Greatwater Lake hitori de aruku

Izanagi had crooned for her mentor more than she had any man but to no avail. Hatsu was gone, Nightingale to, and eventually the girl had mindlessly followed the river upstream to where a great lake cut the landscape in two.

She waded deeper and deeper, water sucking at the pale furs of her belly as her paws found shaky footholds in the mud. It was a strange feeling, to be alone. As though a piece of her was missing - a hole in her heart that could not be filled no matter how she cried and ate and slept.

Ripples began to distort her face.

masa tag for ref! PPing @Clover with permission!

when she leaves behind the heartwood for a time, she is not alone.

kaede makes no secret that she means to go out for a time. if samurai trail, then so be it.

her bow is for @Masa. 

beside her again, the fox, and as they travel, she does not speak. it is good to be out in golden plains beneath blue sky.

warm today, tending toward heat. water stills with it the form of a dark woman, descending lower and lower into the waters.

her brow furrows.

kaede clears her throat, a quiet look on her unmoving face.

He did grow exhausted keeping up with her, but the safety was well worth tired paws. No hawk dare put themself within reach of a wolf, and other wolves would not harm a companion. 

Hunting was easier, too. Meat was often luxury—prey the fox could only scavenge while alone. He was growing quite plump, and he hadn’t had to feel the repulsive crunch of a beetle’s exoskeleton between his molars. 

Tired paws were more than worth the new life he’d found. 

The fox’s attention snapped to the purple-eyed lady’s upon hearing the break in her silence. Quick feet padded to her side, nearly shying beneath her. 

He wondered if this wolf was a stranger.