Permafrost Hollows end of the journey; first of the trials

alsek might very well be the cutest character on wolf ;-;

she stiffens at the innocently posed question, looking to those wide, unfaltering eyes as a tense nod was given. of course things were not okay, nothing was bloody okay! but alas, that was not really what one would share with a child, best to keep them believing everything was 'okay' for as long as those eyes remained full of childlike love for everything around them. so easily swayed by the beauty of the vast world embracing them, blinded by flowers and rivers, singing breezes and tickling raindrops, all playing a role in masking the true nefarious nature of these lands. of life. 

the air whistled between her teeth as a dejected sigh was thrown forth at the statement. glaring at its bold dance as she muttered lowly "yes i see your flower..it's very..nice" it was nice of course and had it been mere hours earlier she would've been pleased to marvel at it with him. but right now, right now it's presumptuous beauty was a sickening mockery as teeth pressed against the still healing skin on her lip. dragging that rueful gaze away from the frivolous dancer growing from the earth, she looked upon the rook once more. marvelling at the darkness of his pelt, trying to ignore what it reminded her of, how it seemed to suck at the light probing curiously around it. a little flicker of surprise accompanied his sigh, the sound such a contrast to the blissful babbles in regards to his plant friend. it surely didn't offer her any reassurance when he proceeded to announce 'sleeping'.

a chill rippled up her spine at the stroke of that word. maybe they really were just asleep? he'd snuck out because he'd grown sick of waiting for them to wake up? but what if....what if the lack of consciousness he spoke of came from a much more permanent fate. she felt like she was going to get sick, the chill writhing up her entire figure. as if she'd been plunged into a shallow pool of icy water, the liquid slowly rising to hug cruelly at each curve of her figure before inevitably drowning her. as he rattled on, the words grew more and more distant. no she knew none of these names and dammit who had decided it was smart for pups to call parents by the universal terms of mama and papa? the latter word still hitched dangerously in her mind as she rubbed a paw back and forth through the shivering blades of grass. it certainly didn't help when you needed to know who exactly those titles belonged to, there were thousands of 'mama's out there. 

voice strained, she mumbled hoarsely "no i don't...think i do? what um, what do your parents look like and" her throat grew unbearably tight as she struggled to keep her voice above a whisper "how long have they been...sleeping?" please, if there were any gods out there, please let him just say an hour or so. not that that even confirmed anything, death travelled on swift wings. swallowing against the ache of her throat, she let trembling limbs buckle enough for her behind to rest upon the cool earth.