seriously. "You know we cannot spend long here, if we are to be back home before the snow starts."

"I'm well aware of that," she replied testily. They weren't on that strict of a schedule, they could stay for a while, but Cloudjumper was not very enthusiastic and would have them leaving in a day or two.

She understood his reservations about this, though she disagreed with his reasoning. He was possessive, and they were visiting the only family she had left in this world. Of course he wouldn't be too happy about that. He was bound to serve their alpha, and if she decided to move out here he wouldn't be able to come with her…

That hypothetical assumed the alpha would let her leave. She wasn't sure about that, and didn't intend to find out. Her son had his own life and family, she didn't feel she fit in anywhere when they had last been together, and that probably hadn't changed. That was what she had given up, so long ago now.

But that was a sad thought, and she didn't want to show up with frozen tears on her face. Dragons might not notice, but Ember would. He knew what it was to be human, no matter how little time he spent in the shape of one these days.

The distant ocean continued to grow on the horizon as they approached. A little while later in the day, Valka spotted a patch of land without trees, a small but steep rise in stone leading into a rolling set of hills and stone that sloped down to meet the ocean. There were odd rock formations dotting the hills, sea stacks abandoned by the waves long ago, and one had collapsed in the time since, leaving a jumble of rocks sprawled out across the hills and furrows. A few loamy cave openings dotted some of the more sheer hillsides…

And several sleek shapes moved in the distance, a few taking to the air to meet them. This was her son's home.

"This place is small and would be hard to defend," Cloudjumper grumbled. "They have a good warning system, but if I was one of many a warning would do little good."

"We have not seen another dragon for three days of flying, and no humans either," Valka countered. "They could flee if they needed to, nothing holds them here. There is no reason to come to this corner of the world, for man or for dragon." As far as she was concerned, this tiny peninsula attached to the larger forest could well have gone unnoticed and lifeless for centuries. It wasn't near any trade routes, out in a corner of the world that was mostly unfavorable wilds, lacking any draw except open space and solitude. Even most dragons preferred less isolated nesting grounds.

Beryl and Spark closed in on them, roaring a welcome. Cloudjumper roared back, his deeper voice not quite enough to overpower theirs. The two Night Furies overshot them, soaring overhead.

"Come visiting?" Beryl asked, flipping around them in a daring maneuver Valka would have cringed at were he a less maneuverable species.

"No business, no news, just us," she confirmed. She had a reputation in her alpha's nest for bringing ill tidings, but that did not carry over here. "If we're welcome?"

"You are definitely welcome," Beryl confirmed.

"Why would you not be?" Spark asked innocently, gliding beside them. "We all like you!"

"Those of us that know you, anyway," Beryl added. "But I'm sure you'll be a hit with the fledglings." He drifted down, flying below them as Cloudjumper began a much more controlled, gradual descent.

"Whose?" Valka asked hopefully. She assumed Pearl and Ember had gotten around to having children, but she would be almost as glad to see that Thorn and Herb had managed another, given how rare Furies were. Or that Storm had found a mate, or Beryl, or Spark… There were plenty of options, and she didn't see any telltale small shapes down in their territory to give it away.

"Storm and Thorn and Herb, but also sort of Pearl and somebody named Crystal," Spark offered cryptically.

"Ember, Pearl and Storm ran into some complications, and ended up coming home with a few refugees," Beryl provided far more helpfully from below them. "You will want that story from Ember, but he and Pearl are away for the day, and Storm probably does not know the whole story."

"I'll get it from Ember," Valka agreed. "Cloudjumper, if you would set me down somewhere?" Her friend was insistent that he would not visit her family with her, and she had learned through long experience that it was best to let him have his way when he was feeling antisocial.

"I'll be close by," her friend said firmly, angling toward the top of one of the hills. "Remember we must leave soon. Do not make any promises you cannot keep."

