The rumble of her belly is the only sound that drags her forward, a perceptive series of steps that bring her heterochromatic gaze toward the subtle prints that marred the snow. Alue had cast aside her bundle of herbs and followed the likes of a rabbit, intent on catching a meal. But as her path had twisted and turned, Alue had not noticed that the world around her had appeared to shift—to change. An assortment of twisting branches converging to a tangled place in the center as her paws would take her through a tunnel created by the magic of nature.

Had she looked further than the pawprints she tracked, she might’ve noticed that the trees were now in the shape of hearts, their ruddy branches of brown and cream softening against each other as they intertwined their limbs in a quiet, tangible hug.

However, such anomalies were lost on her as the large-footed tracks appeared to end.

She paused in her pursuit, a craning head falling to the side as she stared.

The tracks were no longer doubled in pairs, marked by the indents of creeping toes and bushy tails—but instead…they were hearts as well. A clearly defined shape that caused her brows to cinch and her mind to reel.

What could this be?

Tentatively, and perhaps with a bit more hesitancy than she had embodied before, Alue strode forward—following those tracks with a suspicious and curious frown. What could you be…? She whispered to nobody but herself as she jogged a bit further down that tunnel of love.