Bearclaw Valley [m] go back to sleep

there was a possibility that sobeille was being lead to her death. this prospect sent a titillating shudder down her spine.

she trusted athalia, though. she was woman, but she was ‘other’ the way sobeille was ‘other’. two outliers in a world that could not understand them.

she was lead through convoluted territory. eventually athalia stopped, digging with rough heaves at the earth until a gristly skeleton was unearthed. sobeille noted the head missing, and blades of fungus cut through each rib.

her heart fluttered as her hand was guided to the ribs. for a moment the vivid image of a heart pulsed profoundly within her; followed by two spectral eyes, a hunter hulking in the bush — the shape of a black doe walking past.

what did it mean? the image pulled away, leaving sobeille back in the presence. she thought she heard the heart thudding in the distance, but that too faded away.

sobeille drew to her full height, eyes conveying a quiet sense of shock. perhaps unsatisfyingly, athalia’s question went unanswered. who dis be to you? she asked of the sleek spiderling, gaze turning back to the ruined skeleton cradled by dark earth.