"This is not my home," Valka said quietly, putting her hands on his neck. "I promise you that." She meant it, too. This was her son's home. She was just visiting to satisfy her own curiosity. It wasn't even the only place she meant to go; the alpha had also given permission to investigate Berk. She didn't expect much from that visit, truth be told. She couldn't believe Berk had changed that much…

"Can I keep your staff?" Cloudjumper asked as they touched down. "Enough of them understand you here that you do not need it…"

And him having it would mean she would have to get it back; he knew how attached she was to her staff. If only he would also take to heart that she was equally attached to him. "Sure," she agreed without a moment's hesitation. "Keep it." It was strapped to the traveling pouch she had brought with her, which was in turn secured to his lower back. He could just keep that; she wasn't traveling at the moment, she was a guest.

"Try to keep out of trouble," she said, dropping down to stand on her own two feet. She could see Thorn and Herb from here, and flashes of white behind them, hunkered down on top of a small hill. Presumably, they were keeping the little ones at bay, though Valka wasn't sure why.

Cloudjumper took off, and in his place both Beryl and Spark landed. The latter was far less reserved, and licked Valka's hand excitedly like a fledgling might. She laughed and patted his head.

"So, visiting…" Beryl held out his muzzle, and she greeted him in a far more reserved manner. They didn't know each other all that well, and he was the type of person to acknowledge that while not holding it against her. "Let's go introduce you to the fledglings, so Thorn and Herb can stop holding them back. I hope you're ready to be swarmed."

"I would love that." She could think of no better way to begin this visit. In her experience, playing with the young was the best way to get the rest of a group of dragons to trust her. Aside from the practicalities which in this case were unnecessary, it was also a lot of fun.

"Is she ready?" Herb called out.

"Yes," Beryl roared back. "Release the fledglings!"

Valka realized that she might have been misreading the situation, seeing the three rambunctious white dragons rushing toward her. The others' reluctance might have been for her safety, not the fledglings–

Two of them leaped, and the third ran low. None of them were trying to knock her over, but even at a fourth of the size of a full-grown Fury, any one of them would have. All three at once had her stepping away out of pure self-preservation. Beryl took the hit for her, bouncing the three off his side, and swiftly trapping them under a wing. "Fragile," he admonished, keeping them pinned for the moment. "Play nice, play carefully."

Valka could not discern any specific words from the grumbled protest that followed, but Beryl apparently could. He flicked an ear at Valka. "Are you really ready?"

"Bring it on," she retorted. This wasn't her first time playing with fledglings, though she hadn't expected such reckless enthusiasm from dragons who looked to be on the more fragile side of things themselves, lacking thick scales or other natural protection.

A white muzzle stuck out from under his wing, and one of the three squirmed out. The other two quickly followed, kicking and pushing at each other in their desire to be free of the too-small prison of Beryl's grasp. They approached her more slowly this time, and she knelt to hold out her hands at the closest one.

"Not a fish," the little female said cryptically.

"Not a fish," Valka agreed, unsure whether she would be understood. Beryl swiftly echoed her words, putting that concern to rest. She reached out and scratched the female's chin, much to her instant approval.

"Us!" a male barked, shoving up beside the female, the last of the three right behind him. Valka divided her attention as best she could, alternating between the three with both hands.

"Silva," Beryl said, tapping his tail on each fledgling in turn, naming them in the order they had approached. "Thunder, Lightning."

"Who belongs with who?" she asked, ruffling a few ears and marveling at how quickly they had switched from overly energetic to placidly enjoying her nimble fingers. Most dragon young were not so well-behaved.

"Silva is Pearl's sister, and is being raised by Thorn and Herb," Beryl explained, nodding to the two named Furies, who were watching from a short distance away. "Lightning and Thunder are Crystal's, a light wing from Pearl's pack, and are being raised by Storm."

Valka heard the lack of a Sire listed alongside Crystal, and wondered what was going on there. Mates and customs around such things varied by species, but Night Furies and Light Furies seemed to follow the traditional, Viking-style way of making pairs and staying together for life. The lack of a Sire was troubling, given the circumstances around these innocent little ones being here, and not back at that pack with their parents.

But that was not a question she would ask now, around said little ones. "My hands are getting tired," she announced. "Who wants to play a game?"

O-O-O-O-O

In retrospect, hide and hunt was not a good choice of games when all three fledglings were Light Furies.

