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 Posted: Tue Jun 21, 2011 6:39 pm
Sunflower woke. Reaching her sensitive ears was the sound of activity-- the hammering of nails into wood, the sound of stone being cut and stacked. She groggily opened her eyes and lifted her head, rubbing her forehead as she looked about the small room that made up about half of her small hut.
In it was her small bed, a rough wooden table and chair where some parchment and ink rested, as well as some quills for writing. Hung up on one wall was an impressive yew longbow, and a quiver of arrows fletched with soft brown feathers. Draped over one of her bedposts was a bright crimson garment, seemingly the only piece of clothing Sunflower respected; the rest of her clothes had been thrown around the room with little care.
She yawned and brushed a pale golden stand of hair out of her face. Violet eyes with a golden ring around the iris picked out random clothes that she put on with distaste. She never did like clothes.
She ended up wearing some tough looking dark brown leather. Finally she whipped the red garment off the bed-stand and fastened it on. It was a long red silk cloak with a silver and jade leaf clasp.
She then headed to her door and looked out at the activity.
Sunflower lived on the edge of town, and noticed that the village was repairing the wall around the village's boarders. They were using fresh granite from a quarry nearby, and building wooden catwalks along it. She furrowed her eyebrows and headed to a nearby worker. It wasn't that the repairs were a bad thing... but it looked hurried... and sloppy.
Excuse me... she glanced up at a worker building part of the catwalk. What, may I ask, has prompted these sudden repairs?
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Posted: Tue Jun 21, 2011 7:56 pm
The worker looked down at Sunflower. He was working hard, and didn't like being interrupted, as he was trying to balance a roughly hewen log onto the support so he could nail it down.
"There's been a monster sighted in the woods. We're repairing the walls to keep it out."
The worker's tone implied that he didn't believe the hype. But it was clear that enough people around did-- Sunflower could smell the fear in the air as mothers shooed their children away from the men as they worked, and people were buying supplies and then holing up in their homes. The tension in the air was like a taut rubber band...
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Posted: Tue Jun 21, 2011 8:00 pm
A monster?
Sunflower raised an eyebrow at the man before looking about at the skittish people and feeling the tenseness in the air.
What kind of monster? She asked, slight curiosity edged her voice, as well as a hint of apprehension... Her only family, her grandmother, lived out in the woods...
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Posted: Tue Jun 21, 2011 8:22 pm
Meanwhile deep in the wood near the village their crouched in stillness alert to its surrounds and coiled in preperation to move was a beast utterly out of step with the rest of life in the wood. what did not escape at once either would not or could not ackowledge the waiting form. It crouched in the bows of an old and ancient oak gnarled and dieing. even from here it could hear the life of the village and its steps to ward aainst the new "monster" waiting to make feasts of their women and children and trophies of their men. He sniffed indignantly. "If we choose prey it must be a sport; not the mewling mousey things of your little dirt patch. Besides children are all fat and empty calories! They make for a poor diet. I long for the flesh of Ogre again!" The "monster" thought to himself as he listen on for his true game...
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Posted: Tue Jun 21, 2011 8:28 pm
The man rolled his eyes in annoyance, as if to say "Not another one." Instead, he jerked his head down the street.
"The hunter that saw the creature is in the village square. Personally I think it's all a load of bull..." He stopped when he saw a small group of children looking up at him. "... feathers. Now stop pestering me!"
The man shooed Sunflower and the children away and went back to working on the wall's catwalk.
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Posted: Tue Jun 21, 2011 8:34 pm
Sunflower shook her head as the man quite apparently dissagreed with the rumors going around. Sunflower herself was a hunter-- she knew full well there were dangerous things in the woods... though rarely did something spook the villagers this badly. She returned to her house for a moment and collected her quiver and bow, before heading to the village square.
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Posted: Tue Jun 21, 2011 8:41 pm
As sunflower approached the square she saw a group of children gathered around a young man-- another of the village hunters. He was sitting on a bench, knees to his chest and arms wrapped around his legs, rocking back and forth. He was also being prodded by more of the village children.
"Tell us about the monster again!"
He looked up wearily.
"I-It was like a huge humanoid wolf! Taller then the village blacksmith, the creature had fur darker then the night on a new moon. But his eyes... redder then blood... all three pairs of them... It walked on it's hind legs like a human and wore a loincloth of skulls." The man then buried his face in his knees again, and rocked back and forth, whimpering.
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Posted: Tue Jun 21, 2011 8:52 pm
Well, s**t. Thought Sunflower as she listened to the man's description. She turned and hurried towards the gates of the little village.
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Posted: Tue Jun 21, 2011 8:56 pm
Two guards stopped Sunflower on the way out. Both were adorned with the simple bronze armor of the village guard. Both looked scruffy, like they had been working for hours. Both had a case of 5 o'clock shadow.
"Sorry, we cannot let you out of the village." One said. "It's not safe."
The other leered at Sunflower. "Yes, a pretty little lady like you shouldn't be leaving the village."
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Posted: Tue Jun 21, 2011 9:11 pm
Sunflower raised an eyebrow at the guards. She could understand the one who was worried about her safety-- though the one who was leering at her was getting on her nerves.
I am just going to fetch my grandmother who lives out in the woods. I will stay on the path so I can get back here quickly if I run into it.
She gave the first guard an adorable puppy gaze with her gold-violet eyes.
Must make sure everyone is safe, yes?
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Posted: Tue Jun 21, 2011 9:18 pm
The guard looked at her and looked at his companion. He then sighed heavily, and stepped aside, moving his spear out of the way of her path. He couldn't argue with that logic... or those eyes.
"Very well then. But if you're not back by nightfall, we're sending someone after you."
The lecherous guard reluctantly stepped aside as well, letting Sunflower move forward unimpeded.
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Posted: Tue Jun 21, 2011 9:21 pm
Sunflower strode through the gates, taking her bow off her back and drawing an arrow. She started on the path through the woods, on her way to grandma's house... She kept alert, listening for anything moving as she walked.
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Posted: Tue Jun 21, 2011 9:29 pm
"A sharp song... Flutttering of a dieing summer wind...salty sea air... ashes and lotus... Coming from the walls of the human dirt people? ... Wonderful, it appears my list of prey has a new addition." The "monster crouched and spran off of the tree landing on the ground with a feather fall and set off. The game was afoot.
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Posted: Tue Jun 21, 2011 9:34 pm
The woods, unlike the village, seemed to be going on with life in general. Birds twittered, squirrels scurried about, and golden sunlight fell through the canopy in warm dappled pools of gold.
A human wouldn't have sensed anything amiss... But Sunflower thought she heard something move... that wasn't the beating of bird wings or the pit-pat of squirrel paws... but she can't quite put her finger on it...
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Posted: Tue Jun 21, 2011 9:42 pm
Sunflower stopped and turned her head, looking around. She was slightly confused. What... was that? She couldn't quite figure out what is was...
But Sunflower was not the type to tuck tail and run. With no true indication of anything out there, she continued walking, her eyes roaming the trees above. She continued walking, and her footsteps, as well as her heartbeat, sounded unnaturally loud in her ears.
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