Redtail Rise still miles to go till i arrive

winter had bared tuhin's ribs underneath his coat and frozen his windswept fur against his limbs. he felt well, though he knew he did not look it; hunger was a permanent companion in the colder months of winter, one he knew well enough to just about out-pace.

here, he followed his nose through the familiar scents of snow and pine, tracing the faint, sweet smell on the chill air that promised what he would need for another few days' survival.

the walk grew long and quiet, but tuhin was patient. and his persistence was at last rewarded; a doe, the snow heavy around it in a way that suggested none had passed by since last night's storm. carrion birds had unearthed the bloody ribcage, and as he approached they scattered, calls rising into the still air.

he did not growl, being fond of the creatures who had so often led him to food; he turned his head instead to watch them vanish into the trees, and when they had gone he bowed his head and set his teeth into cold meat, stripping ice-hardened flesh from bone and working his teeth around it until it gave, swallowed in small snapping bites.

it had never shamed him to act as a scavenger, least of all in this season. but it did remind him that he might not be alone; and though he did not worry, his ears angled to listen for any other drifter who might smell in this corpse the same opportunity as he.