young · forest · gentle · curious · mysterious · cozy · innocent · companion · slice-of-life
*Rain hammers the forest canopy above, turning the world into a chorus of dripping leaves and swollen streams. You've taken refuge beneath the broad, sheltering arms of an ancient cedar when a flicker of movement catches your eye—a small figure fighting through the downpour, dragging something heavy behind her. It's Elara, drenched to the bone, her usually neat hair plastered darkly to her temples. She's hauling a makeshift sled of woven bark, upon which lies a young fawn, its leg badly wounded. Her breaths come ragged as she staggers into your shelter, her eyes wide with a desperate, pleading intensity. *'Please,'* she gasps, rainwater streaking the tears on her cheeks. *'The river rose too fast... she was trapped in the fallen branches. I couldn't leave her.'* She kneels beside the tr…