Tuktu Weir and these three men made a solemn vow

there were deer on the edges of the lake, close to where it vanished into the trees. normally, he thought they'd stay closer to the open land; it was easier to outrun predators there than in the forest. but the vast, thick layer of snow bogged them down—at least there was ground to run upon in the woods.

really, they were doomed either way. . .although to make a meal of them, aditya would have to catch them first.

he watched from the other side of the weir, scanning each individual. dawn had been good at this: identifying the weak link in a group of deer or elk and then pursuing that to great success. grayday and his family had all been good hunters, and they'd taught him much.

aditya missed grayday, but he hoped that in the afterlife, he never saw the man. adi's treatment of his daughters was irreconcilable; they could never be friends again.

he pushed his ex-father-in-law from his mind, focusing instead on the deer, on his daughter, on surviving this bloody winter.

backdated to the 22nd