Something was strange about today, and though Ara couldn't quite tell what it was, she felt slightly on edge the moment she woke up. She'd been roused suddenly from sleep, as though her body had jerked her away, though there seemed to be no real reason for it. It was early, perhaps too early to even be awake, and as she peeked outside of the den she and Novel shared, only the briefest glimmers of sunlight filtered across the horizon. It was nearing dawn, and strange shadows of the willows outside their den danced across the grass. After a long few minutes of waiting, Ara carefully pried herself away from Novel, taking extra measures to not wake her as she slunk out of the den and wove beneath the willow trees.
It was hard to tell what kind of day it might be, but as she blinked sleep from her eyes and lifted her head skyward - taking in a long, slow breath into her lungs - she could tell moisture hung in the air. It was a weird change from the rather arid climate she'd gotten used to from living in the west for so long now, but she wouldn't complain about some rain to hopefully cool off the gradually warming lands. Currently, though, she was on a mission - the last few mornings had been particularly hard for Novel, and she wanted to wake her up with something nice. Seeing her smile through all the pain would be rewarding, especially if a dreary day was what lay ahead of them today.
It didn't take long to find what she was looking for, and carefully she picked a few large orange-yellow marigolds and carried them back to their den. By the time she returned, a slow drizzle had started, steady and relentless as it beat against the ground - though she wouldn't call it a downpour by any means. Shaking water lightly from her face, she slowly moved to lay beside Novel, dropping the flowers at her forepaws. Instead of waking her up by speaking, she merely nuzzled her nose into the crook of her neck, inhaling her scent, now mingled with the smell of summer flowers.
