Mudminnow River so far away

maybe @Cole

the snow seemed to thin out, the further east dolce trekked. a welcome reprieve—a man built for the arid summers of the south struggled to acclimate to such bitter cold. his journeys were longer then, broken with intermittent rests stops, where he'd curl into himself for any semblance of warmth. 

dense forests thinned, too, to plains. his mind felt heavy as he lumbered toward the sound of water that hadn't been frozen over. heavy with thoughts of his past, perhaps the thought of the strange, soft woman who seemed fond of his grizzly company. 

mostly, his mind was still marred by betrayal. left for dead, alone, humiliated—it seemed so long ago, and yet the wound was still fresh. his old gang probably never wandered back to where they'd left dolce; they probably didn't care. he had given them his all...

only for nothing. 

brows pinched, his expression sour and troublesome as he stood before the rushing waters, glaring down at the reflection peering back at him. seemed like he was a ghost of a man, a specter.