Duck Lake Insight II

Date fuzzy

The visit had been brief. Taikon had done what he set out to do, and now it was time to return to Takiyok and Taktuq. No doubt she would be anxious to see him safe again. His thoughts frequently shifted to her, wondering how she was faring, trusting that she was safe within the walls of the forest of black birds. He knew that, had she gone instead of him, he would have been finding things to fill up his time just so he didn't have to think about the worst case scenarios.
He found longing in his heart, knowing it as a familiar, distanced pull. Absence.
Taikon had taken a slight detour to get a drink at the lake, knowing that it was a spot frequented by prey animals. Indeed on arrival there were several does grazing on nearby saplings. He moved past them, making no attempt to hide himself. They stared at him as they chewed, alert but knowing by instinct that he was not a wolf on the hunt. Not only that, but his poor physical condition left him as little of a threat. The prey he'd been hoping for were much smaller.
He bent over to drink, inhaling sharply through his nose as the icy water hit the pit of his stomach like a violent kick.