in the night, i hear 'em talk

Vesper · 03-17-2012, 01:08 PM

[html]

the coldest story ever told

Word Count :: 466

Paws beat the ground at a tireless pace as the coywolf loped northward into the mountainous region of Nova Scotia. Her thoughts still danced with the words of the old white she-wolf, and they branched outward toward memories she preferred to keep hidden away. She thought of Juniper (dear June, I am not a demon), of Blind wandering forever with her sweet chirping voice and her mismatched eyes, of Myrika telling stories with auburn hair set aglow by fire. She thought of Tayui and the scars across her head, of Kiara and her pup-swollen belly, of the mysterious woman she’d lain with by the beach.

These thoughts added up to several different directions, north and south and homeward bound, but Vesper had chosen to move up into the mountains. Halcyon was second only to the woodlands and Inferni when it came to her favorite haunts, and she picked her way easily through the foothills and the rocky slopes and at last the cliffs still dusted with snow.

Her steps were guided by more than just a whim, however; a dark bird flapped overhead, a silent presence but one that she felt heavily. Perhaps Stark thought that she was going to Salsola to wreak havoc, or New Dawn and Ichika for friendlier purposes. Nevertheless, the raven refused to head back home even when she’d snapped at his tail feathers and threatened to stage an accidental death for him. He’d only gone sullen and silent at that, the arch of his wings seeming more hunched, his sleek dark body older than she’d thought it was. As many times as the creature shadowed her on her journeys now, she didn’t know him at all.

“Goat,” Stark croaked now, looking bored as he swooped lower. She could sense his hunger, however, and her stomach echoed his suggestion. Goat. She remembered chasing the creatures dumbly the first time she’d crossed this region, but now she darted among the brown rocks and spring snow near invisibly. She blended in well here, with her dark-dappled tawny coat and pale underside, and as she pressed close to the rocks, she made it silently to the herd of mountain goats. A few pregnant ones grazed at the center of the group, nibbling lichens and the conifer needles from low tree bough.

It would not be a simple task to hunt, however, and Vesper settled down on her belly among the vegetation, blue eyes watching them idly. Her feathered companion made a few sweeps of the area, silent as he rode the cold winds. Her only option would be to distract them, to chase them on more level terrain. She was surefooted, but the cloven-hoofed beasts were even more so, and they could scale angles and perch on outcroppings where she could never hope to go.

somewhere far along this road, she lost her soul.

Image courtesy of ChainBound

Login




Remember me Lost Password?