Winter rose

Hesitation wasn’t in the outspoken brutes nature, so it was with some surprise that he lingered on the outskirts of the cave. Inside lay memories he had at one point decided where better left undisturbed. He would see the little babbling brook that he had once tripped over, and the fireflies that had trembled against the cave wall, making a gentle symphony, a show that even a blind wolf could enjoy.

Hesitant and reluctant to find his hopes dashed, he lingered there. The owl, that had been his constant companion for the last few days jumped on to his back, pecking him in the ear, then jumping on to his head, and he shook the silly creature off. He slapped Solor in the face with a spare wing, and the black wolf swore, jumping back. “Cut it out you silly sack of feathers, before I remember I like the taste of bird.” stepping back as the Owl balanced itself on the side of the cave entrance, and the two had a momentary stare down. “Mm, tastes like chicken, right?’ his tail swished behind him and he creeped forward. Notch took a hop-step away from him, and another, drawing the wolf closer and closer. That was it, he was going to take a bite out of the silly nuisance.

Instead, as he opened his mouth, he drew in a breath, and gasped with surprise, choking at the sudden change, and hacking a moment for breath. Not at all subtle or regal, as he put his nose to the floor and caught that one scent he had come here to find. Even fleeting, disbelieving and scarcely hopeful, he had come, and there she was. He ducked his head into the cave, and his heart soared against his ribcage, almost painfully as he took her in. she was as delicate as he remembered, with a coat like spun wool, and eyes as pale as the early morning sky.

Those very eyes seemed to shimmer, watery and sparkling, and after a second of watching he understood why. She was crying. “Well now, the Winter Rose graces us with her presence once more. Don’t tell me you’ve been caught in a brambleberry bush for the last five years… his voice hitched a little on the words, his heart in his throat, and an emotion brimming in his eyes, through he let none of that in to the words themselves, and he didn’t step any closer.