Night birds sang their songs while the breezes danced through the boughs of the trees and whispered through thick undergrowth. Nearly white hair shimmered in the light of the moons, flagging out behind her as she ran through the forests that surrounded her home. Frosted amethyst eyes lit with amusement and determination as bare feet dug into the soil for purchase.
Spring, once the season had truly taken hold in the hills where she'd made her home, brought about such a resurgence in the sheer quantity of life around her, the dark hours were no long such a burden. A thousand ways to fill them, a thousand ways to spin them out and wring every moment dry. No longer cooped up inside when her evening wanderings brought her back. No longer surrounded by a space far too large for her to occupy without rattling around in the corners with room to spare. No longer bound in by snow and a bone deep chill, or the lethargy that she so often fought back when the world around her was sleeping.
Now, she filled her lungs with the scents that clogged the night air so thick even her sense of smell could pick them up. Rich earth, ripe and ready to catch the seeds that might fall. Verdant greenery in all its shades and textures spreading wide to catch every drop of light they could. Woods, pine and cedar, hemlock and ash, adding their warm spice undertones. The chill touch of water rushing over rock and moss, sand and silt, held safe between the banks of the creek, dripping from bark and leaf from mist and dew. Life awakened, exploding from its long slumber to reach high as it could for as long as it could.
The pack of Akitas she'd claimed, and had claimed her, flowed from shadow to stippled moonlight, tongues lolling to taste the air. Tails curled loose, paws dug in as they ran with the woman. Chuffs and sneezes that could only have been born of enjoyment interspersed with the sound of their breath. A bubble around them of near silence marked the line of their passage; the sounds of the forest dying away at their approach to spring up again as they passed.
Fallen trees hurdled, pools of greenery bounded through, less traveled paths followed in their looping course until finally, out of breath, she came to a halt.
The rise was gentle on one side, a meandering climb over deep woodland soil and ground cover behind her. A nearly sheer, stone faced drop off before her. On an outcropping of rock, the redneck stood with her feet spread, toes splayed for balance.
Wild as the majority of her lands were, these were wilder still. Untamed, she'd held claim to them for years and hadn't yet gone beyond this point. Past this ridge, the land was restless. Sleeping energies bound beneath the surface fitful and shallow in their slumber. Down there in what seemed a savage tangle, she wasn't sure she'd be welcomed, or even tolerated.
Silhouetted against the skyline, the sweat of her run chilled by the dancing night air, Thorn watched the edge of the forest below. Certain that if she looked long enough, stared hard enough, she'd find something. Something she was looking for. Something she wasn't fully aware she was seeking. Bare as the day she was born, the laughter and joy of running, just for the sake of running, still shivering along the edges of her breathing, she shivered in her skin.
It always felt like that Wood was staring back.
Spring, once the season had truly taken hold in the hills where she'd made her home, brought about such a resurgence in the sheer quantity of life around her, the dark hours were no long such a burden. A thousand ways to fill them, a thousand ways to spin them out and wring every moment dry. No longer cooped up inside when her evening wanderings brought her back. No longer surrounded by a space far too large for her to occupy without rattling around in the corners with room to spare. No longer bound in by snow and a bone deep chill, or the lethargy that she so often fought back when the world around her was sleeping.
Now, she filled her lungs with the scents that clogged the night air so thick even her sense of smell could pick them up. Rich earth, ripe and ready to catch the seeds that might fall. Verdant greenery in all its shades and textures spreading wide to catch every drop of light they could. Woods, pine and cedar, hemlock and ash, adding their warm spice undertones. The chill touch of water rushing over rock and moss, sand and silt, held safe between the banks of the creek, dripping from bark and leaf from mist and dew. Life awakened, exploding from its long slumber to reach high as it could for as long as it could.
The pack of Akitas she'd claimed, and had claimed her, flowed from shadow to stippled moonlight, tongues lolling to taste the air. Tails curled loose, paws dug in as they ran with the woman. Chuffs and sneezes that could only have been born of enjoyment interspersed with the sound of their breath. A bubble around them of near silence marked the line of their passage; the sounds of the forest dying away at their approach to spring up again as they passed.
Fallen trees hurdled, pools of greenery bounded through, less traveled paths followed in their looping course until finally, out of breath, she came to a halt.
The rise was gentle on one side, a meandering climb over deep woodland soil and ground cover behind her. A nearly sheer, stone faced drop off before her. On an outcropping of rock, the redneck stood with her feet spread, toes splayed for balance.
Wild as the majority of her lands were, these were wilder still. Untamed, she'd held claim to them for years and hadn't yet gone beyond this point. Past this ridge, the land was restless. Sleeping energies bound beneath the surface fitful and shallow in their slumber. Down there in what seemed a savage tangle, she wasn't sure she'd be welcomed, or even tolerated.
Silhouetted against the skyline, the sweat of her run chilled by the dancing night air, Thorn watched the edge of the forest below. Certain that if she looked long enough, stared hard enough, she'd find something. Something she was looking for. Something she wasn't fully aware she was seeking. Bare as the day she was born, the laughter and joy of running, just for the sake of running, still shivering along the edges of her breathing, she shivered in her skin.
It always felt like that Wood was staring back.