Redtail Rise prince

a near month he’d been gone.

there were nights of searching—for the boys—to no avail.

and nights of fatigue beyond what he’d ever experienced.

he’d been sick. luckily, he escaped a grimmer fate.

the illness stole a few pounds from him, masked beneath the veil of his inky silhouette.

he announces his homecoming with a howl, and returns to the rise with a hare dangling from his jaws. 

he is weathered, but basked in a glow of recovery.