Flycatcher Downs i'm so into you, i don't know what i'm gonna do

start smelling foxes, you've gone too far north. getting to be cold, too far east. and if you end up at abernathy hill, you've gone way too far south.

blondine trusted herself enough to make it to the valley. they were her old stomping grounds; surely, she would know when she got there.. right? she imagined the morning sun rising over the horizon as she set out from the hollow. the plan was to visit @Larus at bearclaw and come right back home before she was missed.

it's difficult to keep time without a watch or sunlight. blondine thought that she was right on schedule, but things were getting a little behind. larus! she called out, hoping he would hear. surely she'd reached her destination. larus, where're you at?

yelllsss

This innate desire to keep something in his life that was real, that he could focus on and use as a tether, kept him close to the valley. It wasn't really the valley that he was keeping close to; sometimes he dreamt of the chocolate-coated woman and the warmth of her smile, fixated on it while time stood still. When morning came he would forget in the blink of an eye, but... For a few seconds every day, Larus was happy.

He followed those bread crumbs, too. That's what kept him near enough to hear the woman's voice on the wind. He didn't know that voice at first, but the closer he got the easier to became to remember. The man came in to view soon enough; bedraggled from the winter winds and a little tired, but interested. She knew his name -- and when he could make out her face, he remembered.

Blondine! He calls, striding closer through the snow. Um, here. Hi.

blondine didn't care what larus looked like. this was partly because she liked him more for his personality than anything else, but also because she didn't have eyes. hey, boy, she cooed, using his voice and footsteps to try and pinpoint his location. what've you been up to? while waiting for him to respond, she settled into a seat.

She plonked down and he closed the distance to plonk down beside her, his fluffy belly fur splaying out a bit. Not the most attractive position. But he shrugged and said, Trying to hunt mostly. Haven't found much. It wasn't ideal to be a lone wolf in winter. As this lifestyle was all he knew, he had no opinion either way. Blondine looked happy and healthy though. Hiw about you? How is your new home?

fading!

the pair continued their conversation, larus seemingly indifferent about her current state. blondine was grateful that she didn't have to explain what'd happened for the hundredth time. she wasn't surprised that he hadn't been very successful; for the most part, the famine was still holding out. herds would reappear here and there, but...

i love it, she replied, y'know what? lemme tell you a little more about it. so the pair sat and conversed for the better half of the day, eventually breaking apart to go their own ways.