Arrow Lake Jol

As River now gazed critically at the face of the stranger, she was struck by the sheer… innocence of his expression. His was a warm, soft countenance against the swallowing silversand of his coat. A pair of eyes, vividly verdant and alert. Kind, despite her eagerness to accost him.

The huntress felt the edge of her protectiveness dull, but her keen and predatory caution remained. She looked at him as if a single wrong move would draw out her teeth, and yet she came closer, unafraid.

Only a single deer-length from him now, she stopped. He was long of limb and angular; strong-looking, if not a bit sad in the corners of his smile. She did not return it.

Yes, she said to his question. I was born here, in the territory of this very lake. Neatly, quietly, she eased into a sit in a display of self-assurance and fragile trust. Her tail, swishing slowly in the snow, invited him to examine her more closely if he dared. You’re not from around here? she asked. She figured only non-natives would’ve posed the question as he had.