The older the children got the more freedom they gained, and with it the more free time the mother regained herself. Far gone were the days where she was confined to the den in case any of them got hungry or scared or anything else. While Mabel had earned herself a ground, one that Aponi was not sure whether or not to lift yet the others seemed happy enough to follow the rules. Soon they would be allowed to wander the very woods she walked now without supervision - something she would need to discuss with Serach. So far he seemed to be more reserved with the rules but had thus far trusted her judgement in the end.

The sky had long grown dark and Aponi wasn’t sure how long she had been walking deep in her own musings without much thought to her surroundings. It had started as a simple border patrol that had been diverted by the scent of a hare, no doubt plump with the fall fattening. In the end she had not found the prey and had wound up wandering through the dark misted woods. The Donata had never been afraid to be in these parts alone, there was little more frightening than her own past self. Bodies thrown from mountains had used to be her norm but that part of herself laid dormant somewhere deep inside. At least for the time being.

All of this was what made the creeping sensation of unease so unusual. The silver fur along her nape stood on end as she stopped dead at the bank of the creek. Aponi could have sworn that the temperature had dropped significantly as she approached the water, and cold as it was it wouldn’t have caused such a drastic change. Muscles bunched beneath her pelt as the mother looked over her shoulder, was there something looming in the shadows just beyond her sight?