Emberwood ; tamer animals

wow this got real depressing real quick sob

There was no getting used to it, this hollowness. The world was dull, and simple actions were tedious. The snow that gathered between her paws caused discomfort, and she keenly felt the bite of winters lingering chillchi her ears. Even as she gazed over the vast expanse of new, unexplored territory it was as though nothing excited her anymore. Nothing sparked. All she felt was the hollow, heavy weight settled in her breast. No light, no joy. No hope. Once, she would have looked upon this aspen forest in wonder, blinking snow from her lashes as she watched the flakes gently fall. Once, the sight of it all would have made her breath catch. A smile would have lit up her face and she might have raced between the trees, weaving between them in her own personal dance. Once, she would have been roaring for adventure. Ready to take on anything.

But now.. Now she felt nothing. She felt cold. Empty. Dead. She was hollow, an empty shell where a soul should have been. Everything simply hurt, and to keep the ache at bay she'd simply frozen her own heart. Turned herself to ice and she'd fled. Elysia couldn't say exactly how she'd gotten to these lands, this place. She'd been running.. running from everything. Her lands, her pack, her life, her problems.. her ghosts. She could never go home, and even if she could somehow make the journey back, if she found her way, what would she find there? Ghosts and strangers with familiar faces. There was nothing left for her there, not anymore. They'd likely drive her off for her cowardice; for her pathetically beating, bleeding, heart.

It was one thing to be a ghost, and another to be surrounded by them.