King Elk Forest i will paint you in silver; i will wrap you in cold

they came together on the set of her words; mona closed her eyes once more, arching gently into the nudge of his muzzle. such an odd feeling the man engendered in her — the yearling knew not what to make of it. she had no words for the mingling of affection and nameless things that kindled cinders inside her. 
as quickly as he had touched her, nathaniel broke their contact and turned his eyes to the distance; mona contemplated the storm-tossed azure hues with her own soft murkwater gaze, following the line of his stare beyond the grave of his father. sebastian/ and then 
"i know where redhawk caldera is!" mona exclaimed with a sweep of her tail against the snowy ground. in the next moment, her ears swept back with a fleeting shame that she had acted so childishly, and with such a loud voice. "when do you ... when do we go there?"