Blackfeather Woods tied in deep

he had always been a light sleeper.

tonight was different. exhaustion overtook him in a unique way, dreams a fuzzy mess of muddled colors, his lungs offering soft wheezes and snores. oblivious to the toll the spores took on him in more ways than one.

all he knew was warmth, the peace of malila's side.

until his waking moments took him by surprise. his brain finally awake enough to register the knock against his own paw. who? heron blue eyes peeled back to see the woman asleep next to him. beautiful and peaceful and everything veran did not deserve to have by him.

why?

he recalled the tree, their foggy moments, most of it blurred by delirium and confusion.

slowly he began to unravel himself from her.