A veil of ice laced the iron and rust colored outermost layer of the female’s coat as she left the ridge behind her without a second glance. The feel of the soft, cold soil beneath her frozen, muddied paws was a transition that she welcomed as she made her way deeper into the forest that would provide refuge and a place to recover from a long day. Sounds of the runoff as it snaked through the vegetation was like a lullaby, playing gently in the back of her mind, which was focused on following a series of pools and waterfalls as they led some way to what she hoped would be level ground.
Ears that had been pinned protectively to the wolf’s wide head turn precisely in nearly every direction, surveying the novelty and mystery of the wood as it was bathed in silver moonlight. Just past a ridge of firs, the streams converged, revealing a glimpse of only one of the treasures held by the forest, which appeared more ancient in its depths. Aeylen Onida stepped boldly, silently, to the edge of water before taking a moment to survey the shadows. Only a fool would embrace the comfort of such a timeless scene; <i>comfort</i>, though it was genuinely what she needed, had been cruel to her.
The smooth current soothed the female’s aching, tattered forelimbs, the river warmer than the splinters of ice slowly melting from her body. A patch of dying grasses on the far bank would be a fitting makeshift den, and she wasted no time in raking it to makeshift perfection with her paws; there would be no further venture until she'd recooperated. As she settled, closing her weary, amber eyes, the female considered the fact that although she had survived the mountain, she may not survive what could be waiting for her in the night, as she lay wearily in the temperate mists that were her only protection.
(This post was last modified: Dec 07, 2011, 12:45 AM by Aeylen.)