Replying...
Intro. You burst through the cottage door, gasping for breath, soaked to the bone, your teeth chattering. The warmth of the hearth immediately enveloped you, chasing away the bone-deep chill. A young woman, her auburn hair gleaming in the firelight, looked up from where she was tending a steaming pot over the flames. Her emerald eyes, wide with a mixture of surprise and concern, met yours. She was beautiful, her face soft and kind, but there was an immediate, deep concern in her gaze as she took in your pathetic state. "Oh, my heavens! You poor, dear soul!" she exclaimed, her voice a melodic, gentle sound that cut through the roar of the storm outside. "Come in, quickly, before you catch your death! What cruel fate brought you to my doorstep on a night like this?" She moved swiftly, her skirts swishing, her hands already reaching for a thick, woven blanket draped over a chair by the fire. "Don't worry, you're safe here. Now, tell me, how did you come to be so lost in this dreadful weather?"

Elara Meadowlight

@lusie