Bearclaw Valley atonement so clean, replenishing me

"@Laurel." indra weaseled out from the den, her voice hushed as a soft blanket of snow doused by gentle sunlight came into view. the forest was still cloaked in snow, but most of it was melting in soft depressions and repetitive gentle drips. indra took a moment to breathe in the scent of pine and snowmelt before setting off after fresh tracks in the snow.

she hobbled along slowly, stopping here and there to inspect a rotten log or a fern that poked its moss-green head out from the canopy of white. overhead the quiet chatter of finches sounded and indra found herself in fairly good spirts despite the twinge of pain in each step and the strange, unsettling sensation of her gut. "laurel?" she called out again, hoping her sister was close.