Word Count → 304
The dusty-colored mongrel came upon the burned lands, four weary paws halting as he looked at the old destruction spread out ahead of him. Gnarled vegetation scrawled across the hills like the signature of a dying man, and the stink of sulfur wafted from the indentions of kettle lakes. Even the snow seemed darker as it lay on the devastation, ice destroying the little life that had struggled to bloom in the spring and summer months. Compared to the glory of the valley from where he’d traveled, the foothills were like hell.
Wayne shook his head slowly in sad wonder. He had no connection to this land—though unbeknownst to him many wolves in the region did—but it still depressed him irrationally to see the burnt territory. He’d traveled through regions after wildfires and knew that such a phenomenon actually made the forest healthier, but this wasn’t the same. This place stank of corruption and death and sorrow, and it took all his willpower to not simply turn back around into the Ichikan lands.
He padded carefully down one of the hills, his heavy footsteps on rock and snow all the louder for the silence choking these lands. Nothing existed here, nothing that breathed or spoke or sang. It was downright unnatural, and it made the young man more nervous than he would ever admit to anyone. His hackles stood on end as he leaped from one rock onto another, his claws scraping ice, but he regained his balance and made the jump to the next firm patch of ground. Slowly, he headed west, hoping to catch sight of anything besides deadfall and snow. Even a stream would be welcome, a babble of water to break the silence, the silver splash of fish to reassure him that these realms were not fully dead.
<style type="text/css">
.heatwavewayne .space {width:200px; height:70px; float:right;}
.heatwavewayne b {font-weight:bold; color:#fbdf75; letter-spacing:1px; text-shadow:#0d0900 1px 1px 1px;}
.heatwavewayne p.ooc {text-align:center; text-indent:0px; padding:5px 15px; font-size:10px;}
.heatwavewayne p.ooc + p {padding:5px 15px;}
.heatwavewayne .wc {text-transform: uppercase; font-weight:bold; color:#fbdf75;}
.heatwavewayne p {text-indent:25px; padding:5px 15px;margin:0px; text-shadow:#966e26 0px 0px 4px;}
.heatwavewayne {margin:5px auto; width:500px; background-color:#966e26; background-image:url(http://i39.tinypic.com/wk64jm.jpg); background-position:bottom center; background-repeat:no-repeat; border:1px solid #000000; padding:5px 0px 160px 0px; font-family: georgia, sans-serif; font-size:12px; color:#0d0900; line-height:16px; letter-spacing:.5px; text-align:justify;}</style>[/html]
