Nova Peak ❇ Tosi

the scent reaches her first. salt and snow, mingling with something softer beneath. not threat, not beast. a woman—a packmate! elowen stirs gently in her nest of hides and moss, her son curled warm against her side. he does not wake, but she does, the whimper pulling her gently toward the mouth of the den. a mother's instinct to follow the cry of another.

there she finds the gifts—carefully placed, carefully meant. a fox’s pelt, white like petals of baby’s breath, folded neatly with intent. beside it, meat salted against the world.

she sucks in a breath, a gasp. soft. her eyes turn to the visitor next, a warm, shy smile splitting across her maw. an appreciative wag of the tail at the woman before her.

"you are kind," she says, stepping out into the light, fur still tousled by sleep, but her voice warm with thanks. kaldros does not cry—only stirs behind her, sensing the absence of her warmth. "thank you. i'm elowen."

she knows this woman by scent, not yet by voice or name. a problem to fix, surely. she does not yet know this woman. but she would like to.