
She had done her rounds, and barely any of her darlings had survived the winter. Sure, with her help their children would be making their reappearance soon, but it was still saddening to find them hunched over the ground, withered from the cold. She couldn't save them, even if she had tried. It was fighting nature itself. No. She felt joy because if not for her they wouldn't have existed at all.
And now it was that time again. She had a bag in her mouth as she trotted along the open field leading toward the forest, her eyes on the lake near the outskirts. Perfect.