The snow was falling thick and fast outside the lodge window, a blur of white flakes filling the night sky as they fell silently to the earth below. It had begun snowing at midday, light flurries that had posed little problem to the intrepid adventurers. As dusk approached, however, the snow had begun to slow them down considerably. The cold bit at their cheeks, and their steps grew more and more laboured as they trudged along a path which was becoming increasingly hard to discern. The sight of smoke rising above the tree tops had been the incentive that drove the pair forward, and the inviting glow of a lit hearth that shone from the windows of the lodge filled their hearts with hope and gladness.
Now, sat in the warmth of the cabin that had been their only respite from the cold, Fera could barely recall a time she had been more grateful. After traveling for almost two weeks, she was exhausted. Facing the elements each day and sleeping rough every night had taken it's toll on both her body and spirit. She had been a sight for sore eyes: her coat caked in mud and stained from traversing brook, swamp, and ravine; her hair a bedraggled mass of bracken fronds and windswept knots; and the distinct smell of game and offal that lingered about her did nothing to improve her appeal.
Fera was unsure whether it was out of kindness or necessity that she had been offered a tin basin and hot water to wash with, but she had not cared enough to question it. The chance to bathe properly, rather than the usual brisk splash of freezing creek water that had sufficed until now, was a luxury she accepted without hesitation. It took a fair amount of scrubbing to clean the dirt from her hands and nails, and working the tangled masses from her hair was no simple task, but by the end of it she resembled something of her former self, again. Now, sat cross-legged in front of the crackling fire, working her damp copper locks into a fishtail braid, she finally felt relaxed.
In the corner of the room, Willow slept soundly on a straw pallet, her squirrel, Melem, curled up contentedly on her chest. The young girl had weathered the journey with good humour for the most part, with the exception of some bickering that had occurred with their now absent companion, Aliden. They had started the journey from Bree-land as three, Aliden offering his protection and services as a skilled hunter of the wilds, but whether it was the heated discussions that drove him away, or some business he needed to attend to, they had awoken one morning to find him gone. At first, Fera had chalked his absence up to his knack for wandering off to scout the trails, but days had passed since then and the odds of him tracking their location now were slim.
Rubbing her eyes wearily, Fera felt the fatigue of the day settling upon her. Wherever Aliden had disappeared to, she hoped he was safe and well. He had shown her kindness and concern, where most had kept their distance and left her to her own devices, and for that she missed him. Still, her and Willow had managed to traverse the wilds this far, and tomorrow would take them further still. With that thought in mind, Fera shuffled quietly across the floor on her hands and knees, collapsing on top of the straw pallet she'd claimed as her own. Out of the corner of her eye, she watched the snow continue to fall outside, and felt even more grateful for the flickering lodge fires that danced at the edge of her vision, as she faded into sleep.
