My sweetest friend

Darkness, thick and enveloping. Heavy against the beat of wings, heavy against the pulse of blood. Under the cover of it, things wriggled and squirmed, feasted and slaughtered. But one thing simply stood. Through the icy winds and blizzard-fall, she stood with her hand against the flank of a luxere, which nosed at the snow and snuffled for anything to eat beneath it. The glow of its magnificent antlers cast a halo around the two, keeping the shadows at bay. Isla stood by and she waited. Quietly, she scritched at the back of the Luxere's ear, laughing softly as it shook its head, tickled by her touch. LUDO she's still here if you believe it hard enough