March 12, 2020, 08:58 AM
One morning Raleska woke same as any other morning, and yet somehow this morning was different.
She opened her eyes, her gaze falling to the honeyed slant of sunlight that pooled at the mouth of her den. It was here — the hour she had dreaded ever since winter’s first snow.
Rising from her bed of elkfur and pine, Raleska moved into the shimmering pylon of early morning sunlight. Here her breath billowed out in plumes of molten gold, glittering and catching in the rosy sunrise just so.
She could not stay here; not to be hounded by other females and not to be courted by any male. Her gut seized as she thought of Rosencrantz discovering her — or worse, Reyes. What would Nieve think when she found Raleska’s den cold and bare? She closed her eyes, a shivering breath caught in her throat. In determined steps Raleska snuck from her hearth, and fled into the hinterlands.
Meanwhile, the pervasive scent of her season lingered in heavy suspension behind her.
She opened her eyes, her gaze falling to the honeyed slant of sunlight that pooled at the mouth of her den. It was here — the hour she had dreaded ever since winter’s first snow.
Rising from her bed of elkfur and pine, Raleska moved into the shimmering pylon of early morning sunlight. Here her breath billowed out in plumes of molten gold, glittering and catching in the rosy sunrise just so.
She could not stay here; not to be hounded by other females and not to be courted by any male. Her gut seized as she thought of Rosencrantz discovering her — or worse, Reyes. What would Nieve think when she found Raleska’s den cold and bare? She closed her eyes, a shivering breath caught in her throat. In determined steps Raleska snuck from her hearth, and fled into the hinterlands.
Meanwhile, the pervasive scent of her season lingered in heavy suspension behind her.