Prompt: Everything flows, nothing stays

Jasques knelt in the overhang’s slight shelter and carefully built a small fire, out of the steadily falling snow. His fingers were stiff from the cold, and it took all his concentration not to fumble the delicate process. Once it burned strong enough for a load of kindling and a couple of logs, he sat cross-legged with his back to the cliff and rested his hands on his knees to give them the fire’s first heat. He took a long look across the meadow to the deep forest beyond. In the sun’s fading light, and through the snow, he could see no sign of life at all. He closed his eyes, casting his brarre wide open. After some time, he shook his head in disappointment. Nothing. Noone.

He opened his eyes and felt a flicker of surprise. A white fox lay on the other side of the fire, curled tight against the cold. Its tail covered its paws and nose, leaving only the wide brown eyes, lined in black, watching him without blinking. Jasques stared back for awhile, and the fox finally gave one slow blink and shifted its eyes away.

“Well, we’ll find no game for our supper tonight, pup. Unless you have something?” He said with a teasing tone, opening his pack to pull out some jerky and dried bread. He chewed off a piece of jerky with his teeth and tossed it across the low-burning fire to land in front of the fox. He tore off two small pieces of bread and tossed them to land with precision on either side of the dried meat. The fox still did not move, but watched him closely.

Jasques ate his traveller’s fare and tortured himself with memories of meals past. He put two more logs on the fire and lay down, tucking the pack under his head. “Good night, pup. If you’re gone before I wake, safe journey,” he said quietly across the fire. He closed his eyes and opened his brarre to sense any other approach, falling quickly into a deep sleep. In his first dream, the fox sat off to one side. In his second dream, the fox walked with him through the deep forest, where the snow drifted down like glowing crystals. In the third dream, the fox spoke.

Jasques snapped his eyes open. “Are you still there, pup?” He asked as he sat and looked across the fire. The fox still lay curled as it had since he first saw it. Jasques sighed and prepared for another brarre roaming. He had to confirm what the fox had told him in his dream. The fox gave no sign it was awake.

TBC (perhaps)

Dogs in house:	Houdini, Brindle
Time writing:	20 minutes
May word count:	8,243

Hmm, I didn’t quite get to the prompt, exactly. It’s out there, I swear!

Is the brarre clear or too confusing?