Nimbus Summit and im a good walk to the river

@Tessa or @Antha perhaps? <3

Selkie trotted along, a now familiar hitch in her three-legged gait that she was becoming comfortable with. The she-dog appeared to be in high spirits but this was a mask Imaq donned well -- lest anyone around guess exactly how anxious and downtrodden her husband's news had made her. Despite how the isabella merle tried to distract herself -- with her son, drying herbs and pelts, practicing hunting, patrolling -- nothing seemed to work. Incessantly, her trail of thought would wander back to the worry that she would have to leave these low mountains and the people she desperately longed to belong to. 

Such was one of many attempts. Imaq sought the women of their tribe, particularly the sunset girl, Antha. She'd yet to see the place that the woman had spoken of, which would be a secluded location for the mothers to birth this year. Even so, Seelie hoped to help in its construction. Not only that, but she had a bundle clasped in her jaw to be gifted to the expecting women of their clan -- a soft rabbit fur stuffed full of fresh raspberry leaves that the dog had collected. 

the raven flew low, looking.

soon, there were wolves within view, with their grey and brown pelts and earthen matters to attend to.

one she saw stood out in splash of markings and queerness of ears.

the white raven perched on a jagged slab of stone, and watched the strange wolf, playing guessing games with herself.

mutated? inbred?

It was the feeling of eyes raking over her that caused the isabella merle to slow and eventually stop in her tracks, skin prickling as her spotted crown swivelled searchingly. It wasn't difficult to spot the perpetrator, pale as they were. The huge crow perched upon the boulder stood out in vivid relief against the backdrop of the forest and mountains. Imaq's hackles raised as apprehension skittered along her spine. 

Imaq's mind drifted back for a moment, back to a time when she was young and still loved by her family. To Êrsta's bed stories of the spirits and the land of their people. It was said that long ago, Raven and Owl were both as pure as the snow though in time they wished to decorate their feathers for beauty. Raven had ground dye of black earth and blackberry to paint the intricate curves upon Owl's pale feathers. But when the time had come for Owl to paint Raven, Raven would not hold still and Owl accidentally spilled the dye over his feathers and turned him to the onyx color seen in corvids of today. 

Imaq set her bundle down carefully when she had overcome her shock, taking a hesitant step towards the bird as her speckled muzzle lifted to scent the air. 

Was it possible she had fooled herself all these years? Had Salik truly cursed her with death and forced her to roam the nightlands of dreams and spirits? Was the bird spirit of Raven from Êrsta's tale and she little more than a lost inua doomed to wander in ignorance, thinking herself to still be alive? 

inua: spirit(s)