Horizon Ridge alles Leid und Schmerzen stillest

light filtered through the canopy, dappling the floodwaters that rose to cover the ever-reaching roots below. heavy rain had transformed the ancient wood to one mythical and ethereal in only a matter of days. the water was still, sool, and in a few hours would act a great mirror held to the sky above, reflecting the heavens onto the earth.

striding languidly through the waters there came a wolf, coal-dark gaze skimming the top of the floodwaters. blackbirds congregated in the canopy, crying shrill out into the stillness, each wing adorned with a flash of crimson. something moves by the roots; skimming swiftly along the top of the water slides a snake, floating parallel the wisp a moment before veering away into the cover of a root system that had managed to remain uncovered. 

abruptly, the wolf slows. sinking down slowly, she stretches out against the once forest floor, so that only the top of her head and slope of her shoulders remain above water in the manner of a crocodile. in this manner she remains still, a shadow sunk into the floodwaters, content here only to observe.