Honeyed Pasture eldorado

it's green-gold as far as the eye can see. and as far as Avicus is concerned, it's paradise.

the glacier holds no promise. no creature in their right mind goes there for sustenance, even if the rocks hold relative security. nothing grows, nothing thrives. but here!

the red girl emerges from the crypt, striding down to the long grasses. disappears within them, the bees and bugs fluttering 'round her face. ears twitch at nibbling flies, the brush streaking across her too-visible ribs, tangling in her matted fur—

she's not felt this alive since the moonwoman had taken her tongue.

said tongue, the missing portion now scabbed over, swipes across her lips. she smells prey. and as she reaches the top of a hillock that allows her a more complete view of the prairie, she sees deer.

deer. and water, and flowers, and. . .

limping along with her still-healing ankle, she begins to descend, eyes narrowed as she tries to pick out the weakest link from the bunch.