70th Summer 517
Merevaika stalked through the undergrowth, weapon pushing through the ferns before her. She had ventured out far enough - it had been early morning when she had left, Syna only just peeking out from behind that large, blue vastness. Now, although she couldn't make out the sky from the roof of greens, every shade of green that she thought possible and more, she knew that the sun was high in the sky, beating down on her strongly. The air had grown even more humid than it possibly could, and the sweat traced off her skin, leaving fresh marks of moisture where each droplet dribbled.
It had started as a hunt, but at this point, Merevaika wasn't exactly certain what she was doing. Sure, she had her bow with her, but the long wooden thing was being used more as any other branch could be, to push the plants out of her path. Her arrows had been long forgotten, somewhere in that quiver hanging on her back, and her focus wasn't on any animal in the nearby surroundings.
Exploring, that was what she was doing. Exploring this expansive mess of wilderness with no purpose in mind, just like she had done like a child running through the Sea of Grass.
The jungle, as she was slowly discovering, was a lot more beautiful than she had expected. She had stumbled past rivers, beautiful rivers that rippled in their silver waters across tiny pebbles, perfectly clear and serene. Flowers, of the brightest colours, of a million colours, that slowly spread their timid petals out towards the light. And there was life, everywhere, bursting under every rock, scuttling through every rotting log, flapping above her in rainbow feathers.
The noise was incredible too. It was the noise of nature, and Merevaika didn't realise how much she had missed the chattering of all the animals, even if they were all different to what she really wanted.
Breaking free of the ferns she had been wading through, she turned, realising that the forest had opened up behind her. She hadn't realised that she had been making an uphill climb all this time. But, now that she could across the trees before her, she realised how high she had climbed. Syka - at least, that tiny golden strip in the distance that had to be sand - was barely recognisable. And the greenery stretched in every direction as far as the eye could see.
Blinking away tears that she hadn't even realised had come, Merevaika turned back to the expanse behind her and broke through the last fern, letting her anger at something power through the way she stamped at every leaf.
A noise rumbled from the jungle before her, and Merevaika froze.
She had been lucky to not have met any wild beast in this expansive place so far. There wasn't a chance that she was going to ruin her exploration by running into something big, with teeth and claws, and cutting both the journey and her life short.
Automatically, she shrunk, ducking behind the mangled mess that she had left of the ferns and shrugged the quiver off her shoulders. It slipped, first with resistance then quickly into her hands, which undid the clasp as soon as they found it. One arrow slithered out and she had it resting against the bow before she had another chance to look up and assess whether what she had heard was predator or prey.
Only once her weapon was securely in her hand, and she was happy with the defences she had prepared did she peep up, feeling the strain in her thighs at the awkward squatting position she had entered.
Beyond her lay more jungle, following the same trend of towering trees, wandering vines and bright splashes as Caiyha decided to place a flower or a bunch of fruit. Everything was perfectly still, with even the trees hesitating in their whispering. The soft murmur of animals from beyond and above had settled, softened even further until it was almost indistinctable.
That silence worried her more than any growl or animal call could ever.
Silence meant danger. Silence meant that it wasn't just her hiding from whatever she had heard. Everything else in the jungle was too. Which meant there really was something to be looking out for.
Keeping her guard up, she sidestepped, deciding to do a swooping search around the area while keeping both her eyes and her arrows trained towards the general area from which she had heard the noise.
It was in that moment she saw it.
That flash of silver was impossible to miss. Amid the green, it stood out like a silver miza in the grass, calling for attention. Her eyes narrowed in, trying to make out what it was, but it was impossible to see properly. Normally, she had trouble through the trees, but this was a whole new experience. This glowed with something mystical that she could make out.
The creature moved, and the realisation that it had been still before only just hit Merevaika. Branches and leaves rustled, but the beast's position was still obvious from its strange colouring. A nocturnal hunter, she assumed, like Night Lions. That silvery sheen that coated its fur was reminiscent of the coal black hide of those deadly lions. During day, they stuck out,yelled to be looked at, but in Leth's silvery light, in the darkness that smothered the forest during night, they would be invisible.
Without thinking, her bow dropped, the arm holding the string relaxing to let it loosen. She crept, cat-like, across the jungle, sticking to shadows and cover. Her arms moved to the cloak she wore, pulling the feathers tighter around her. It couldn't smell her. That gave her courage, knowing that the scent would otherwise reek of her, with the sweat that coated her skin.
Of course that left two more senses, sight and sound, and she was certain that the creature used both easily. At least false courage was better than none.
Once closer in range, she sunk again, letting her knee settle into a bed of leaves. She could see it now, in all its beauty. A cat, so perhaps her comparison to Night Lions had been a good one. But it was a cat that was so different from the large maned, powerful beasts.
This cat was still deadly - she could see that in the way it moved, shoulders rising and falling heavily as it slunk along a fallen tree, keeping close to the bark. But in a completely different way. This wasn't a pack animal, but a lone hunter, like herself. She knew how it operated: stealth, incredible silence that coated its movements, then speed as it leapt.
