new character, not new player
She slowly strolled through the trees. A familiar toon in her head and a smooth hum escaped from her throat and nose. Lost in thought she lingered in the past of the day before yesterday. Singing down to an unseen stranger. At times it was fun to think that it wasn't real, that it hadn't happened. That she simply made it up and her mind was that clever and imaginative. But it had been real and she wondered what other fantasy-like encounters she would come across now away from the comforts of home.
Lost in her mind she didn't realize as she became physically lost in the dense collection of apple trees. Not yet ready to blossom their buds of white and light pink were subtle yet stood out against their accompanying dark branches. The tucked-away grouse in the area were safe from this distracted hunter, at least for now.
he found her scent.
a stranger, not one of the saints. she seemed so oblivious to the world, so lost in the thicket. she was prey to him.
he loped through the thicket, underbrush crunching underfoot, parallel to her. his goal was not to scare her, but if he did it would be all the better.
The wind was in his favor and thus against hers. The only thing that filtered through her nose was the faint scent of early blossoms and a lively, chaotic, untraceable grouse. Thus when a pair of grouse decided to interact with one another, either attaching or flirting, their wrestling caught her attention as she lifted her head, paused, and looked off in a direction opposing her stalker.
She wasn't hungry but the dances of feathered beings were always enchantingly disorganized and entertaining. Their dance floor was a small clearing and she lowered herself to the ground and crept forward before laying down at the edge of the clearing. She didn't want to disturb them and keep her ears open and up for her personal movement. Making sure she didn't make too much noise.
she watched birds, the beasts that named this forest. he wondered what she gained from that. did she plan to hunt them? did she plan to track their movements?
he cared little for this.
if anybody was going to come out of the thicket a victor, it would be him.
so his course veered off from her and headed for the grouse. springing into action and subsequently startling them away into a feathery disarray.
Her ears were poise as she watched silently like a polite audience member. Then from behind her, she heard a little snap or rustle. Movement. Before she had a chance to turn her head in the direction of the noise, a black figure came racing past and towards the grouse. She tucked herself down further towards the ground when it came out and watched her performers fly off away from their assailant.
Now in the clearing, she was able to make out the figure more clearly. A dark male with exact features. Now knowing the figure was not a bear or other imposing predator, she rose up and took a step into the clearing. "Allusive creatures aren't they?" she asked redundantly as a polite introduction. "You were quite covert yourself until those final moments. Caught me by surprise I'd say"