Noctisardor Bypass 1 "They're not as big as I thought they'd be."

The dark had settled neatly against the stunted scrub forest. Hedgerows neatly packed between towering old growth, their tips giving the tiniest shuffle as the nightly blustering began. It was late, though not too late.

Holding tightly to a length of holly, the old woman kept pace with a much more spry hare. The tap-tap-tap of the wood was more for her own amusement as the tempo brought a twitch to the coney's nose and bright shock to his eye.

《Must you be doing that?!》
The rabbit scrunched his eyes against the wind. Grandmother felt the glare and smiled. 《A little nervous of the dark, are ya?》 All the same, she raised the stick and then tossed it aside with a sigh.

That would have been a nice crutch, thought Grandmother. The sound of the stick crashing among the reeds was far worse than the tapping. It was enough to make the rabbit freeze and shudder, but the old woman continued to stride across the pine needled path.

《I can't show you the way through if you draw the attention of teeth, old one.》 The rabbit cautioned. Those eyes darted to every shadow, every twisting leaf, while overhead dark clouds billowed.