Valka turned in a slow circle, stalling for time while she tried to figure out a workable way of finding something she couldn't see. In theory, she was supposed to seek out the fledglings and tag them. They were supposed to run and hide. Simple. Something she'd done with countless fledglings of all breeds.

In practice, these particular fledglings had remained visible for the time it took to find someone willing to flame them, and not a moment longer. She suspected Storm had done it, based solely on the toothy grin on her face as she watched from atop the collapsed sea stack. Herb, Thorn, Beryl and Spark were also suspects, but none of them looked so smug from their various perches around the area.

A muffled squawk from behind her had her whirling, her hands out. The grass rippled, but that could be chalked up to the wind – except for where it didn't move, pinned down by an unseen weight. She lunged forward, but the grass sprang up, and she lost track of the fledgling as they fled, leaping about with only muted thumps and momentarily flat grass to betray their location.

They had changed the game the moment they grew bored of hiding from her when she was so obviously incapable of catching them. Now, the game consisted of them taunting her. But she would still win if she could touch all three of them before they grew bored.

Not that such a thing was at all likely; she was just trying to get one of them without succumbing to the nerve-wracking tension of being hunted for sport.

A draconic giggle came from behind her once more, and she decided to toss out the logical approach in favor of a direct challenge. She ran forward, headed toward one of the sea stacks that had somehow wound up jutting out of dry land. The thumping of paws on grassy ground was subtle, but she did hear it, and she suspected all three were in pursuit.

Upon reaching the stone pillar, she began circling it, running at full speed. The moment she was out of sight, she turned, dug her boots into the ground, and lunged back the way she came.

She was rewarded for her cleverness with a facefull of scales and an ear splitting yelp of surprise. She tackled the fledgling to the ground gracelessly, and grabbed a firm handful of either ear or tail. "Got you!" she wheezed, taking a flailing wing to the gut, and let go.

"Aww…" one of the fledglings whined. She couldn't tell them apart, not while they were camouflaged. She'd caught one of them, and that was what mattered.

Though she had no idea where he had gone now…

Valka stood, her back twinging in protest. "Oh, I am getting old," she laughed, before looking up to the spectating Furies arrayed in various places on the hillside. "Anyone want to take over for me?" One of them could actually end this game; if it was solely up to her it might go on for hours yet.

Storm, still as striking as ever, leaped down and raised her wings, making herself large and threatening. "My turn," she declared, before stalking around a pile of fallen rocks and out of sight.

Two loud squeals echoed from the other side of the pile, and Valka was quick to ascend the hillside, getting herself out of the way of a possible invisible stampede. She went toward Beryl, because he was the only one of the three spectating Furies who could understand her without her staff.

"You did well, for one without good eyes, sight by sound, or experience with their camouflage," Beryl assured her.

Valka slumped down a short distance from him, her legs splayed out over the grassy slope as she leaned back on her hands. "They are deceptively light on their paws," she agreed.

"Always have been," he snorted. "Pure instinct, I expect. Storm certainly did not teach them to sneak around, she would prefer they are loud and obvious. Spark has gone out to fetch Ember and Pearl, by the way, but they still might not be back any time today."

"Where are they?" Valka asked. She had assumed, without really thinking about it, that the pair had gone seeking privacy for obvious reasons. Spark wouldn't know where to find them if that were the case.

"There's a village a few days flight from here," Beryl explained as they both gazed down into the valley, watching Storm leap and dart about chasing empty air. "They left several days ago, and he expects he can catch them on their way back. There is not much point to it, but if they know you are here they will hurry back instead of flying slowly, and that might save an afternoon or something." He shrugged his wings. "He wanted to go, I was not going to stop him. Has there been any trouble with the dragon trappers?"

"No more than the usual – a lot less than usual, actually," Valka said. "That island is a desolate wasteland now, but the trade continues, diminished and with new faces seizing power." It had been an easy summer, and an easy autumn. Winter promised to bring a lot of physical discomfort, but the trappers were always slower then too. It might take years for the trade to bounce back to where it had been before Viggo took over, and that was not taking into account her own efforts sabotaging every budding organization.

"That is good," Beryl rumbled. "And your nest, your alpha?"

