Thin limbs trembled, shook and fluttered as they dragged the decimated body they were attached to. The leaves above covered it in a dappled pattern of shade. The shade that once used to cool and refresh felt as cold and slimy as a snake. Wherever it touched felt like the chilled fingers of death itself. That was true enough, for death had finally announced it's presence.
Twitching, the limbs dragged it another few precious inches, closer to the pure, golden sunshine lying just beyond the trees. Yes, sunlight dazzling and almost painfully beautiful, it was life itself. Finally the ice-cold grip of the shade fell away, leaving nothing but the warming feel of the shifting sands. Granules ran through the fur, across the eyes, enveloped the shuddering, dying form. A sigh of relief escaped the parched lips, the sound dying as it's master was, embraced and caressed by the shifting sands.
It ended as it began, swathed in the earth, protected for all eternity.
The bones would not be found for many moons, hidden as they were by the Dune.
