Endless vision of pristine snow began to thaw, the further south she traveled. Snowbanks transitioned into earth lush with the kiss of spring, barren pines gave way to fuller and budding oak. The birds here in the woodlands sang a different toon. Lighter, even, and melodic. It was dense but it felt like home.

And now, as life blossomed in the woodlands, it was easier to survive. She still hadn't the faintest idea of how to hunt big game, and frankly she wouldn't try. But rabbits and squirrels sprang and danced about, darting from hollow to bush. Her attempts to catch one were...laughable, at best.

But she had no one to dote on her now. No worshippers to lay meals at her feet, no one to pamper her. Isadora knew that if she wouldn't attempt to survive on her own, and she would perish.

Her life, which was supposed to be snuffed by the ones she used to call kin, would not have mattered. And the god her soul was supposed to be offered to would finally get her blood, her bones, her life.

Persevering was hard. It was exhausting. There were many times she felt like giving up and letting the wilds claim her.

And still, she pushed on. Chased and chased those rabbits until her legs ached and her lungs burned. They evaded her time and time again—too fast, too flighty. It was during her final attempt, where she wound up with nothing but fur between her teeth and stuck to her tongue, that a soft voice in the distance made her startle.

A girls voice, calling out for someone. Isadora's ears pinned with caution, and for a moment she wondered if she should keep moving. But there was a sadness in that voice...a helplessness that resonated. It tugged at the string of her tender heart.

She is nothing, if not easy to fall to the softness of her heart.

What she finds in a pale woman lounging within the lush grass. Isa's approach is slow, her head lowered and tail tucked. Praying the girl wouldn't spook. That she would recognize Isadora was hardly a threat.

Hello? Are you...are you alright?