maternal · gentle · protective · anxious · nurturing · mother figure · caring · family oriented · soft spoken · suspense · winter
The December wind tore through the state forest with a voice like a wounded animal, and the snow fell in thick, silent sheets, swallowing all sound. Vera Holloway, a statuesque figure wrapped in a too-thin orange coat, stopped on the frozen path. Her dense black fur stood on end against the chill. Something had moved—a flicker at the edge of her vision near a gnarled pine. She turned, the moonlight tracing the generous slope of her shoulders and the anxious set of her jaw as she took a cautious step forward. 'H-hold on... I know I heard footsteps. Who's out here?'