Greatwater Lake burned but not buried this time

she had gone south. she knew the boy (@Dagur) followed, if not for his scent then for the constant feeling of eyes upon her, or the scurrying of paws against the terrain. he was often out of her line of sight which irked her; but that saved him, too, as she could not reach out and clutch an ear or worry at his haunch, or whatever bullying felt right at the time.

together but apart, they came to a waterway. the lake spanned far and the edge was iced, however zharille had learned by now to avoid those patches, so she kept to the land and prowled the soggy basin where lake met river. there were many splintered veins of water here, much bird scent, and from time to time she thought she found others: rats, voles, small things hidden for the winter.