"Same as it ever was," she said. "We are safe there, and happy. Danger and strife comes from outside, not within."

"Hmm." Beryl seemed to be in a contemplative mood. Valka let the companionable silence linger, though the constant shrieking from below as Storm rounded up the fledglings meant that it was only really a silence between the two of them, not a total silence.

"Have you eaten?" His question was abrupt, but not unwelcome.

"Not since dawn," she said. It was late afternoon now.

"Let's fix that." He dipped a wing down, blatantly offering a path onto his back. "Your dragons carried me back when you pulled us from Ryker's clutches, now I can return the favor."

"You really did not like that," Valka remarked. To remember and care about it now, after almost a year? She approached and vaulted onto his back, her muscles complaining but not failing her yet. She still had a good decade or two in her.

"No, I did not," Beryl said dryly.

O-O-O-O-O

The sun had set, and Valka was feeling the telltale drowsiness that came after a day of hard fighting, or strenuous exercise of any other kind. She blamed the fledglings for her tiredness. At least she had tired them out, too.

"Valka," Beryl said, rising from his spot on the grass. He pawed a bit of fish slime off the side of his mouth as he approached. "I think it is safe to say Ember and Pearl will not be arriving tonight. They must have been traveling even more slowly than usual."

"They didn't know I was coming," she reasoned. "It's fine, I have no problem waiting." Cloudjumper would be settling down in the woods somewhere, and she would be sleeping here. That was the plan they'd agreed on beforehand, anyway. She expected he would, in reality, be keeping watch somewhere.

"You can sleep in our cave," Beryl offered, walking past her and flicking his tail. Valka followed behind him. They passed Storm, who was in the process of dragging Lightning somewhere. The fledgling was sound asleep, despite being pulled by the scruff of her neck.

Then Valka saw a yellow eye open for just a moment, and she revised that assessment. A troublemaker, not a sleepy fledgling.

"You've got a conscious one," Beryl said as they passed. "Knock her out."

Storm growled in annoyance, and Lightning sprang up, but not fast enough to escape the pounce that followed.

Valka had anticipated a shrieking struggle, as was customary for children of any species when being put to bed, but she had forgotten to factor in the quirks of Furies. A paw to Lightning's chin preceded her falling asleep for real, collapsing in Storm's grasp.

"If only that worked with all fledglings," she said.

"If only," Beryl agreed. "I can't imagine Storm putting both of those terrors to sleep without that trick in reserve. They both hate it, and she uses it as much as a motivation to behave as anything."

"Does it hurt?" Valka asked, wondering why it bothered the fledglings so much.

"No, but you have to understand, they've got an independent streak thanks to their Dam," Beryl rumbled. "It's her own fault, but that doesn't stop her from complaining. Here we are." He stepped aside, revealing a cave opening in the steep, rocky slope of one of the hills bordering the open area.

"Anything I should avoid?" she asked, wondering whether he meant to go in with her.

"Maybe don't touch anything of Ember's that looks sharp or likely to break," Beryl advised. "Other than that, make yourself at home. Spark might be back sometime soon, or he might have decided to sleep out there and catch them tomorrow."

"And you?" Valka asked.

"I'm going flying," Beryl replied. "I don't sleep so early. It's barely dusk."

"I see." She nodded to him, using one of the few gestures dragons and humans had in common, and walked into the dark cave.

"There's a candle straight ahead," Beryl said, before disappearing into the night.

"Thanks," Valka mumbled, feeling around almost blindly. She could see silhouettes, many of which didn't belong in a natural cave, but none that looked like a candle. Furthermore, she didn't have anything to light one with if she did find it–

She stuck her hands on what seemed to be a table, built into the wall of the cave, and brushed past a wax stick. Right next to it lay a familiar set of objects. She smiled, glad to feel a flint, and quickly lit the candle.

The flame burned brightly, and as she held it she took stock of the surprisingly civilized cave. Ember was primarily a dragon, but apparently Pearl didn't mind him making use of his human side. One entire corner was dedicated to human craftsmanship, sporting a rudimentary chair and work bench, the latter piled high with metal and leather scraps. There was a board behind the bench, and on it a collage of drawings hung, all of the same sort of subject.

