Broken Boulder so sad, her eyes; smiling dark eyes

@Vilkas

The nightmares had begun in earnest, as she began to recover the haziest memories of her time in the creek. Every feeling like it was real again--the icy water in her nose, the darkness closing over her head. She'd wake, trembling and panting, rolling over onto her side, only to fall into more disturbing visions. With a whimper, she'd accept her fate, waiting the night out until morning, when she'd leave the den.

She was short on sleep lately.

Some nights, like tonight, Lily gave up on her den. She slipped from Broken Boulder, into the cool of the evening, the breeze ruffling the dark hairs of her pelt. Yawning, she strode over to Star Rock, hopping up with a muffled sound against the stone and sprawling out, looking skyward.

She tried to remember the names of the stars Korei had taught her about, but had nothing; she'd never had a head for stars. Instead, she admired the way they looked, some clustered together, some spread so far apart--and yet still very bright, shining out boldly by themselves. Wispy clouds blew here and there, extinguishing some of the starlight.

Lily had been struggling to regain her good humor. So much of her attitude had come from her verbosity; without it, she was merely a pretty face, a kind soul. Utterly unremarkable, in the great scheme of things. Her way with words had set her apart, and helped her in her trade. She not only felt lost, she felt useless, and miserable with it.

She beat her dark tail against the stone in silent, impatient fury, sighing and resting her chin on her outstretched paws.