Dawn Treader Valley whisk away your heartsigh and bury it in mine

intended for @Arkane <3

Sunlight warmed the valley, yet the little black wolf shivered as she picked through the tall grass. It was a cold thing, to be so lonesome; to be so far from the sea, too. She'd lost her way somehow — or maybe she only hadn't gone far enough.

Either way, Seelie would press on. No other choice was left to her now, so far away from those she'd called her family in another life. It wasn't that she didn't love them anymore, no, never that. They just... they hadn't seen what she had. They couldn't ever understand it. The fragility of the cords tying them to this life, how each breath taken was only an ephemeral thing: a blessing without promise, the fleeting favor of a fickle universe. How could she stand to look at them each day, knowing that one day she would look and see their eyes dull, lacking the spark of life?

So here she was. Seelie stood and lifted her face to the sky for a moment, eyes fluttering shut, trying to soak in the warmth of daylight. Still, she felt cold.

hope it’s ok if Merel joins in!

These lands were strange to her, but Merel no longer feared strangeness.

She swam sleek and swift through one of the marshy lakes that sealed off the valley. The vast bottomless sea made her nervous—but ponds and streams were no such obstacle to her. Seeing her dark brown fur slicked down by water, her mother had once smiled and called her otter-pup as she splashed in a brook. The memory warmed her against the water’s chill, but it also left a hollow ache.

She pushed that hollowness to the back of her mind when she caught the scent of another. A younger female, and not of any pack that she could smell. Curious, Merel wandered closer, tail swishing with friendly calm. She made no effort to hide herself from the stranger’s cool gaze.

“Mind if I join you? I could use a bit of sun myself,” Merel asked.