Post by Keziah on Aug 26, 2017 8:40:19 GMT
Seeing the Northern Tangle for the very first time was quite the experience. Keziah paused at the edge of the treeline, head craned back and eyes directed skywards to marvel at the height of the trees. She had never seen trees anything like this before. They were giants, heads lost somewhere in shadows far above. The shadows below were nothing to sneeze at either - by the looks of it you didn't have to go far past the treeline to find yourself in perpetual twilight. She'd heard about the Tangle enough times but actually seeing it with your own eyes was something different altogether. She was nervous about going in - you heard about the danger of it as much as the height of the trees - but it wasn't like she was totally undefended. And she needed to hunt - both for food, and for the practice.
Nie. Come down here, I want you with me.
A few moments after she thought this a sinuous black shape landed with a soft thump alongside her. The feathered dragon huffed hot breath into her face, affectionate, but her eyes were focused on the trees.
What are we waiting for? Let's go in.
It's dangerous. We should be careful, is all.
We will be. Now that I can breathe fire, I'll just fry anything that bothers us.
She could hear the grin in the dragon's telepathic voice and she smiled in return. Nie was right. They should go in.
Keziah adjusted the battered brown leather pack on her shoulders and the small training bow and quiver of arrows strapped to her back. She pulled a blood-stained, fraying wool coat a little closer around her - it was summer, but in the shade at the edge of the trees it already felt cold. It would be colder further in. She was glad for the heavy boots she wore - she owned no other shoes, and though she often felt too hot in them in the City or grasslands, they would suit well for these woods. She checked for the knife she wore strapped to her hip, a habitual action meant to reassure, and then nodded her head. She was ready.
Nie snaked ahead of her into the trees, scenting the air, cat-like in how she slunk close to the ground and almost disappeared into the shadows. Keziah picked a path at random and followed it. She had started to learn how to track but she wouldn't bother starting until she was further in - this close to the edge, she didn't think she'd find much sign of small animals. She was struck but the quietness almost at once, the way the trees pressed in and shut the rest of the world out. There was no breeze down here, and little undergrowth. Just a vista of grey trunks, pine needles on the ground, and meandering paths that twisted through the trees and disappeared into the shadowy haze.
Nie. Come down here, I want you with me.
A few moments after she thought this a sinuous black shape landed with a soft thump alongside her. The feathered dragon huffed hot breath into her face, affectionate, but her eyes were focused on the trees.
What are we waiting for? Let's go in.
It's dangerous. We should be careful, is all.
We will be. Now that I can breathe fire, I'll just fry anything that bothers us.
She could hear the grin in the dragon's telepathic voice and she smiled in return. Nie was right. They should go in.
Keziah adjusted the battered brown leather pack on her shoulders and the small training bow and quiver of arrows strapped to her back. She pulled a blood-stained, fraying wool coat a little closer around her - it was summer, but in the shade at the edge of the trees it already felt cold. It would be colder further in. She was glad for the heavy boots she wore - she owned no other shoes, and though she often felt too hot in them in the City or grasslands, they would suit well for these woods. She checked for the knife she wore strapped to her hip, a habitual action meant to reassure, and then nodded her head. She was ready.
Nie snaked ahead of her into the trees, scenting the air, cat-like in how she slunk close to the ground and almost disappeared into the shadows. Keziah picked a path at random and followed it. She had started to learn how to track but she wouldn't bother starting until she was further in - this close to the edge, she didn't think she'd find much sign of small animals. She was struck but the quietness almost at once, the way the trees pressed in and shut the rest of the world out. There was no breeze down here, and little undergrowth. Just a vista of grey trunks, pine needles on the ground, and meandering paths that twisted through the trees and disappeared into the shadowy haze.
