Phoenix Maplewood graphite

The rain did not deter Redd though it ensured no trail would be found.  The damp scent of new life and greenery surrounded her, dripping from vibrant trees overhead, but she pressed through without pausing to check for trails.

Wealda would need to return soon.  Until then she sought @Gavrel.

They were bonded, and with this claim she knew he would not have left by choice. Not without intending to return.  Perhaps he tracked the herds beyond.  Perhaps he had been separated from return, forced to travel another way amongst the mountains.  Perhaps the earth had swallowed him the way it had her.  This last triggered a distress that the previous had not.

She lifted her head and sent up a powerful, searching call.  There was a desperation to it, a loneliness that only Redd could feel, yet was natural in its depth.  She had chosen him as match.  To match was to bond for life.

In time, if he did not return, the needs of Wealda would press her to decide.  Perhaps this had been his choice; she had failed to enter her season and thus proven herself unfit.  She preferred this, and held it close as she called once more, then listened for a response.  The only sound was the rain.

Better that she be found unfit.  Better that he be waylaid.  She could not dispel the thought of Avicus struck down on the hunt.  This was a dread she did not wish to dwell in.