Post by Kris11 on May 4, 2014 3:04:34 GMT 10
Title: Sparks in the Night
Rating: G
Prompt: Firelight (103)
Summary: Maura escapes from new expectations and attentions, sometimes.
Maura sat close to her small fire, the chill of the winter’s night against her back. She had cleared away the snow around her fire pit, but outside her small circle the world reflected the moonlight and fire’s glow in a haunting, ethereal white light. She was not afraid. Dunlath, when it was Yolaines’, had been full of things she did not know and could not control and didn’t understand, and that had been frightening. Now, even just two years later, she knew little more, knew she truly understood even less, and couldn’t control anything more than any other twelve year old girl, but she embraced this with abandon and attacked the world outside her fief with the insatiable need to experience it.
She caught sight of movement in the forest in her peripheral vision, and tucked her hand close to her belt, where a knife was hidden under her cloak. She knew Douglass did not like these excursions into the forests because there was always a chance a criminal, stray immortal or hunting animal would mistake her for a victim, an enemy, or a meal. But Maura understood the risks and was willing to prepare for them, to accept them in order to have her forays into the land she belonged to, and understood better than many nobles who never strayed past their gild and stone.
Besides, she thought as pinpoint green-gold eyes flashed in the darkness. There was very little to be truly afraid of in the forests when you had as many friends as she did.
Short Snout emerged from the trees, his padded paws making little noise as he walked through the snow towards her. His mouth opened in a happy pant as he walked up to her and butted her arm with the top of his head, jolting her entire body to the side with the strength of it. She grabbed the fur of his ruff in order to keep herself upright.
“You aren’t hunting with the pack tonight, then?” she asked. He panted and leaned against her, his weight heavy and warm. He didn’t answer, of course; Maura was not Daine, with her enviable magic. But Maura knew that the Long Lake pack understood more than even she thought, sometimes, and she had come to realize that she understood them more and more. Short Snout was full, comfortable even in the winter cold to leave the pack and seek her out. “Ah, I hope it was a good meal you caught this evening, then. Must have been a good sized buck, to feed you all.”
He nudged against her again, forcing her to throw out her hand when she lost balance. Her outstretched hand landed on her pack.
“Sneaky hound,” she told him. “How did you know I had cheese in there?”
There was humour and a hint of smugness in his huff of breath and the tilt of his head. Maura unpacked the food she had brought with her efficiently, keeping it out of Short Snout’s reach while she unwrapped the waxed paper bundles. She had not brought much; she couldn’t be gone from the fief too long or Douglass would send men out to check on her, but she had a while longer, as evening stretched into proper night before he would be concerned enough to seek her out. She shared what she had equally, letting the wolf take cheese from her fingers with delicate teeth.
She was happier than she could ever remember being, but she after being left to her own devices and company, the demands of her new title as the Lady of Dunlath, and the attention of a guardian truly invested in her future were sometimes hard to adjust to. It just took her a moment, though, to remember that she didn’t want to be alone, that the changes brought by Daine’s arrival in her life were so welcome. Short Snout wriggled closer, curling his warm body against hers. She tucked cold fingers into the warmth of his fur and watched sparks spiral up into the night sky.
Rating: G
Prompt: Firelight (103)
Summary: Maura escapes from new expectations and attentions, sometimes.
Maura sat close to her small fire, the chill of the winter’s night against her back. She had cleared away the snow around her fire pit, but outside her small circle the world reflected the moonlight and fire’s glow in a haunting, ethereal white light. She was not afraid. Dunlath, when it was Yolaines’, had been full of things she did not know and could not control and didn’t understand, and that had been frightening. Now, even just two years later, she knew little more, knew she truly understood even less, and couldn’t control anything more than any other twelve year old girl, but she embraced this with abandon and attacked the world outside her fief with the insatiable need to experience it.
She caught sight of movement in the forest in her peripheral vision, and tucked her hand close to her belt, where a knife was hidden under her cloak. She knew Douglass did not like these excursions into the forests because there was always a chance a criminal, stray immortal or hunting animal would mistake her for a victim, an enemy, or a meal. But Maura understood the risks and was willing to prepare for them, to accept them in order to have her forays into the land she belonged to, and understood better than many nobles who never strayed past their gild and stone.
Besides, she thought as pinpoint green-gold eyes flashed in the darkness. There was very little to be truly afraid of in the forests when you had as many friends as she did.
Short Snout emerged from the trees, his padded paws making little noise as he walked through the snow towards her. His mouth opened in a happy pant as he walked up to her and butted her arm with the top of his head, jolting her entire body to the side with the strength of it. She grabbed the fur of his ruff in order to keep herself upright.
“You aren’t hunting with the pack tonight, then?” she asked. He panted and leaned against her, his weight heavy and warm. He didn’t answer, of course; Maura was not Daine, with her enviable magic. But Maura knew that the Long Lake pack understood more than even she thought, sometimes, and she had come to realize that she understood them more and more. Short Snout was full, comfortable even in the winter cold to leave the pack and seek her out. “Ah, I hope it was a good meal you caught this evening, then. Must have been a good sized buck, to feed you all.”
He nudged against her again, forcing her to throw out her hand when she lost balance. Her outstretched hand landed on her pack.
“Sneaky hound,” she told him. “How did you know I had cheese in there?”
There was humour and a hint of smugness in his huff of breath and the tilt of his head. Maura unpacked the food she had brought with her efficiently, keeping it out of Short Snout’s reach while she unwrapped the waxed paper bundles. She had not brought much; she couldn’t be gone from the fief too long or Douglass would send men out to check on her, but she had a while longer, as evening stretched into proper night before he would be concerned enough to seek her out. She shared what she had equally, letting the wolf take cheese from her fingers with delicate teeth.
She was happier than she could ever remember being, but she after being left to her own devices and company, the demands of her new title as the Lady of Dunlath, and the attention of a guardian truly invested in her future were sometimes hard to adjust to. It just took her a moment, though, to remember that she didn’t want to be alone, that the changes brought by Daine’s arrival in her life were so welcome. Short Snout wriggled closer, curling his warm body against hers. She tucked cold fingers into the warmth of his fur and watched sparks spiral up into the night sky.
Maybe once we'd have seen it during Smackdown!