Third Step

He looked back at the ice as she addressed the fossilized remains. “Hmm, I think to be buried is to be concealed, to be barred away under dirt and darkness. They continue to see, but they can never tell. A glass hell where they are forever condemned to watching. Watching. Never at rest…” he paused for a moment, admiring the growing intensity of the morning light over the ice, “No. Not buried enough,” he finished with a hum.

Arató pulled away from the skeletons to look back at the doe as she agreed to his company. Elation overtook him, swaying his tail high over his back and pricking his ears. A series of whines trembled from his maw as he looked up at the pathways around them. The few trails that led up the glaciers were indeed in rough shape. He pranced a few paces away from his company, trying to peer at their options from different angles. As he looked for the least treacherous ascent, a rhythmic thrum escaped him, almost musical in nature, “turn the page, and up the ice. Climb the cold to please the maiden of light”.

After a moment he settled on one pathway a short distance away, which appeared to be the least steep, and relatively clear. He yipped excitedly and pointed his nose at the path, “does that one suit you to try, maiden?” He looked to the doe for confirmation. Admittedly, he did not know how well the hooves of woodland deer fared on icy slopes. He knew them to be surefooted enough on stable ground, far more than he was himself. Although they didn't have claws, so perhaps the ice would be a challenge for the lady's hooves.