Duskfire Glacier unafraid

his sides heaved.
steam rose from his shoulders in the cold, sweat and snow melted into the thick of his coat. blood spattered the edge of his jaw, though it wasn’t his. not this time.
his eyes tracked her, saw the prize clenched between her teeth—heard the moose’s final cry tear through the forest like thunder.
a breath.
then another.
he watched as she stepped in to end it, and he did not interfere.
he only gave her the hunt. the kill.
a nod—short. approving.
panting still, he turned his head and spat blood into the snow. a pause, then—
yours.