Moonstone Quarry Every bird, gone unheard

AW but maybe @Fleur ?

the stoneborne king knelt in silence, the morning wind brushing against the thick red strands of his coat. at his paws lay the catch—three rabbits and a fox, their blood dark against the frost-hardened earth. the work was meticulous. slow. solharr’s jaws worked steadily, peeling back the thin layer of fur with the practiced rhythm of a man who had done this a thousand times.

it was not the blood that marked the morning, but the quiet. no howling wind, no murmured council, no watchful gaze upon him. only the scrape of tooth against sinew, the occasional tug of claw to lift the pelt free from flesh.

each hide would serve a purpose—offered to the altar, gifted to the young, or worn in honor of those long buried beneath the stone. he did not waste. he did not forget.

nearby, the quarry loomed like a sleeping god. behind him, the wind curled and whispered.

he did not look up. he listened.