 she woke. cold, hungry… bleeding? fuck, she thought drowsily. her leg throbbed, the metallic stench of blood in her nose. her eyes were still closed, only light and shadow flickered behind her eyelids. she switched her ears; a murmuring stream nearby. she remembered, vaguely, being chased—no—hunted. the fog, the marsh, the creature on her heels, slashing and clawing and screeching. the chase had been exhilarating and the closest to death pavetta had ever been. it did not find me such easy prey after all, for here I am, alive, she thought triumphantly. but the blood—she quickly sobered. her eyes flashed open, pupils dilating. the sun had not yet breached the horizon but the red dawn was not far off, for the horizon was flooded with a sliver of saturated light. it would not take long for something else to pick up her scent. she needed to find somewhere safe where she could eat, drink, and heal. pavetta attempted to rise but the pain in her hind leg overcame her and she sank back into the soft grass. she didn’t want to rise, not yet. it felt so nice, so soft and cool. the grass amid melting snow was wet with dew, beading her silver skin in pearls of water. melting snow? snow in the middle of a scorching Rift summer? she lurched instantly to her hooves, ignoring the thrill of pain in her leg. everywhere she looked, signs of a sleepy spring. green buds curling from tree branches, baby grass emerging along the whispering stream. steam curled lazily from the surface of the water and willows swayed along the bank. something was very wrong. pavetta shut her eyes, shaking her head. remember, she thought desperately, what happened that night? the hunt, the chase, the flight…a flash of green light and then blackness. a portal had opened and she had leapt fearlessly, without thinking, leaving both the pursuer and everything else she had ever known behind for good. pavetta stumbled unsteadily towards the stream and drank deeply. she could feel the numbness setting in, the panic billowing in her lungs. a thick fog covered her mind. rest, she thought, I must rest, and then decide what to do. she limped into the willows. they created a small cove of woven branches and she should be hidden from sight, unless someone decided to follow the trail of blood in the melting snow, of course. there was not much to do about that and so she collapsed inside, wondering where the mysterious portal in the Rift forest had taken her. |
@sid
