Hushed Willows build a hill on me; in my memory

vague vague vague

Remember to clean the fur behind your ears, dear. she pulls a paw over her ear, and again, and again, until she's stuck in the motion. something bitter seeps out from a gap in her heart, sluggish and vile. it is something angry, something longing. she wants to find her way back to the mesa, and @Virtute, a world starkly different than this easy one of willows and soft breezes. 

Use your paw, like I showed you. it's starting to hurt, the tug of her paw on the soft skin of her crown. she twists her paw, and her dew claw catches against her skin. eyes narrow, and the girl tenses, but continues her grooming. she wants the king of the mesa, but the same docility that had led to her finding her guardian has led her here. if only she'd not gone so far, if only she'd waited behind as surely a dutiful ward would have. but @Deidra had offered food and direction and a way out of the twisting red maze, and she could only follow. again, her dew claw catches, leaving behind another thin red line beneath her fur. eyes narrow, her chest feels tight. she must do as Virtute said; must make her pelt clean and shiny as his had been, as he'd taught her to do.