Swiftcurrent Creek from out of the smoke

she left the dark forest with a heavy heart - not for good, though there was a mental insistence willing her to do so - and headed north. that too was not her immediate goal, but hosannah saw the state of the meadow and knew she would have to go far afield to find anything. she marched across the land with great purpose. as the day wore on, and as she worked her way across the dead expanse left in the wake of the locust invasion, her gait lagged. eventually she had to stop due to her own hunger and the ache in her limbs, and she did so alongside a fast moving creek. she could see some tiny bodies of the bugs within the water — this did not detract from her thirst in any way, so she dipped her snout towards the creek and drank.

there was nothing here either. some grass was struggling to grow alongside the bank, but it would be many days before it reached its proper height; hosannah was seeking other things, much more specific things, and while surveying the creekside she came to the understanding that this disaster had made all things difficult. this was a trial, she mused. a test sent by raas, but for what reason?