Bearclaw Valley never bet the devil your head

stalking and silent, the girl approaches.

she is aflame in a sea of white, dusted by snow, her nostrils streaming from the effort. she fights against the winter gales, pushing ever forward, reaching for the walls of the valley that loom so close. limping, stumbling a little in the drifts. . .but still, still keeping on.

an ugly, ragged gash down her right shoulder, curving into her armpit, tells a story. the fur around it is matted with dried blood and it smells slightly putrid; she might have perished were it not for her speed on her paws (thank you, mother).

the ursine princess had nearly been destroyed by—of course—a bear. had she known there was an epidemic of sorts around these wilds, she would have been more wary. she had lost her way, been driven into the belly of the beast, trapped in the mountains, without food— 

it is time. time to give up the chase, return to bearclaw.

she draws to a halt at the beginning of her family's scent, one forepaw hovering over the border. everything else about her was warmth save for her eyes, cold, hollow, dead. 

Avicus lifts her voice in a hoarse call for her parents, for the healer (the wound pained her greatly and he, after all, had fixed Aventus by some stroke of luck).

she tucks her tail, ears flattened, eyes lowered. she is come home in shame. she has failed.

attn @Merrick @Evien @Astara @Aventus