To the moon and back

Ræsa had spent her morning entranced by the landscape she found herself in. In places the ice was exceptionally clear, darkening to blues so pure she'd never seen their equal. In some places she could see the skeletons of submerged trees. Elsewhere snow had mounded up and turned the vast expanse a carnival like experience of enjoyment in skidding about. She racketed about among the stumps with Bo in tow until she heard Katja's call. For all the fun she'd been having, she locked down and put ont he breaks, skidding to a graceless halt. She ended in a heap but scrambled right back to her feet and turned back to the far shore at a lope. The frozen world carried her mother's scent across the snow like a gift handed to her by the gods themselves.

She arrived where Katja waited in a fluster of powdered snow, enjoying the way it seemed to burst into countless fractals. With a wide grin and a flourished tail she dipped her head, a rare show of respect. There were not many in the world who could command such things from her, but apart from a deep fear of her disapproving reprimands when certain behavioral expectations were not met, she truly idolized her mother. "Fancy finding you here," she quipped with a sly smile, a wink. "What are the odds?" Her smile grew with warmth and intent as she forced herself into a more serious demeanor. She did not want to waste her mother's time, after all. She waited for whatever her mother would ask of her.