Redtail Rise beowulf

@Moon Runner?

the rise called to him before he knew its name.

red dusk came out of the taiga with ash on the wind and stone beneath his pads. the mountains rose narrow and close, their ridge catching the last light. worn paths cut through steep ground, and he followed them without pause.

fire had scarred this place once. blackened trunks still stood, but grass and green pressed through the burn. a stream split the slope to the east, loud and living, and he stopped long enough to breathe it in.

burn. water. return.

something settled in his chest as he reached the ridge. not hunger. not memory. a pull he could not name.

he did not turn away.