Hideaway Strath look at the fire and think of me

mona was a thing radiant with laughter; she heard behind her nathaniel's tread and then he was at her side, his strides powerful and effortless. she glanced sideways into his eyes, seeing there the blossom of something she wished to know, and her gaze flitted ahead; there, a stand of evergreens, and there they would stop, the girl decided.
before she was able to pull ahead with a lunge of her slender red hindquarters, the cracking above her caused mona to slow as her swampwater eyes searched for the source of the sound. more ripping tones; the girl's joy faded quickly and fear began to prickle along her spine.
she heard only nathaniel's voice, not his words, before the man's shoulder and flank slammed hard against her body. the girl cried out, stumbling into a tumble that threw her into a snowdrift some feet away. mona landed hard and fought for breath, even as the dull thuds of rocks falling to the white-blanketed earth sounded. but many of them did not merely land down into the valley; the mayfair shrieked terribly to see their jagged sides slam into her guardian.
it was over as soon as it had occurred; the nuro was already pulling herself from the snow to race toward the great wolf prone against the earth. however, it was a child's wonder that struck her first; the girl's eyes widened as she took in the sheer size of the rochester's body, then shook herself from her inane reverie. "mister roche —!" mona gasped, her voice breaking on the name as she began to claw medium-sized stones away from his head. "oh, please, oh please," the yearling hissed, licking frantically across his face. a metallic scent entered her nostrils; she jerked up her muzzle to appraise what she could see of his body. "wake up, wake up!" she moaned, going back to her ministrations. "nathaniel ... please."