Noctisardor Bypass arrival

fa'liya follows without looking at him. three days of silence—she has not spared him more than a few sidelong glances since they left the river. spite is a small, stubborn animal in her chest, and it is kept alive on principle alone.

fog clings to her fur, dampening what little warmth her thin body can make for itself. each breath rasps faintly, shallow, controlled. her limbs burn, and yet she is steadfast in her decision.

she is silent still when he calls for her mother, but her body is not. something in her stutters and everything else reacts violently. her shoulders hunch as if she has been struck and a wheezing cough tears out of her, sharp and ugly, folding her in on herself. her paws skid half a step before she catches herself, claws biting into packed snow. her heart slams so hard it hurts, a frantic, animal thing trying to escape her ribs.

she hacks once, twice, lungs protesting as her breath scrapes raw through her throat as if the cold itself has lodged there. she swallows hard, jaws clenching hard, a bitter taste blooming behind her tongue. she tastes iron and swallows it down just as fast.

she recovers just in time to turn her attention toward a woman—mother.