Duck Lake The last of kings

for @Gjalla

The air was still, save for the faint ripple of wind that teased the surface of the lake, sending shivers of motion through its otherwise glassy reflection.

Tvar stood at the water’s edge, his dark fur thick with frost, his breath visible in the cold air. His sharp blue eyes bore down into the reflection staring back at him—a wolf he recognized only in fragments.

The longer he glared, the less the face seemed to belong to him. His ears flicked back, and his lips curled faintly as if to snarl at his own shadow, but no sound escaped him.

Then, the scent came. Tvar froze, his eyes widening slightly as the air shifted around him. The smell consumed him, sending a jolt through his body that left his muscles taut and his fur prickling. It was familiar in a way that made his heart lurch, but maddeningly out of reach.