Stormcloud Moor plaid skirts that hide love

Backdated to March 3rd, after Sova and Haunt meet. For @Haunt and @Enera only. The global RE is still applicable if En hasn't used it yet; Snowmaggedon! A foot of snow has fallen overnight!

With their meal earned, Sovanya led her new friend to the small cavern she and Enera had most recently been camping in. She went straight to their cache and dug up the promised venison, pieces of an aged doe they'd been lucky enough to scavenge. With plenty given to Haunt and a plump helping for herself, Sova settled outside of the den's entrance. It was but a small slice into the ground, but when one climbed in they would find it opened up into a roomy cavity that reminded the young girl of the Chasm.

Outside the wind was calm, the sun was still shining, and the freshly laid snow soft as a pillow. It would be pleasant enough to wait outside for her sister, who hopefully was nearby. Rested upon her stomach, the growing pup took a few bites before tossing back her head and sending up a howl to call for Enera.

Haunt was the picture of obedience. Perhaps overly so for somebody they had just met.

Regardless, they slunk after the ruddy girl. Quick to sink lower to the ground when it came time to settle in for the promised food. They wasted no time in devouring as much as they could, gullet worked overtime to prevent them from a choking hazard. Granted there would certainly still be a scoff here and there. Sprinkled in between each chunk they slammed down.

Then...the girl called.

This could be the only thing that stopped Haunt in their endeavor to eat. Suddenly startled and filled with the anxious wonder of who would arrive. Would they be as nice as the girl?

They had not noticed that their teeth began to chatter.

had a dream so big and loud

JUMPED SO HIGH I TOUCHED THE CLOUDS

She was never far, even when hunting. When the sun had fallen the night before Enera had planned a good hunt for the following morning only to wake up and find a thick layer of fresh snow nearly blocking them into their little den. That hadn't stopped her from clearing out the cave mouth and then heading out anyway - a foot of snow meant slower prey. Maybe she could get lucky with an early fawn or pregnant doe.

But the day hadn't brought her the luck she wanted and she was left to dig for rabbit warrens and squirrel stashes. On top of it all, she thought she might be coming down with something. Her skin prickled sometimes and she thought she might be running a slight temperature. Maybe some fresh food would help.

She was called off the hunt by her sister's voice and the older Rayvne girl turned and headed back 'home' without hesitation. Sova's call hadn't been urgent so she didn't run, but she did set a brisk trot. More than just Sova's scent lingered in the snow around the den mouth, however, and as the pup's form came into sight Enera slowed. "Who's here?" she asked even as she affectionately bumped the top of her sister's head with her nose.

Sovanya went backed to nibbling at the food, until her twitching ears caught on to a faint sound that was out of place. She looked up to see Haunt's lip quivering, and realized the sound was their anxiety. She lifted her head and watch them a moment, feeling the need to move to lay directly next to them to provide support. Before her muscles caught up, however, Enera was already arriving. The crunch her paws made in the snow was familiar, and Sovanya's tail wagged happily as her gaze left Haunt to seek her big sister out.

Unsurprisingly, the first words Enera had for them was to ask after Sova's new companion.

"This is Haunt. They're with me now."

She spoke matter of factly, and happily too. Any logistical issues in taking on another mouth to feed, or the wolf still being a stranger, were not occurring to the young girl. Her friend was a grown adult, they could pull their weight without a problem, right?

Nevermind they were eating their food right now. Sovanya nosed her portion toward Enera, forfeiting it if she was hungry, and patted the snow with her paw to invite her to sit with them.