Northstar Vale A non-fiction fantasy

Diane was warming quicker to her surroundings than it was warming to her. At every turn she faced a trial, alarmed by her many weaknesses but surprisingly determined to overcome them all. Though really it was all just a ploy to forget about where she came from. Because anything, by this point, was less frightening than a wall of water rising up and crushing everyone she had ever known. She fought to immerse herself in present troubles so that the past didn't bubble up and attempt to drown her again. 

Knowing that food sources were important to the Ridge's livelihood (unlike back in the Cove), Diane decided to make herself useful that day and find the sheltered herds of the Vale that might be kept track of like the deer on the plateau. 

Her trek began early morning, a journey made longer if only because she still actively avoided the sound of running water; her anxiousness growing each time it happened, despite the fact that smaller waterways would've been glazed with ice. Diane made a beeline for the distant winter forest. 

It was twilight before the wooded area yielded anything of use, and though fatigue had begun to creep up her spine, the tender wolf found her spirit lifting, giving her the energy to press on under the purple-grey sky. She might finally accomplish something for a change. 

@Roach