Cosette woke in the small den she had carved out for herself that looked more like a shallow depression in the earth at the base of a tree than it did a den. It offered very little shelter, but she was okay with that now that the weather had gotten so much warmer. It wasn’t the kind of heat she would expect this time of year, but compared to the last two seasons, she was thrilled. Thinking about winter made her smile, though. That was when it was just her and Indigo, before he found those other girls. They had found a den together but she had felt awkward when he brought another in, and now she was sure it was more than just the two of them in there. Maybe if she had taken the time to get to know the other girls it wouldn’t have been so uncomfortable for her, but she had a feeling her anxieties ran a little deeper than that. She couldn’t even bring herself to tell Indigo the full truth about how she felt enough to ask him to help her meet them. Approaching them felt scary, and since none of them had approached her, she figured they weren’t interred. She chose to ignore the fact that they might think the same thing about her failure to seek them out.
Her mother would be expecting her to come and visit later, but she would put the unpleasant task off for as long as she could. She would try to go later in the day to talk with her and receive more lessons her mother insisted on giving her, but if she went late enough she would be able to use the excuse that she might worry someone if she was out too long after dark. It was unlikely her absence would truly be noticed, but her mother didn’t need to know that. In the meantime, she would start her day off with a walk, staying clear of the borders as much as possible in case Adhira was lingering nearby to wait for her.
