Heron Lake Plateau you should see me in a crown

<3

a soft breeze brought with it his scent. silent as the falling snow, mictec lingered in the periphery, watching—him, the herd, the shifting dance of predator and prey. the male moved with careful intent, but his hunger made him restless; she could see it in the way his muscles twitched beneath his pelt, in the way his breath ghosted too quick against the cold air. 

her eyes, sharp as a blade’s edge, drifted past him to the herd. the elk were wary but not yet alarmed, their huddled forms shifting, shuffling, seeking comfort in numbers. but even among them, weakness did not go unnoticed. 

there. 

a cow, older, favoring her left foreleg with every step. the limp was slight, but to the discerning eye, it was everything. 

mictec did not move immediately. Instead, she watched ker, curious whether he, too, had marked the same weakness. was he skilled enough to see it? or was he too lost in the desperation of his own hunger to hunt with patience? 

snow crunched as she took a slow, deliberate step forward, still hidden within the jagged brush. the hunt was beginning, but more than that—so was the test.