Blackfoot Forest [m] only devils left

she does not hear the stranger's approach, but she watches ghost as the falcon weaves thru the air — a reflex quick warning that someone was approaching in their own shared language — and turns her head to look over her shoulder sharply.

her whole body turns, hackles bristling at the thought of her back being to anyone she does not know nor trust.

towhee eyes him, assessing.

and before she can come to any sort of conclusion another enters the scene. cole. she knows not whether their paths had crossed or if she'd been followed: she had figured out by now that it is the strange scent that lures men in.

she is still, in the water — watching with a mixture of amusement and annoyance: when all she wished was for the ache, the yearning, the burning to stop.