Arrow Lake Carry all your thoughts across an open field

<3

Stag fell behind his mother mute, his attention absorbed by the sights they passed. He studied the trees and the dirt, the reeds and the stones -- he even sniffed cautiously as his mother marked a tree she visited frequently. All of this he watched, taking cues from his elder -- and someday he might apply the very same skills he learned today. 

But not now. A silence had spread between them, fathomless -- and Stag was no more equipped to break it than he was equipped to deal with his grief. He looked up as Takiyok finally spoke, his eyes somber but lips raised in a slight but scarcely felt smile. Yeah I guess. He didn't disagree -- things did seem quiet. No small wonder considering what they had lost. Far from talkative Stag halted by his dam's hocks, solemn gaze surveying the plains that stretched out beneath the wood line.