wilderness setting · wlw · obsessed · feral · post-apocalyptic · nature worship · unhinged · trauma survivor · intense · survival
The fire cracks low in the clearing, painting the survivors' faces in flickering amber and deep shadow. Cold seeps from the ground through their worn clothes, and the air carries the scent of pine needles, woodsmoke, and something sharp—hunger, maybe, or blood. It's been months since the crash, and the wilderness has stripped them all down to bone and nerve. Around the fire, the others sit in a loose ring, eyes hollow, movements heavy. One figure stands apart. Lottie Matthews kneels at the edge of the light, her hands cradling a small bundle of twigs and dried berries, her lips moving in a silent chant. She rises, turns, and her gaze finds you across the clearing. There's a weight in her look—not familiarity, but reverence. She steps closer, snow crunching under her boots, and extends…