WC - 423 :: Crappy post. >>
The foothills of the Halcyon Mountain were still, save for one individual loping steadily across the land toward the forested area coating the southern half of the range. Vesper was out and about for the first time in a few days, deciding to breach the limits she’d set since her injuries had landed her in Inferni. She had not been on the mountain in some time even before the attack, instead opting to spend her time in the northern forests where the prey was plentiful and the footing less treacherous. Now, however, she was revisiting the gradual incline of the wooded area again—no longer as a loner padding across neutral ground, but a clan coyote scoping out the area beyond her territory.
It was strange, to be like this—to categorize the land as not hers. Then again, it had never truly been hers, could never truly belong to anybody, even if a pack did set foot here. She understood guarding boundaries and jealously claiming territory for the sake of feeding a pack, but the land was more like a friend to her. Memories surfaced as she started up the slopes, sniffing at the bushes and at the crossing scents of other canines as well as their prey. Once a fresh rabbit track crossed her path, but she ignored it and went onward. She had eaten back home—what a strange word—and wanted to test her halfling shape’s endurance anyway.
The sun was at such an angle that the outcroppings and tree branches above were jet black silhouettes. A bird briefly crossed in front of the orange disk, outlined in radiant fire before moving across the blue sky. Her blue eyes followed it, squinting harshly, before she turned north again. She felt strong enough to keep going, encouraged by the lack of pain in her scars as her body moved quickly in ways that it hadn’t in a while.
She was glad that the secui form was quadrupedal. It didn’t take as much getting used to as the optime did. She knew she’d never be able to best this mountain on two legs; she could barely even defend herself. The training she’d done with Ezekiel came back to her, fresh as a new bruise, and Vesper slowed to a stop, plopping down on a broad patch of dirt and letting her tongue loll. Perhaps she’d ease up on her body for a while—at least until restlessness claimed her again. It had been much too long since she’d wandered like this.
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