Blackfoot Forest Step by Step

She took the silence as a positive, though a part of her rued they could not talk a while longer. Life as a loner had been tough, and though she had enough encounters during the day, she often retired with the too common gnaw of loneliness at night. But the boy needed his sleep more than she needed his company, and Andalusia rested her head on her paws, probing her nose just beyond the draping confines of their makeshift den. Talking would only give him the wrong idea, anyway, and at that thought Andalusia shifted aside, careful not to lay too close. From her vantage she could see the sky, and with her eyes to the stars, she fell asleep to their constellations, Sebastian's steady breathing a strange but welcome change to her otherwise silent nights.

Her dreams were empty and dark, her mind ripe with exhaustion and unwilling to think about anything other than nothingness. She woke groggy, disoriented. Warmth flooded her, and she couldn't remember why. Something ruffled the fur along her back, a motion that took a moment to register. And then someone whispered. Are you awake? Andalusia didn't even hear the question. With a jolt she reared unknowingly toward Sebastian before she jerked the other direction and tumbled in a graceless heap through the low lying branches and into the blinding light. Snap! Her force broke one of the lower branches, and sent a shower of leaves across her back. But though half-blinded and covered in debris, Andalusia sprung to her feet and braced herself, her heart beating with the ferocity of a wild horse.

And only then, when her eyes adjusted to the light and her senses filled with the trees, the mountains, and Sebastian's scent did the daze of sleep begin to pass.

Sebastian. Only Sebastian.

But the way he had nudged her and had ruffled her fur. Panic clouded her vision, and a growl stole her throat, uncontainable. "Why did you touch me?" she demanded, her voice rough with anger. They had fallen asleep barely touching - but she knew the warmth had been his. Stupid girl! She should have stayed outside. She shouldn't have given him even the thought. Waves of regret washed her anew, and her legs wanting nothing more but to run.

Oops :x