Duskfire Glacier the pines, the beasts, the frost

maybe a @Lousine ?

The nightmares had begun again.

Satori kept it well hidden from Faust what visions she saw at night. His body, bend and twisted at unnatural angles, throat torn red with fresh blood. It was her Mountain King, and then it was not, his lifeless eyes sage where they should be grey.

Her twitching nose sought lavender, it's calming scent a remedy for her torment as paws forged a deep path through the snow. Where was he now? Often did his scent stray from the glacier and it had worried the druid so, often spending her days foraging and hunting small game to distract her mind from the matter. She soon found what she was looking for in a small copse, ears flicking to listen to the winterbirds chatter as she nipped stem from plant.

!!! :D hi

it wasn't often that lousine could be seen without faust, but today, for a brief moment, she parted from him.

part of her feared he would tire of her sooner or later. he cared for her, hunted for her — and more, the thought of which causing her cheeks to flush — and she loved it. loved his presence. but there was always an exception.

always a limit.

she walked alone, straying into a stretch of nearby woodland that had yet to be seen by her eyes. the evergreens enveloped her and there were songbirds nestled in their branches. she felt herself smiling at nothing.

oblivious to the fact that anyone else could be around, lousine sat beneath a trunk and closed her eyes — not to sleep, but to feel.

hi!

Unlike the twisting paths of wolves that called this place home, the ice was not Satori's friend. It was cold and unpleasant where the forests of home had been sheltered and warm. Though, as the days flew by, a realisation that this was home now began to sink in. 

Still, she kept to the outskirts, the evergreens curing some of her homesickness. A sprig of winter stems gathered, she turned to go when a flash of white caught her eye.

"You enjoy the company of trees?" Her words muffled behind her bundle, the scent of lavender obscuring any scent this woman carried.

lousine didn't typically startle easily, but the half-inaudible voice creeping up behind her made her yelp. she backed up, teeth exposed and tail snaked between her legs, until she could see what — no, who — had been there.

it was just a woman.

lousine straightened herself out, slinking forward to reach a healthier distance from her. it took her this long to realize she had said something to her too.

oh, the trees, yes, she nodded. i love them. even in winter.

i'm lousine, she outstretched a paw and touched the girl's shoulder. sorry for kind of yelling, but you scared me a little.

A display of fear - Satori found her own tail whipping instinctively between her legs as teeth flashed in the midday sun. It took her more than a moment to uncoil then, depositing the lavender at her feet so she may better greet the stranger.

"Me too," there was some camaraderie here, to find someone other than herself that enjoyed the forests more than the glacier. "My paws hurt from the ice, sometimes."

An embrace meant to sooth; the druid leaned back a touch to avoid contact, still reeling from the interaction prior. "It's ok, it's my fault for startling you. I'm Satori - you're one of Faust's?" 

one of faust's.

lousine wrestled the urge to persecute her and ask what do you mean by that? it was a horrible conclusion to jump to, and she felt deranged for so much as thinking it as soon as the wave of jealousy ebbed away. she maintained her composure, chortling out an oh, yes! in response instead.

i'm his... well, i don't really know what we are, she shrugged her shoulders. courtship partner? girlfriend? not-girlfriend? fiance? the question rolled around in her head a number of times. it didn't matter...

right?

lousine let out an awkward laugh, averting her gaze to her paws. i assume you mean... friend of his?

Satori's eyes narrowed at the girl's response, unpicking the odd use of words. It was almost as if she was trying to hide something. What it was, the druid could not discern from what little information she had, though her suspicion's heightened as the scent of Faust clung strong to her silver pelt. "Yes - a friend. Packmate," a tight lipped smile.

It was clear the glacier man had spent a lot of time around this woman - child even. A girl not yet at her time. Satori shook her head to ward off the ugly thought. For all she knew, their friendship was nothing short of innocent.

"How are you enjoying the glacier so far?" her tail sweeping, inviting the other to join her in a walk in an attempt to ease the tension.

a friend.

lousine dropped it, for now. clearly satori did not want an argument — and if she were honest, neither did lousine! she was not the type of girl to stir a ruckus over misunderstandings.

she followed satori's lead, turning her gaze skyward. it's beautiful out here. different from where i come from, but a good different.

what of you? what drew you to the glacier?

"Curiosity, the desire to build a home." Lousine had summarised it well. The glacier could not have been more different than the forests of old, but Satori found she did not mind. There were trees here too - old and evergreen but here all the same. She hadn't yet had time to explore them in great depth yet, but in time she promised herself she would.

The pair walked almost without direction until they reached the treeline to gaze out upon the snow-laden meadows beyond. "It is certainly beautiful," she confirmed with a smile, and let her worries melt away as they talked.