pennies from heaven

[Tayui Aston]

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You can see her whenever it rains ___ Bad post, sorry. >> From Rome to New Orleans dancing on the graves ___ She had not been able to find Bandit for some time now, and had found the crow's disappearance rather worrisome, if a little relieved. His presence, though comforting at times, had been more annoying than anything. She was not sure what their relationship might be called, as he was not a friend, nor a pet, nor a teacher. The most he did was curse and squawk, all in low-speech. She supposed that she now knew all about crow-lingo, and was quite fluent in the jargon they used to identify different species of birds. ___ Tayui stepped carefully around a thorn bush, trotting closer to the edge of the territory. She was a few minutes away from the borders of the Haunted Woods territory, and after a quick exploration of the area, she had seen no sign of the crow. She continued moving at a slow, languid pace when she froze at the sound of a shout. It did not sound like it had come from a wolf, nor any sort of canine she knew. She whipped her head from side to side, testing the air for a scent, and flicking her ears in hopes of catching another sound. After a few seconds, she heard the sound of something crashing through the under bush, and she immediately set off towards the source of the noise. She charged through the forest, dodging and ducking all the while. As she ran, she shifted into her Secui form, almost tripping at the strange sensation of moving and shifting at the same time. Her speed increased to that of 'reckless,' one step above 'brazen running.' She continued to follow the sound of another's movement, only slowing a little when she spotted a flicker of movement off in the distance. She pushed forward, running a few more paces before changing her course, and stopping suddenly. She stood there for a few moments, regarding the puppy that had collapsed under a tree. Tayui recognized the child almost immediately, trotting closer to him. ___ "Merit! What are you doing out here? And running around like that! Is something the matter?" Her tone shifted from scolding to worry, as she looked around, searching for the reason for the boy's mad dash through the woods. There had to be something that had made him run like that, and she was a little worried about finding out the answer. She knew what a run in with a bear was like, and had the misfortune to come across a cougar, too. She did not wish to have either cases, especially the former, repeated.

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