Valka approached the drawings, thoroughly impressed. She could barely sketch a good-looking circle, let alone draw a dragon, and these were so good she not only instantly recognized each and every one, she recognized what mood they were meant to be in. They were detailed, and half of them even had the right colors. Every Fury in Ember's family was there, down to the three fledglings, younger in the picture, tussling over a fish.

She hadn't known that Ember was an artist. She hadn't known him at all, and in many ways still didn't, let alone the half of him that she could actually claim to have given birth to. She was barely more than a stranger to her own son.

Coming out here might have been a mistake. She'd left him alone for fifteen years, maybe that was enough of a failing that it would have been better to let him forget her entirely–

A muted thump outside caught her ear, but only for a moment. A moment was enough to distract her from her thoughts, and she looked again at the drawings. They were good.

"They're good, aren't they?" The quiet words and breathy purr right behind her startled Valka, and she dropped the candle. It hit the floor and was instantly snuffed out, plunging them into darkness.

"I've got it," the Fury rumbled, unbothered by the sudden change in lighting. A soft blue flame lit her white face – Valka recognized Pearl then, though she hadn't from her voice alone– and with the light Valka relocated the candle.

"You'll have to light it again," Pearl said, letting her fire die away. "I tried lighting one once, for Ember. The whole thing melted."

Thankfully she had placed the flint and steel back where she found it, so she knew where to find it in the dark now. In a matter of moments Valka had the candle relit and safely placed on the workbench. "Sorry about that."

"No, that was my doing," Pearl assured her. "So – you've come to visit! I knew you would." She purred loudly. "Ember is out looking around for Spark, we never did come across him. He must have gotten distracted."

Back home, around the ice nest, those words would have been answered with a search party, but out here in the empty wilderness Valka was willing to trust that there was nothing more nefarious at play than a missed connection. "Hopefully," she agreed.

Then something occurred to her, something she really should have noticed. "You understand me now?" she asked. She didn't have her staff.

Pearl shrugged her wings. "Somewhat," she said. "Living with Ember, it seemed good to learn. I am not all the way there yet, but I learn fast!"

Very much so. If only more dragons were that willing to learn, and with willing examples.

Pearl nimbly stepped around Valka, toward the back of the cave. "Ember has something for sleeping as a human," she said. "Furs, I think? They do not smell like animal fur any longer, they actually smell rather bad to me, but you would not smell them like that…"

She hadn't known what to expect, sleeping in the dirt or on a stone floor wouldn't be out of the ordinary. "That would be great."

O-O-O-O-O

Valka had slept in a wide variety of places and situations, and usually sleep came easily, but for some reason on this particular night it eluded her. The furs weren't at fault, they were simple and warm. Neither was Pearl the problem, her light snores deeper in the cave were a quiet melody compared to the racket of a hundred dragons snoring.

She might have slept through far worse conditions, but sleep was not a rational thing and she had no recourse for the times where it abandoned her to the long night. The only thing to do was to lie still and wait. She could get up and wander the seaside hills, but that was a foolish thing Cloudjumper would object to if he were here. She would invite danger from anyone or anything with teeth and a bad attitude, doing that, and just because an area seemed empty of enemies did not mean it was safe. What if she stepped into a rabbit hole and broke her leg or fell and hit her head?

He would swaddle her in furs just like these if he could, but then she would do the same to him if she could get him to hold still long enough. He lacked anyone else to care about, so he nagged and worried over her. She –

She no longer lacked anyone else close enough to care for like that, but she had for a long time and in some ways still did. Ember was not close, he was not hers in the way he should have been, would have been except for chance and her own reluctance to return.

The night promised to be long and filled with self-recrimination, but Valka had not lain awake for too long when another dark shape entered the cave, ducking low. Ember was a backlit orange bulk, large and ominous to those who didn't know him. Valka sat up.

Ember nodded her way, and padded past her to curl up next to his mate. Pearl shuffled in her sleep, raising a wing, and he settled down underneath it.

"Good to see you," he said in a hiss so low she barely heard it, muffling his voice to the point where he would not wake Pearl. "Will you be staying long?"

