Otatso Wetlands Break free and leave us in ruins

For @Zane and @Stag

What was a thriving wetland in summer was little more than a snowy field in winter, one which Wylla passed through without paying any attention to her surroundings or even the time of day, as was typical for her lately.

Only this time, her mind was consumed with the itch under her skin, the infernal reminder that spring's fever was here. She reflected on previous years with a grim set to her jaw. Her first year as a woman, she had hardly noticed it until Raptor was already on top of her. The second year the pull was much stronger, but she'd been safe in Keokuk Glade and Lusca had ensured that nothing happened. The third year she'd been confident, seductive, and yet unsure. That had fallen to ruin, too.

This fourth year was marked by a crushing loneliness and profound lack of hope, where six months prior, she had imagined she might be a mother for a second year running with someone she actually loved. As she wandered across the frozen wetland, she was almost compelled to raise a crooning call for company, but resisted that urge and plowed on. She knew this monster, and she knew it could not cure her lonesome heart, no matter how much her body believed it could.