Otter Creek among the chestnut trees of Mamre

she drifted in a half-sleep, unable to keep still long enough to rest fully. the occasional adjustment roused her guardian, but she was ignorant of this until he rose, unceremonious, and muttered to her. she loosed a small whine at him -  or rather, protested the absence of the warmth he shared with her - and did not move to stop him. he left then, and for a while hosannah thought she had been well and truly abandoned. she would not give in to death just yet; her body coiled tightly, and a tired nose rooted for the warmth of a tail that was no longer attached. once settled, she drifted once more.

and eventually he did return. hosannah twitched in her sleep, likely experiencing the entire attack over and over again - but when the scent of the otter slipped in to her nose, she was brought back from those repeating moments. her eyes opened as slits, and in seeing his golden body again, roused fully. she lurched to an awkward stand and then sank back, dizzy and disoriented from the poison and the ache in her rear-end. her tongue was dry - mouth parched - and she licked her lips, watching both the hunter and the treasured prey with a sunken, hollow expression.