Post by Vaelitha Skysong on Feb 7, 2011 17:48:31 GMT 1
In a valley high in the hills, close to the snowline and bathed in sunlight, where a little stream splashed and bubbled among the rocks of a grassy bank and where small, brightly coloured birds flew among the immense pine trees, lay a small, hidden cave.
The forest around it was full of sound. Nothing loud or intrusive, simply the sounds of life moving all about. The stream babbling as it wends through the rocks, the hum of insects and cries of small creatures, the rustle of the wind stirring the needles of the pines stretching out above.
In this cave, Karael sat and reveled in the quiet and comforting solitude of this retreat. She threaded a needle and set to repair the torn pack at her side. Her fingers moved deftly and easily, pulling the rip together with skill. After a moment she paused, looking to the finger of her right hand. She flexed it, but the feeling of unease that came over her on looking at it did not diminish. A flicker of movement drew her eye and all thoughts of her hand fled as she saw who approached. It was Moonfrost.
Moonfrost padded toward the cave, and the sunshine seemed to cling to her pelt as she stepped inside, making her fur glow in a strangely eerie manner. Her head dipped in a silent greeting, and as the she-wolf hunkered down and placed a paw on Karael's lap, Karael smiled and sunk her fingers into her companion's fur. She closed her eyes and leant forward to drop her forehead down to Moonfrost's brow, her eyes swimming with the sudden onset of tears and an indescribable wave of emotion. Karael felt the rasp of a wet tongue on her cheek and she struggled to calm herself, blinking back the tears. She sighed and let Moonfrost go, opening her eyes and lifting her head.
Karael was unable to stop a small gasp escape her lips. The cave and it's safe, gentle calm had gone. In it's place a small hollow, barely lit by small lamps and the ancient wisps that frequented the Barrow Den, flitting in and out of the tunnels in silence. The sounds of the babbling stream and the majestic pines replaced by the creaking of the earth. The gentle noise of nature moving and living in peace was now the rustle of patrolling Wardens. Moonfrost was no longer at her side, for she had died many moons past, slain by her own hand in a fit of madness brought about by her own frailty.
But Moonfrost had come to her dreams, just as the she-wolf had done after the Shattering had roused her from her self-imposed exile in the bitter snows of Winterspring. Karael shifted against the sturdy, immovable roots binding her limbs in imprisonment and holding her in place. Silent tears fell upon the earth beneath her and she smiled, mouthing a prayer to Elune. Moonfrost had told her all she needed to know: she had finally done the right thing.
The forest around it was full of sound. Nothing loud or intrusive, simply the sounds of life moving all about. The stream babbling as it wends through the rocks, the hum of insects and cries of small creatures, the rustle of the wind stirring the needles of the pines stretching out above.
In this cave, Karael sat and reveled in the quiet and comforting solitude of this retreat. She threaded a needle and set to repair the torn pack at her side. Her fingers moved deftly and easily, pulling the rip together with skill. After a moment she paused, looking to the finger of her right hand. She flexed it, but the feeling of unease that came over her on looking at it did not diminish. A flicker of movement drew her eye and all thoughts of her hand fled as she saw who approached. It was Moonfrost.
Moonfrost padded toward the cave, and the sunshine seemed to cling to her pelt as she stepped inside, making her fur glow in a strangely eerie manner. Her head dipped in a silent greeting, and as the she-wolf hunkered down and placed a paw on Karael's lap, Karael smiled and sunk her fingers into her companion's fur. She closed her eyes and leant forward to drop her forehead down to Moonfrost's brow, her eyes swimming with the sudden onset of tears and an indescribable wave of emotion. Karael felt the rasp of a wet tongue on her cheek and she struggled to calm herself, blinking back the tears. She sighed and let Moonfrost go, opening her eyes and lifting her head.
Karael was unable to stop a small gasp escape her lips. The cave and it's safe, gentle calm had gone. In it's place a small hollow, barely lit by small lamps and the ancient wisps that frequented the Barrow Den, flitting in and out of the tunnels in silence. The sounds of the babbling stream and the majestic pines replaced by the creaking of the earth. The gentle noise of nature moving and living in peace was now the rustle of patrolling Wardens. Moonfrost was no longer at her side, for she had died many moons past, slain by her own hand in a fit of madness brought about by her own frailty.
But Moonfrost had come to her dreams, just as the she-wolf had done after the Shattering had roused her from her self-imposed exile in the bitter snows of Winterspring. Karael shifted against the sturdy, immovable roots binding her limbs in imprisonment and holding her in place. Silent tears fell upon the earth beneath her and she smiled, mouthing a prayer to Elune. Moonfrost had told her all she needed to know: she had finally done the right thing.