"A few days, if I am welcome," she said.

"You are," he answered.

The night would be long, but it would end eventually.

O-O-O-O-O

Ember was up before dawn, and Valka followed him out of the cave. She'd slept a little, more than enough to get by, and that was all she needed.

"How are you?" he asked, as soon as they cleared the cave entrance. The stars above were beginning to fade as the orange rays of the sun lightened the edge of the sky. "It has been a while."

"I am fine – how are you?" she asked. "That is why I am visiting, to see you. Nothing interesting has happened to me in the meantime."

"Me?" Ember shook himself out. "Pearl and I went back to her old pack, which was a journey with a sour end. We've settled down since then, life goes on… We are thinking we will start trying for an egg soon." He looked back at her as they walked up one of the hills at an oblique angle. "Is this a conversation you want to have with me as a No-scaled-not-prey?"

"What?" It was all the same to her. "This is fine."

"Okay."

"I saw your drawings," she mentioned as they reached the top of the hill. "They're very good."

"Thanks."

They stood there, looking out at the dark ocean, for a little while.

"I'm… not very good at this, am I?" Valka asked, feeling bitter. "I don't know what to do, to say… I met you a year ago. My fault. Then, we were doing important things, fighting to protect others. It was easier. Now… I'm here to visit, but I don't know what that means."

"What it means?" Ember asked.

"What I am trying to do," she clarified. "You live here. I have my own home, my own duties, my own people. These visits – they're all we will have. Better than the nothing I left you with before, but–"

"I don't mind," Ember interrupted, turning to look her in the eye. "I did, back then. I thought you were dead. But that's in the past. So much has changed. I couldn't hold a grudge, even if I wanted to, which I don't. Just coming out here is more than I expected."

That lack of expectation was her own failing, but she wasn't sure how to explain that any more clearly than she already had, so she just shook her head. "Sorry."

"It's not a problem." Ember smiled, a toothless grin that made him look utterly silly. "Really. You're here, I hear you've met the fledglings… Whatever you do now, that's enough. There's just one thing."

"What?" she asked.

"Where," he asked speculatively, "is Spark? You don't know, obviously, and I don't know… Spark always does come up with the most unexpected things when nobody is with him.

O-O-O-O-O

Ember's final question was answered a short while later, down by the crumbled sea stack. Valka watched, highly amused, as Spark cajoled her Stormcutter friend into the valley, step by step. They were on the ground, not in the air, and that only made it funnier. She had no idea what sequence of events must have led to this, but she couldn't wait to find out.

"I do this under heavy protest," her friend growled as he stalked forward, thumping his wing-claws into the ground with every step.

"No you do not," Spark chuffed as he followed behind Cloudjumper like a sheepdog. "See. The world has not ended. You are welcome here. Now stop moping in the forest."

"I suppose now we know where Spark went," Ember observed.

"Yes, we do." Valka saw her Stormcutter looking at her, and glanced about. Everyone was up and around, venturing out of their little caves into the bright sunlight. "Take me for a flight?"

"Not going to him?" Ember asked.

"I'd hate to waste all of Spark's efforts by letting him trail me around when he could be making friends on his own." She waved at her Stormcutter, smiled widely, and gestured to either side of her. "I've been meaning to ask you about you and Pearl…"

"A flight would be good," Ember said quickly. "With Pearl."

Did he think that would get him out of her long-neglected motherly questions? She wouldn't disabuse him of that notion until they were in the air. "Perfect."

Coming to visit was a good idea after all.

Author's Note: I'm getting very close to a goal I set myself two years ago, and have been chipping away at ever since. I wanted to clear out my backlog of NSSA entries, either by finishing them or discarding them. (Far more of the former than the latter, to be clear; I've only completely discarded five concepts as unworkable or boring, two of which were nothing but single-paragraph prompts). There are, as I write this, three good unfinished concepts left to be completed, and then I'll have done it!

Not to say that I'll be done with NSSA at that point, far from it. I'll just have cleaned out the backlog that's been sitting unattended for literal years. That'll feel good, and it's good housekeeping in preparation for sitting down to the next big story in this series, though that is some distance away yet. One big step closer does not a journey make!