The Heartwood heilig

somewhere in the edge of her vision, the shadows stirred.

all at once she halted like a doe who heard its hunter. slowly her head craned so she was staring directly into the deep woods — and there. red eyes peering at her like she was indeed that frozen doe.

her heart hammered in her chest, for the man looked anything but friendly. cut up by time with more scars than she would bother counting. there was no denying the raw strength to him. such thing might have once stirred some sort of fancying out of her.

but for now, until proven otherwise, it provoked fear.

yet she was rooted to her spot. uncertain if moving was any wiser than staying here.