Haunted Wood you bought a star in the sky tonight

a shivered exhale, curling tighter against the lingering shadows; wincing as they tugged cruelly at her fur. hissing, jeering....dreams lurk in that darkness and at times they are worse than the truth they represent. yet...daring to hope she glances up to spot the weak light beginning to filter through the trees; could it be dawn? it never truly got bright here, even if the sun hung high in the sky above the light remained muted in this suffocating forest. but this little slant of light pushing bravely to the floor to chase the shadows back to the edges where they belonged; prowling and hungry but held off for now, it was a big moment for the dove. her first night to have slept through somewhat soundly, the nightmares had not made it as far as her conscious and with it brings this new spark of flickering hope. yet with the fragile spark came an onslaught of guilt; how dare she feel any sort of joy to not having to witness what her whole family had had to endure. ears fall flat and she shrinks into herself once more so that she resembles the skulking shadows in her cringed demeanour. 

yet no, NO.

her jaw sets, paws gathering shakily beneath a bedraggled form to push to as stready a stand as she could manage. ever so slightly her chin would tip upwards whilst defiance would attempt a spark in too dull eyes. they wouldn't want this. had it been papa on the other side surely he would've grieved but he would've carried on? and lainie, sweet lainie would have been strong enough to carry forth her family's legacy. she couldn't ruin it by becoming a worthless shell, she must be strong! even if it was...so difficult. a momentary relapse, chin trembling as eyes grew shiny at allowing such intimate thoughts of her family to come forth after so much supressing. 

yet upon allowing it to pass with slowing breaths; polaris emerges from the stinking hole she'd retired into once left to her own devices in these dark woods. she really missed the mountains, the sharp, fresh breeze...everything here was so dull in comparison and the air felt thick enough to choke her at times. yet inwardly she scolds herself, this was clay's home and she'd been accepted into this pack and had shown not a scrap of gratitude! although she does go on to admit that the looming man at the border had been quite daunting and often she imagined his sharp crimson gaze scorching her from the shadowed depths between the trunks. 

now though, she simply focuses on walking; because this may in turn result in her bumping into someone and it was a step she knew she must overcome. slowly, she would have to return to reality. even if reality was such a cruel and bitter place at the moment. beauty had to return eventually.