The summer had been absolutely brutal this year and Aelthrix had found it difficult to forage as much as she would have liked. The heat was so unrelenting, she tried not to stray too far from a water source whenever she would venture out. Even when she shrank down in size, which usually made it easier to find cool and shady spots and small, hidden water sources, the drought had sucked many of these places dry. Reliable nectar flowers that had flourished year after year found it difficult to thrive this year, and didn't produce enough to support all the many creatures that had come to count on them as a steady source of nourishment. The heat was oppressive, and drained the energy right out of Aelthrix.
It felt sudden when she one day noticed that the sun was rising noticeably later, and she sensed a much anticipated cooling in the air, however faint it might be. She felt slightly panicked that she was late in preparing for the winter, and somewhat frustrated with herself. It wasn't just the heat of the summer that had impeded her usual foraging routine. Against her better judgment, she had allowed herself to fall in love over this past year. Though she had come to accept and appreciate it, it still irked her sometimes. Her first priority had always been her relationship with the earth and deepening her understanding of the way all living things are connected. She didn't think she could love anything else the way she loved the earth, and no connections she had experienced in the past ever came close. When she met Cardan, she enjoyed his perspective on their similar interests, but never considered anything romantic. She never really had with anybody. A little fun here and there was fine, but nobody was serious enough to take her attention away from her studies. But Cardan just kept showing up, kept showing her new things, and he did it in a way that didn't make her feel like he was showing off, or trying to prove he knew more than her. He truly loved the earth as much as she did, and just wanted to share it with her. But more than all that, he respected her independence. He knew that she cherished her time alone with nature and allowed her as much of that as she needed. She could be gone for weeks sometimes, and he wouldn't bat an eye about it, but would be excited to hear about all she had seen and learned. She felt truly seen and respected for the first time in her life. They saw each other and the love just blossomed naturally from there. As much as she treasured this love, she still couldn't help but be a little annoyed that she had allowed herself to become distracted.
She tried not to dwell on these feelings, however, as she stepped out of the hollow tree where she and Cardan made their home and stood on a large, flat reishi mushroom growing off of the tree. As she stood there, the light of the full moon shining on her pale hair and pelt made it look as if she was glowing. A larger creature passing by could easily mistake her for a moth as she looked out across the forest and mentally plotted her route. She may be behind schedule, but she no longer had to prepare alone. Cardan had taught her some new techniques and had already helped her set up a few new gardens in small, protected spaces that they might be able to harvest from year-round. They shared the load - Aelthrix taking the night shift and foraging for nutritious and medicinal mushrooms and night-blooming flowers, while Cardan gathered herbs and picked fruits and vegetables during the day. They mingled this schedule with days where they came together and worked as a team, sharing their findings and expanding each others' knowledge. She loved her time alone, but she also adored the time she spent with Cardan. It felt so natural and easy to be around him, each always excited about their new discovery, and the other supporting it with equal excitement. She took one last look back at Cardan's sleeping figure before fluttering her wings and taking off into the night, the dappled moonlight continuing to cast a glow around her pale body. She fought this type of connection for so long, but she was grateful now for everything Cardan had to offer her, and she knew she could survive the worst winter could throw at her with him by her side.
[WC: 770]
