The grass here is well over her golden head.

Aela lifts her petite one, trying to see something than an overwhelming jungle of green ahead of her. She’s learned to weave through it when she wants to play but the grass makes it hard to run. It makes it hard to see and as she has learned, seeing is everything. 

This morning she has ventured further than she should. A small creek bubbles before her and miraculously, the grass parts! Standing on the bank of a small knoll, the stream trickles below and away from Aela. It heads … somewhere but the little girl isn’t watching the brook. Beaming (and glowing) with delight, the filly races ahead to spy a butterfly as it balances precariously at the top of a river reed. 

Enthralled with the lovely creature as it opened and closed its blue wings, Aela watched it. In the sunlight, its wings shimmered different shades and tempted the filly closer. Cautiously, the girl walked slowly down the bank, shivering and splashing through the shallow snow-melt spring and up the other steep side. As she came closer, Aela became excited and her careful steps became eager ones. Too eager, it seemed, for the butterfly as it flew away. 

Wait! the girl thought, trotting the final steps up towards the reed. Too late, it swayed empty in the summer breeze leaving Aela to watch the small creature flutter away towards the clouds and open sky. The little creature hadn’t heard her, she realized as she came to a stop. 

Not like Memaw did.