Appearance/Character Concept: Moments in a Canyon
That evening, Timshel trudged down to the bottom of the valley and stooped to run his fingers through the soil where water once flowed. He could feel the lingering warmth of the sand as it created a small pile beneath his hand. When he looked up, the sun had threaded itself against the canyon's edge, creating the likeness of a gigantic hearth in the gorge. His tan robe turned a shimmering yellow in the light. All about, the sun's rays bounced and played against the rock in glimmers of orange, red, and gold. Even the creosote bushs' normally green and yellow stillness seemed to dance in the fiery haze of the day's end. At the bottom of the gorge, beneath his jet-black brows, Timshel's deep, green-blue eyes pierced through the coming dusk.
Timshel let gravity take him as he fell back to lean against the hard rock behind him. He yawned and allowed himself a full body stretch, holding it for one...two... good. He let his body relax and brushed his fingers through the scruff of his beard. It was getting itchy again, and he'd have to trim it soon. His bangs were almost to his eyes as well; he'd have to cut them back. But not now.
Now he looked up at the moon and the stars-- which had just begun to come out. He sighed and raised his hand up towards the sky. So soft just a couple years ago, Timshel couldn't even feel the cracks in his callouses anymore. He was still skinny, but a bit more capable now. As he lay there, his body enjoyed the hard day's ache. With each breath, Timshel could feel his stomach rise and ripple in unison with his heartbeat. He smiled, flexed, and unclenched before bringing his arm down to rest beneath his head. He closed his eyes and had no trouble sleeping right there in the sand.
...
Timshel woke up with a start. The hairs on the back of his neck prickled, and he took care to sit up slowly. The sun was already high in the sky-- he had overslept. As he scanned the sands, he didn't notice anything unusual. It was too hot and too late in the day for most intelligent creatures to be in the open now. Still, Timshel's heart wouldn't stop racing. As he gazed over the horizon, Timshel felt the knot in his stomach tighten.
Finally, he thought to look up. As he did so, he saw a tiny dot-- miniscule-- in the sky next to the cliff above him. It looked like a speck of dust, but it wasn't moving. Squinting, he could also see a crow circling nearby. A warm breeze blew over his beaded brow, rose, and then died. The speck was getting bigger. His eyes widened when he realized what was above him. He scrambled to get up, but in the panic his foot slipped in the loose sand, and he fell backwards in a billow of dust. He checked the sky speck again. Mistake.
SPLAT. Right between the eyes. A hundred-foot free-fall of crap between the eyes. Timshel cursed, spat, and then immediately cursed again. He had been staring at bird poop for what must have been at least three minutes. He got up and sloshed around the rest of the water in his canteen. Not much left. Timshel carefully swallowed the remaining moisture in his mouth.
To his left the circling crow had landed. It turned its head to look at him cockeyed. Timshel wiped his brow and eyed the bird. It cooed at him while pruning its feathers. Timshel responded by kicking sand in its direction. The crow immediately CAW-CAWED away to a nearby creosote bush.
That bush which had seemed so biblical the night before now bent under the weight of this fat, black bird. Timshel watched silently as it promptly lifted its hind feathers to defecate once again, this time on the flowers. He let out a small snort, which turned into a full belly laugh. The crow seemed to laugh with him, CAW-CAWing and hopping from branch to branch. Timshel continued to grin as he reached for the slingshot in his pack.
...
That night as Timshel enjoyed his crow-dinner, he once again watched the sun play fire against the canyon walls. The first stars began to come out and the shadows stretched and faded before him. Between the bushes, he could see a desert fox zig-zagging toward him. After it was about 15 feet close, it stopped and sat, waiting. Timshel looked down at his meal, then back up, raising his eyebrows. The fox tilted its head sideways. Timshel reached down, picked up a rough stone and chucked it. The fox casually side-stepped as the stone whizzed past. Then it sat back down, cocking its head again. Timshel sighed and gave a small smile as he threw the remains of his dinner to the animal. For a while he watched the fox tear into the remains of his dinner. Then he got up and looked for a more sheltered spot to spend the night.