11/16/2025, 6:34 AM
for Eirwen !
dawn scraped a thin line of gold across the ridgeline by the time gjalla started her descent. frost still clung to her fur, and joints remained stiff in places where the cold had settled overnight—it is a feeling she's come to love since birth.
the world beneath her was still half-asleep—shadows long, the land still blue with the last grip of night. her breath puffed in front of her as she picked her way down the narrower paths, shoulders rolling with each step. somewhere far below, birds were beginning to stir; she could hear their tentative chatter threading between the trees.
by the time she reached the lower slope, the sun had crested enough to catch in her coat, turning the charcoal of it into a muted gleam. she paused only once to catch a flicker of movement ahead, near camouflaged into the snow. the woman's ears cant foward, something between curious and cautious as the distance closes.
