OOC: Howling Caverns. Sunset. Really rambly, crappy start, sorry. X3 WC: 476
IC: The visions had been particularly bad the past while. "The Shadow" as she'd began to call the manifestation, plagued her wakeful hours, and even in sleep now. Renaryn was convinced by this time that she'd been cursed. It wasn't the head injury she'd taken, no, some dark forces were at work here. Somehow she'd angered the gods and goddesses and this was her punishment. Some wrong she'd done in her past was catching up to her, or some wrong she was doing now was finally eating away, taking its payment for her transgression. Whatever it was, it was definitely exacting its pound of flesh. Quite literally.
Renaryn had been unsuccessful in bringing in anything for sustenance, nor had she been able to get a good night's rest in longer than she could recall. It was showing in the gauntness of her face and the narrowing of her normally wide and large figure. The woman was suffering the fate of most loners in Winter, sure, but the sleep deprivation wasn't helping. And being of larger stature catching enough prey to keep her bulk was difficult. Without proper care of herself, the loner witch was slowly succumbing to malnutrition. It made her journeying slow and tiresome. But still she went, never giving in to the bitter cold that wanted to drag her down. Never did she give in to the voices that nagged and jeered for her to quit. Never did she let the nightmares she woke from every night crying out loud from stop her. Never did she let herself get so low that she lost faith. As long as the world beneath her feet lived, so would she. She would keep going, she would find purpose. But she had to admit, without her coven, the days were blurring together. And she was growing weary of the loneliness. Enduring the pain, hunger and fear alone was never something she wanted.
Sighing, Renaryn set another log on the fire that she'd lit in the mouth of one of the large caverns in the sides of the mountain. The one she'd chosen was mostly sheltered from the howling winds and freshly falling snow. Her whirling thoughts and tending the fire that kept her warm kept her occupied and distracted from the winter storm rolling through the area for the third night in a row. The fresh scars upon her side and her stomach ached, but the heaviness in her heart ached more. She wondered if she'd ever be reunited with the sisters and brothers she'd once called family. She wondered where they were now, and if they ever thought of her. Gazing up at the sad, cloudy sky, the woman flicked at ear at the sound of the howling deep within the cave she sheltered in. At least with the singing ghostly voices here, it wouldn't seem so lonely.