Bitterroot Valley feels like we only go backwards

also vague

He needed to get away— so he did. Alarian was no stranger to the valley; it existed just outside his home, and frequently served as a hunting-ground-slash-get-away. He didn't particularly enjoy the land, sloping and open as it was, but he spent a lot of time there nonetheless.
Today a familiar scent caught his attention, drew his focus away from the hunt. He thought nothing of it at first; many times over the years, he had fooled himself into believing he had found him. Each time, he had been wrong. Certain this would be no different, Alarian set his mind to ignoring it. He trailed along the river through the valley, trying desperately to focus on anything other than that.

His mind only tortured him further. The scent grew stronger as he went, forcing him to train his gaze to the ground. After several moments of this, he stopped, still studying the dirt as if his life depended on it. Why now? Just when he had stopped thinking about him— just when he had thought he was finally ready to move on. The past would never leave him alone, it seemed.