Riddle Heights ascension

Set May 16th, just prior to Stella's return to SC. AW!
Current health condition: 65%, please ignore my health bar it keeps resetting

Stella's legs burned as she ascended the stony slope toward the heights of the pass. Her sides were lean, the ribs marked out more visibly against her sandy pelt than they had been with her departure at the season's beginning, and now as she returned home at the end of spring she was panting heavily. Over-exertion and a lack of water had left her with less physical reserves than the athletic young girl had come to count upon, and a sip of dew from a morning leaf and the blood contained within the (also dehydrated) prey she had managed to secure was not enough to sustain her for long. Her thirst always returned, more insistent than before.

The hint of worry she carried with her had only grown, sprouting like a seed and twisting out through her thoughts. The Lore had greeted her with signs of prolonged dought and scarcity, and she wondered what she might return to as she climbed onward toward the lofted peaks and the mountainous conclave they guarded which she was so homesick for. What if the cove were not as she had left it? What if the lake had somehow dwindled away, her family scattered to the winds like so many parched and dried leaves? No, that was impossible. They had to be there. She didn't think she could accept anything else, not that she had had any success so far in bending the uncaring universe to her simple, desperate wishes. But... what if she were no longer welcomed? She tried to dismiss the worry, but it was stubborn.

Stel still had a lengthy, rough trail ahead of her, but presently she paused, testing here and there for the most outward signs of habitation. Soon enough, she was certain, she'd be upon their borders. Soon, she'd be home. Right now, that was all she wanted.