June 18, 2016, 01:16 PM
Gathering feathers. Another trade thread probably.
from the marsh she carried her many delicate prizes, and hid them away upon an abutment of stone upon the path to the grotto. she did not linger near it, but made note of where it had been placed, for she would need it soon. then, heading east for the duration of the afternoon, hosannah scouted the swath of emptiness that spread between the mountains of her home and the forest of fire where reek had initially discovered her. she lingered here far longer than she needed; there was no cover, and she was parched within the hour, but hosannah would not leave.
she grew sluggish in her patrolling. drifted from place to place, then back again, her head cast low to the earth as if she were on the prowl for something of the land. eventually there were figments in the air — creatures coasting on the hot summer winds — and she was pleased by this. her tiny and emaciated figure, her assumed limp, the way she panted so hungrily and yearned for a drink.. it had started as an act, but evolved as the effects took hold of her.
and there were many of them now. not just one vulture keeping watch, but a mess of them. hungry and curious. a pair remained high in the sky while one younger thing, something small and perhaps new, landed mere feet from her position. she turned her head and watched it through her peripheral vision, lagging in her steps and stopping, baiting it closer. had hosannah looked skyward she would have seen the addition of ink-black crows there, but she did not. her focus was on the young vulture and the many feathers sprouting from its folded wings.