Felltree Marsh A coat of red

@Sobeille

The crunch of Sivaak’s heavy paws through the snow announced her presence long before the scent did. She emerged from the frost-rimmed trees, her thick, scarred pelt damp with sweat and blood. Between her jaws hung the limp, broken body of a raccoon, its dull eyes staring blankly into nothing. It was small, hardly a challenge, but it had crossed her path and that was enough.

Sivaak moved with the strength of a big cat, her crimson gaze locking onto Sobeille as soon as she came into view. Without ceremony, she stalked forward and dropped the carcass at Sobeille’s paws, the wet thud of it breaking the silence between them.

“Eat,” Sivaak barked, her gravelly voice cutting through the cold like a blade. She didn’t wait for acknowledgment, didn’t linger to see if Sobeille would obey. Her focus shifted, her broad shoulders already turning as she began to retreat back the way she came, her tail flicking once in an unspoken dismissal.

But before she could disappear or Sobeille could bid her stop, she glanced back, just long enough to growl one final word: “Now.”