Redtail Rise other loves, other vices

there was so much he just needed to get away from, back at morningside. duties that nagged at him--that needed to be done--but he was beginning to feel the weight of it all. river's injuries, the looming threat of danger in the maplewood, the still-lingering awkwardness between himself and dawn. it was all too much, and aditya found himself heading up and out of the plains, eyes trained on the charred rise just north of their territory.

he picked his way up the rise, paws skittering a little on the uneven ground but otherwise getting on okay. once he had climbed far enough that the land evened out, adi sank against a blackened tree with a sigh, head cradled against the sooty trunk. the smell of cinder brought memories vividly to life--

"i've seen trees like this before. i once lived among them, with friends. they called them coaltrees."

her sleek black paw pressed against his cheek, leaving the coal behind. he raised his paw to do the same for her, placing it on her shoulder. made no difference; it blended right into her inky black fur, just dust to mar her sheen.

"doesn't show up at all on you, chikni raat."

aditya was so buried inside his mind that he did not notice the dark silver female wandering around, as if in a daze. he, too, was in a daze of his own, trapped in the past. his eyes fluttered shut, trying to capture the feeling of that bright early spring day.