As winter passed and the flowers of spring engulfed the landscape, Sadie made her decision.


    She could no longer hunt, even with her new hand. Instead she ranged, gathering herbs and mushrooms. She studied creature-made trails, and collected river samples, and helped heal root rot.


    One evening in late spring, Sadie clipped her pouches of spirit vials to her ranger''s belt. She wended her way down to the small pools by the Great Fall. She sat atop the slippery rocks and, one by one, released the spirit essences of the hare into the pool.


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    Sadie watched them pour like mist from the quartz vials, coalescing into liquid as they hit the water''s surface. She watched as they sank down past clusters of coral and quartz, seeping into the rocky gravel along the bottom, disappearing from sight as they were returned to the earth.


    As the final shimmer of gold spilled from the last vial and sank from view, Sadie whispered her ranger''s prayer, her apology, her penance, over the still waters. She sat by the pool until the sun began to set, then gathered her empty vials and returned to her rooms.