Bramble Falls Reminiscent of things past

Maneuvering her long limbs over the leafy obstacles in her path, Nova chased after the hares at full speed as soon as she sighted them. She focused on one of pair as she put in a burst of speed to catch up with the quick little critter. With one final leap, her outstretched limbs landed on either side of the hapless rabbit as her jaws moved down to close around it in one smooth motion. The squeals from her prey were quickly cut short after a quick shake of her head, snapping the thin neck her teeth were closed around. Still holding her catch in her mouth, she glanced to see if Karpos was as lucky.

Finding Karpos close by, she carried her prey over before setting it down and tearing it open. She didn't realize how hungry she was, and kept eating as Karpos spoke while she kept her ears tuned towards him. Once he was done speaking, she finished the chunk she was working on and lifted her head, licking the blood from her lips before she spoke.

"Karpos, that's so sweet of you." Really, it was probably the nicest thing anyone had ever said to her, even if she thought the compliments were much more than what she deserved. But he seemed so earnest. She wanted to agree with him, but she really didn't know if she had it in her to achieve what he said she could.

Nova returned to gobbling down the rest of her meal, and soon nothing was left of her rabbit but skin and bones. She looked up to Karpos, almost sad to leave a new found friend. "I should go, though. I'd really like to make it to the pass and back before anyone knows I'm gone. There's enough daylight left that I could make a good head start." Nova almost didn't want to leave now, but she knew she had to. "It was good to see you though, I hope we'll meet again, sometime."

@Nova - I don't know if you wanted to do another post or respond to Karp. This post can be a fade too if you want?

"Karpos, that's so sweet of you." The words came almost as a shock to him. It almost sounded like she didn't believe him but he let the topic drop in his mind. He gave her a small smile as he quickly finished the rest of his rabbit. She had to leave. He nodded in understanding before rising to his paws. He understood that she couldn't be away for too long without Naira and Thorpe worrying about her and she really wanted to see the Pass again so he would not stop her. He was sad to see her go because she was probably the only person his age that he got along with that wasn't related to him. She hoped that they'd meet again sometime and he couldn't say he didn't agree. "Bye Nova, I hope we cross paths again too... and thank you." He turned away as he started to venture towards the south and the Wildwood. He had heard stories, whispers on the wind, about the Wildwood and he wanted to see if it was really what they said it to be. The forest had a history and he felt the urge to visit it because of that factor alone. He had started to head off with a little skip in his step. Perhaps he'd visit his uncle Ace after his visit. He could ask Maksim for permission to go on a little field trip to his father's grave and eventually up to see his uncle Ace. Perhaps he'd run into his aunt Silver too. The plans formulated in his mind as a smile rose on his muzzle. It had been a good day.

"Goodbye!" Nova called after him. A strange feeling fluttered in her chest and she couldn't help the smile that had lit up her face. With her tail wagging, Nova turned about. She would stop at the falls one last time, giving the impressive cascade one last look and drawing a few laps of the water to clear her throat of her food. Optimistic that she had a good trip ahead of her, Nova set off for Mount Dire. If only she knew the difficulty she would face and who she might find on the other side, she might have not been so optimistic.

{Fin}