Normality could very well have been seen as an illusion, yet there was no denying that it gave some comfort to those that sought it. The weeks following the fall of the mountains had been slow and progressive for those healing from its onslaught, and those left to care for the wounded. But gradually normality was returning to the Vale, even if the tensions were strained by recent events.
However, mornings were still greeted by the diligence of the warriors, each taking to their duties in earnest and without complaint. The warden Alpha of the Vale had resumed her duties as well, taking to the borders of their haven to ensure their scents were will marked and maintained. Dawn was her light to guide her way, and still its cast its warm glow even as she returned to the near heart of the mountain woods. Their numbers had grown since her last inspection of the fold, and as with all she sought a proper greeting to the newly inducted.
As was her ritual, she walked the pines with a small offering in maw; a plump hare found along the outskirts of their land, its fur clinging to the winter pelt of winter even as its brown began to show. Her steps were sound, a march of purpose through the fragrant pines, til they slowed nearest the threshold of the Vale’s sacred heart. It was there she came to a halt, setting the offering at her paws to free her weathered maw as released a short and swift summoning bark. |