She was beginning to get the feeling that she was putting too much effort into the search for Mou. Not that finding him wasn't important--it was, by far, her number-one priority--but perhaps she had gone overboard. Every blade of grass had been inspected, every stone turned over. She had even wandered away from his scent trail, thinking that perhaps he'd masked it somehow (or something more nefarious had occurred).
This meticulousness had led her away from the coast and further inland, over the plains. Her path led her closer still to the mountains; the sight of the dark crags made her hair stand on end. When she inhaled, she could smell the crisp, high air of Shadow Mountain, and him--Skullchaser. She decided that going that way would be a last resort: if the coast yielded no answers, she would grit her teeth and carry on.
For now, Maegi kept going through the grass, nose low as if she were hunting. Her stomach was rumbling, a bit; she hadn't stopped to eat much since departing the isle. She knew she must do so soon, lest she lose all energy to search and become stranded out here, herself. Her quest seemed more important, and the girl with the propensity to shove basal needs to the side to pursue ideals further up the hierarchy padded forward, lunchtime be damned.
This meticulousness had led her away from the coast and further inland, over the plains. Her path led her closer still to the mountains; the sight of the dark crags made her hair stand on end. When she inhaled, she could smell the crisp, high air of Shadow Mountain, and him--Skullchaser. She decided that going that way would be a last resort: if the coast yielded no answers, she would grit her teeth and carry on.
For now, Maegi kept going through the grass, nose low as if she were hunting. Her stomach was rumbling, a bit; she hadn't stopped to eat much since departing the isle. She knew she must do so soon, lest she lose all energy to search and become stranded out here, herself. Her quest seemed more important, and the girl with the propensity to shove basal needs to the side to pursue ideals further up the hierarchy padded forward, lunchtime be damned.
August 20, 2018, 10:57 AM
He would know her for sure by that crook in her paw, only it could not be seen through the tall grass. But even as he watched the blades bend aside for her as she moved through them, he was struck by such inexplicable familiarity that he knew, somewhere in his gut, that his eyes were upon his sister, and the shadows in his mind began to coalesce into thoughts.
Euron slipped from the small brushy knoll that he had lid under, that had hid him from her but afforded him the chance to observe her. He snaked his way toward her, his gait quick and smooth and soundless. He travelled with such remarkable and practiced grace that it was as though the grass need not bend for him; as though he slipped through the minute spaces between the blades.
His path was not direct. He made sure to keep the line of his spine beneath the grass by keeping to the tallest swaths, and he wound around keeping the wind from betraying him to her, until he got downwind and confirmed by his nose that this was indeed Maegi. He set his teeth and hastened his step.
He closed the distance, trading some stealth for more speed, and aimed to come around her again, this time so that he could step plainly in front of her if she did not spot him circling like a shark before he got there.
Euron slipped from the small brushy knoll that he had lid under, that had hid him from her but afforded him the chance to observe her. He snaked his way toward her, his gait quick and smooth and soundless. He travelled with such remarkable and practiced grace that it was as though the grass need not bend for him; as though he slipped through the minute spaces between the blades.
His path was not direct. He made sure to keep the line of his spine beneath the grass by keeping to the tallest swaths, and he wound around keeping the wind from betraying him to her, until he got downwind and confirmed by his nose that this was indeed Maegi. He set his teeth and hastened his step.
He closed the distance, trading some stealth for more speed, and aimed to come around her again, this time so that he could step plainly in front of her if she did not spot him circling like a shark before he got there.
Bless her heart, Maegi had never been the most observant of wolves. She was so often stuck in her own head that she missed the goings-on of the world around her, and the safety and security of the isle had driven her further into this bad habit. If there were pawsteps through the grass, she did not hear them. The barest of breaths? She did not hear them at all.
But that scent. . . That, she caught.
She came to an abrupt halt, head rising quickly, her eyes large as if she were a deer, surrounded by wolves. The girl looked around, feeling something in her stomach she could not name. Not fear, yet not joy. The smell had brought her back moons and moons, to when life was simpler. The effects of this sort-of time-travel on her body were not minimal; she was frozen in place.
"It's a daydream," Maegi whispered, gaze blank. "I'm daydreaming." An exceptionally powerful reverie, brought on by--what? That she now searched for Mou, like she had searched for Ramsay and Euron? Perhaps this was the daedra's way of telling her that this expedition, like the other, would be fruitless. Would end in more injury for her.
Silent terror lifted the silky, snow-white hairs along her spine.
________________________________________________________
She was inclined to call it a daydream, later. And it might have been just her imagination.
But could her imagination conjure up pawprints in the tall grass, redolent of her brother's scent?
But that scent. . . That, she caught.
She came to an abrupt halt, head rising quickly, her eyes large as if she were a deer, surrounded by wolves. The girl looked around, feeling something in her stomach she could not name. Not fear, yet not joy. The smell had brought her back moons and moons, to when life was simpler. The effects of this sort-of time-travel on her body were not minimal; she was frozen in place.
"It's a daydream," Maegi whispered, gaze blank. "I'm daydreaming." An exceptionally powerful reverie, brought on by--what? That she now searched for Mou, like she had searched for Ramsay and Euron? Perhaps this was the daedra's way of telling her that this expedition, like the other, would be fruitless. Would end in more injury for her.
Silent terror lifted the silky, snow-white hairs along her spine.
________________________________________________________
She was inclined to call it a daydream, later. And it might have been just her imagination.
But could her imagination conjure up pawprints in the tall grass, redolent of her brother's scent?
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