the forest shelters iza.
her caches dot among the dark green ferns in a dizzying maze, never leading to her densite.
iza does not eat there — not yet.
like an ant or bee, concentric rings of stored food are what she seeks, a ragged, lupine version of an insect's more perfect design.
grains in one. seeds in another. grasses in a third. fish bitten into parts; the limbs of otters.
her bed is becoming a heaped pleasantry of skins, and it is just as well. alone, fatigue clutches a lone wolf with harder jaws. each second must be spent in working preparation for the trial ahead. not labor, but the weeks in which the young could not be left.
constant hunting of smaller prey depletes her energies more quickly. a fresh kill with hot blood would carry iza through the remainder of her pregnancy, but she has no way of bringing down a deer or elk alone. and she will never seek help. not after what happened.
wolves on the shoreline cast a shadow that make her flee.
in the forest she is safe, and in the dark beside the sea she is safe. iza sleeps the day through, and if hunger wakens her in light hours, she gorges from one of her many pantries.
hard work brings some measure to her hours. she does not feel as if she is waiting for nothing.
her caches dot among the dark green ferns in a dizzying maze, never leading to her densite.
iza does not eat there — not yet.
like an ant or bee, concentric rings of stored food are what she seeks, a ragged, lupine version of an insect's more perfect design.
grains in one. seeds in another. grasses in a third. fish bitten into parts; the limbs of otters.
her bed is becoming a heaped pleasantry of skins, and it is just as well. alone, fatigue clutches a lone wolf with harder jaws. each second must be spent in working preparation for the trial ahead. not labor, but the weeks in which the young could not be left.
constant hunting of smaller prey depletes her energies more quickly. a fresh kill with hot blood would carry iza through the remainder of her pregnancy, but she has no way of bringing down a deer or elk alone. and she will never seek help. not after what happened.
wolves on the shoreline cast a shadow that make her flee.
in the forest she is safe, and in the dark beside the sea she is safe. iza sleeps the day through, and if hunger wakens her in light hours, she gorges from one of her many pantries.
hard work brings some measure to her hours. she does not feel as if she is waiting for nothing.
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