Emberwood What Do We Do Now?

They were gone. One by one, as inevitable as the stripped leaves of the forest; the longer they persisted here in the Emberwood the fewer that remained. Now it was just Ibis. She had not seen anyone in days. Scents waned - she knew as she tested her strength every day with small patrols, never roaming far from her protective den for too long. Only a few scents remained: Reiko, Kukulkan.

She found herself saddend by the losses, but not defeated by them. When in its prime (short lived as the little budding family had been) they had been happy. The caches were well stocked for the stragglers to survive upon, and if she rationed herself Ibis could outlast the rest of winter with them. A final unintended gift.

Drawn from one patch of trees to another by a vague hunger (an emptiness really) she caught the scent of Reiko, and eagerly moved to follow it; food could wait. The little woman needed to connect somehow, to see a friendly face again.