Blackwater Islands inner sanctum

Inspired by this. For @Gabe.

As the weather continued to wane into warmer and wetter fronts, Akantha was spending more and more time away from the mainland. She did still see to her sisters often enough to be a formidable presence among them, but any time she had alone she was sequestered away among the thick woods, or traversing the rocky spread of the beach. She was mapping the Islands out in her head—marking off places for their needs, but she hadn't ticked off every box yet. It would take time before her mind was made up on where each individual location would be. But, for now, their main home was on the Island closest to Ankrya Sound.

Today she found herself faced with a narrow canyon, bordered on either side by sheer, mossy cliffs that supported massive pines. A shallow stream ran through it. It reminded her of a mountain, but split in half right down the middle. She plodded along down the middle of the stream with the water flowing around her ankles and her paws easily finding purchase on the slick rocks. She lowered her head occasionally to lap at the water. Here, the snow hardly touched the ground; any that had was long melted. The canopy above was a latticework of pine and cedar that the little light that was able to penetrate the cover was almost murky. 

She shouldered against one of the narrower stretches and her paws left deep ruts in the stream bed as she clawed her way through. The canyon opened up a little, spreading like welcoming hands and, at the center, a thin waterfall cascaded down from the plateau above. Many large rocks littered the area, and to the left the canyon had been dug underneath a bit by the errosive force of the water as it washed down the landscape to the sea. 

Akantha sucked in a breath as she stood, dwarfed by the size of the cliffs, and the pristine beauty of the sanctuary. She clambered atop the nearest rock face, mindful of the slippery moss, and laid down to rest for a spell. Her paws flexed into the rock, and her ears twisted, catching every echo; every splash; every idle groan of the trees above. 

Here, the Matriarch was at peace.