Sleepy Fox Hollow umber

not a sound uttered, not a moment of warmth.

the only thing to break the stillness was the crunch of another man's weight in to the soil; the cutting of hooves through the air, the easing after.

the stillness after broken by maplesmoke's heavy breaths.

the other man was in much better condition and even if maplesmoke had wanted to take back the women, he would not have been able. the command to leave was felt as much as it was understood. a sweeping of his gaze from face to face, many of which he did not know, ended with the point of his attention back the way he had come.

he was slower, then. it was not a purposeful lethargy that he placed upon himself, as if trying to exacerbate this painful moment—he merely could not move that quickly with his wounds. his haunches quaked. he left a smear of red among the grass and bramble as he crossed it.

in this, they condemned him to death.