Knowing that they are alive is what bolsters me. For so long I had been lost, using my delicate body and deceptively sweet facade to gain attention from others. I used my beauty as a resource most valuable, one that would save me from having to fend for myself, because lets be honest, I am a tiny thing. A fragile thing. My legs are thin and my body svelte; the distinctive white and gray markings on my otherwise shineless black face make the reddish pink of my eyes pop. In the calm pools of water I can see the speckles of dark red that dot the glow. Sometimes, in my own vanity, I stare as close as I can get to the water and memorize my features yet I will always know one fact. I was the runt.
Malum had escaped back into the marshland and Taji had went off to do whatever it is she planned to do but I knew they would come back to me. The knowledge of their life brings a spring to my step as I weave around the rocky edges of the grotto so that the sun will hit me full on and keep the bitter winter cold off. Inside the caves might offer a bit more warmth for their temperature never changed deep within. I had grown lean over the last month, having not been able to find any capable males to feed me in exchange for my simpering. Even my body was not worthy of their attentions, apparently, and that stuck in my craw with a bitter taste.
I wasn't above offering myself in exchange for certain things. It was my currency when I needed it and sometimes I did. I had no doubts that if another wished to tear me limb from limb that it would happen. Inside I was a fighter, outside I was merely small. So I just used brains where I had no brawn and besides, many a macho male enjoyed my exchange, even if my heart wasn't in it. I wasn't cold or callous, I simply survived. Another gust of frigid air pushes my lean hips against the craggy wall and a low growl of frustration parts from my slender maw before I find an entrance to the darkened caverns. Whatever waited me in there had to be better than freezing to death out here. Maybe I would find some mice tucked away to ease the ache in my belly - or at least I could warm myself up enough to venture out and seek from nourishment.
So I enter the cavern with bright eyes narrowing and peeking into hidden grooves, wandering far back into the tunnels until my pupils dialate to catch even the smallest of light. Would I awaken a bear today, I wonder?
