Chapter 34 Encounter In The Cold

• The morning sky over Talawan was a uniform gray, the sun long since shrouded beneath the thick ice-laden clouds. The air pressed against Lucy’s cheeks as she slipped into her coat, scarf tucked tight, boots laced. She glanced down at the two foxes curled in the corner of the living room. The injured one lifted her head, eyes soft and watchful, while the healthier fox padded forward and sat expectantly at the door.
• Lucy kneaded the aching knot in her shoulder, a reminder of the medicine drops she’d been carrying out for weeks. Three truckloads now, each filled with tinctures, poultices, and dried herbs grown in her domain and rooftop greenhouse that are being preserved by her grandmother’s unfading sigils. Government distribution teams had grown efficient, leaving sealed crates in back corridors for later pickup, and she’d slip in at night to leave her supplies.
• She opened the door, and to her surprise, the healthy fox trotted forward and jumped into the back seat of her car, nose nudging the driver’s door. Lucy’s heart squeezed.