Deep in the forest, where the mountains loomed as sheer cliffs she could not climb nor cross, Ibis lingered. Most of the leaves had been shed from the trees around her, and with the snow falling in silent waves, soon the forest's namesake embers were gone—buried. It was a dry cold that prickled her skin; the fog lingering just above the dirt added an eerie feeling to the scene, making Ibis uneasy. Mostly though she felt calm, tired... Her nose was running and every so often the girl sniffled or coughed softly, but tried to keep her sounds subdued.
She was trying to hunt. There had been a warm scent to one of the leaf piles that made her think of rats, and her hungry belly rumbled at the thought of fresh meat. Ibis had been so busy managing everyone else and trying to keep on top of everything that she had forgotten to eat for quite a while (which otherwise would've been fine, but with the famine ongoing, such forgetfulness was extremely detrimental). She followed the scent until it diluted and faded; then she would double-back, often through freshly fallen snow which obscured her previous path.
It took work for her to slog through the snow. It was harder for her here than the marsh, she thought—but by now the marsh would've been frozen solid and made more dangerous overall, so she knew deep down that it was safer here among the trees. It was difficult for her to judge the depth of the snow and on more than one occasion she'd plunged after the scent without thinking, only to go so deep in to the white that she was lost to it, surfacing after some struggle.
She'd learned not to do that so readily, but not before her body rebelled a little bit. Her nose felt raw with each breath, her eyes watered against the wind, and her coughing was getting worse by the hour. Eventually she did give up on her hunt and began to hike away from the forest's heart, wondering how the caches fared or if there was anything of value left within them. Warm meat was the best remedy for whatever ailed her, but that was in short supply.
She was trying to hunt. There had been a warm scent to one of the leaf piles that made her think of rats, and her hungry belly rumbled at the thought of fresh meat. Ibis had been so busy managing everyone else and trying to keep on top of everything that she had forgotten to eat for quite a while (which otherwise would've been fine, but with the famine ongoing, such forgetfulness was extremely detrimental). She followed the scent until it diluted and faded; then she would double-back, often through freshly fallen snow which obscured her previous path.
It took work for her to slog through the snow. It was harder for her here than the marsh, she thought—but by now the marsh would've been frozen solid and made more dangerous overall, so she knew deep down that it was safer here among the trees. It was difficult for her to judge the depth of the snow and on more than one occasion she'd plunged after the scent without thinking, only to go so deep in to the white that she was lost to it, surfacing after some struggle.
She'd learned not to do that so readily, but not before her body rebelled a little bit. Her nose felt raw with each breath, her eyes watered against the wind, and her coughing was getting worse by the hour. Eventually she did give up on her hunt and began to hike away from the forest's heart, wondering how the caches fared or if there was anything of value left within them. Warm meat was the best remedy for whatever ailed her, but that was in short supply.
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Messages In This Thread
It's hard to fight when the fight ain't fair. - by Ibis (Ghost) - November 26, 2019, 06:53 PM
RE: It's hard to fight when the fight ain't fair. - by Marten - December 02, 2019, 09:15 PM
RE: It's hard to fight when the fight ain't fair. - by Ibis (Ghost) - December 05, 2019, 02:49 PM
RE: It's hard to fight when the fight ain't fair. - by Marten - December 11, 2019, 06:50 PM
RE: It's hard to fight when the fight ain't fair. - by Ibis (Ghost) - December 11, 2019, 09:06 PM