The Heartwood imperfection's glow

For @Magpie! <3

At night, the silence could have been described as deafening. And it was exactly that at times; so quiet that it felt as though it were walls that dared to press inward at alarming rates. Being in a forest made it doubly so, at least to Echelon. The night would have been silent, but of course there were the sounds of kin not unlike herself in the midst. Their calls had rose up and died from time to time, again and again. Singing songs, mourning, she didn't put much thought into what she heard. She didn't put much care into what packs were around in this particular region either.

On this outing in particular, she had come across the vast plains that rested beneath the mountain range, delving into what the scenery had to offer. Trying to sharpen the skills that she had led dull from disuse. She couldn't afford to let them dwindle any longer, unless she wanted to run the risk of her own survival beginning a slow spiral around a questionable drain. Especially if she wanted to wheedle her way into somewhere to call a home, whether it was temporary or permanent. The life of a traveler did not suit the young Phase, but it too had become a necessary evil. Which was why tonight in the depths of a wood she did not describe mentally, she was hunting.

Her stalking through the timberland led to a quick dismantle of a rabbit warren, and through an exhausting process she had ended with a plump male clutched firmly between her dark jaws. Her sides heaved from the exertion, but her grip did not loosen around its warm body. Echelon carried the kill further into the darkness, knowing that the plight of the rabbit would have done nothing more than alert others to her successful hunt. Once she had found a place suitable for its consumption, she began to settle. And unlike few other times, she did not let her guard down. The tension of being aware tired her, but she would not allow it this time.

novembers doom — empathy's greed