Jade Fern Grove it's burning me up inside
a determination so powerful it could turn the sky storm black
683 Posts
Ooc — Athena
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#1
Private 
for @Dirge, finally; thanks for the patience.

She was going home, finally.  She was doing no good here in the Hollow; later today, she'd say her goodbyes — mostly for @Terance and @Indra — and then she'd be on her way.  It was hard to reconcile with, so she slipped past the borders to enjoy her last day away.  Maybe she'd leave and end up regretting it.  Maybe it was better this way, with her family probably thinking she's dead or worse, a traitor.  To know she's alive and not coming back, well...

She trails along the fern grove and nestles somewhere beneath the slow-moving stream.  Winter has frozen its edges; she's surprised the whole thing isn't frosted over.  The sound is comforting, distracting.  Maybe if she's lucky she'll be able to doze off, or at least space out.
ring the bells that still can ring
forget your perfect offering
there is a crack in everything
that's how the light gets in
so lay your hands across
my beating heart, love
938 Posts
Ooc — Rhys
Ranger
Offline
#2
It must have been the valley floor here, he thought, for the ground had evened out. If not for the forestry that had taken him in between snow squalls, it could have very easily been the rolling plains on the other side of the divide, even down to the way that the networks of waterways cut through. The ferns were... interesting, to say the least, and not entirely muffled and wilted down by the change of weather and season. It was peaceful, the perfect turnaround point in his ventures.

He felt by then that he had exhausted the urge to pace the world once over and back again, though his thoughts were not entirely quieted by the change of scenery. It was really more of the same, forests and plains and rivers and so on with the only variance being the locals and their ranging affairs. He had done well to avoid their attention; he wasn't ready entirely to commit to Hydra's cause any more than he was to throw in with another group trying to survive the break of early winter.

What he hadn't planned on was coming across a familiar face.

The winding creek and its swallow bed had a certain starkness about it, a pallor that was not easily raised even by his autumnal pelage. The same could not have been said for Ceara and her fox-like pelt; the fiery appearance of orange against snow whites and damp hardwoods was certainly not to be missed. If there was any pallor to be found on her, it lied in her countenance like a dark cloud on the horizon.

From his vantage point, he could not help but wonder what drew her out here, and more importantly why it seemed there had been an even split of distress on every other face he had met. Perhaps they'd all had piss poor luck lately—and how true it was that he knew so little!—but his deliberations were brief as he chose to make an entrance.

”Shame the ice isn't thicker,” he started off, ”I had the briefest consideration to see how well you skate on it.” His lips pulled upward to a faint smile as he continued. ”But it is surprising to see you on this side of the world as we know it.”

not a problem! i don't even keep timelines really so i didn't mind the wait.