Every muscle in its body echoed its proficiency at hunting, even underdeveloped as it was. The paws were still big, clumsy looking. The head, wispy ears trailing off, flickering towards her breathing then towards the fluttering of a butterfly, that head was big too, betraying it still had time to grow into that size.
If she knew anything about cats, she'd be able to guess that it was maybe a year old. But she didn't know, so her guess was vague - no longer a cub, but it still had plenty of time to grow.
Slowly, the eyes turned, almost meeting hers. She held that gaze, breath resting deep in her throat as she did. The eyes were white. A haunting, ghostly white, matching the silvery patterns on its back.
They were still moving, like a breeze was brushing against them. But Merevaika knew that even Zulrav was still before this mighty creature. Even that god couldn't breath with the sight of what she saw, the sight of that majestic hunter before them.
Another jumped up from behind, slightly larger but most likely the same age. It moved defensively around its smaller sibling, letting its tail trace against his jaws.
They turned, having either missed Merevaika or decided to leave her alone.
She watched the silver shapes disappear from her sight as her heart longed to see them again, for just a tick.
They were beautiful. So she wanted them.
"Pavi"
Grassland sign
"Common"
Merevaika stalked through the undergrowth, weapon pushing through the ferns before her. She had ventured out far enough - it had been early morning when she had left, Syna only just peeking out from behind that large, blue vastness. Now, although she couldn't make out the sky from the roof of greens, every shade of green that she thought possible and more, she knew that the sun was high in the sky, beating down on her strongly. The air had grown even more humid than it possibly could, and the sweat traced off her skin, leaving fresh marks of moisture where each droplet dribbled.
It had started as a hunt, but at this point, Merevaika wasn't exactly certain what she was doing. Sure, she had her bow with her, but the long wooden thing was being used more as any other branch could be, to push the plants out of her path. Her arrows had been long forgotten, somewhere in that quiver hanging on her back, and her focus wasn't on any animal in the nearby surroundings.
Exploring, that was what she was doing. Exploring this expansive mess of wilderness with no purpose in mind, just like she had done like a child running through the Sea of Grass.
The jungle, as she was slowly discovering, was a lot more beautiful than she had expected. She had stumbled past rivers, beautiful rivers that rippled in their silver waters across tiny pebbles, perfectly clear and serene. Flowers, of the brightest colours, of a million colours, that slowly spread their timid petals out towards the light. And there was life, everywhere, bursting under every rock, scuttling through every rotting log, flapping above her in rainbow feathers.
The noise was incredible too. It was the noise of nature, and Merevaika didn't realise how much she had missed the chattering of all the animals, even if they were all different to what she really wanted.
Breaking free of the ferns she had been wading through, she turned, realising that the forest had opened up behind her. She hadn't realised that she had been making an uphill climb all this time. But, now that she could across the trees before her, she realised how high she had climbed. Syka - at least, that tiny golden strip in the distance that had to be sand - was barely recognisable. And the greenery stretched in every direction as far as the eye could see.
Blinking away tears that she hadn't even realised had come, Merevaika turned back to the expanse behind her and broke through the last fern, letting her anger at something power through the way she stamped at every leaf.
A noise rumbled from the jungle before her, and Merevaika froze.
She had been lucky to not have met any wild beast in this expansive place so far. There wasn't a chance that she was going to ruin her exploration by running into something big, with teeth and claws, and cutting both the journey and her life short.
Automatically, she shrunk, ducking behind the mangled mess that she had left of the ferns and shrugged the quiver off her shoulders. It slipped, first with resistance then quickly into her hands, which undid the clasp as soon as they found it. One arrow slithered out and she had it resting against the bow before she had another chance to look up and assess whether what she had heard was predator or prey.
Only once her weapon was securely in her hand, and she was happy with the defences she had prepared did she peep up, feeling the strain in her thighs at the awkward squatting position she had entered.
Beyond her lay more jungle, following the same trend of towering trees, wandering vines and bright splashes as Caiyha decided to place a flower or a bunch of fruit. Everything was perfectly still, with even the trees hesitating in their whispering. The soft murmur of animals from beyond and above had settled, softened even further until it was almost indistinctable.
That silence worried her more than any growl or animal call could ever.
Silence meant danger. Silence meant that it wasn't just her hiding from whatever she had heard. Everything else in the jungle was too. Which meant there really was something to be looking out for.
Keeping her guard up, she sidestepped, deciding to do a swooping search around the area while keeping both her eyes and her arrows trained towards the general area from which she had heard the noise.
It was in that moment she saw it.
That flash of silver was impossible to miss. Amid the green, it stood out like a silver miza in the grass, calling for attention. Her eyes narrowed in, trying to make out what it was, but it was impossible to see properly. Normally, she had trouble through the trees, but this was a whole new experience. This glowed with something mystical that she could make out.
The creature moved, and the realisation that it had been still before only just hit Merevaika. Branches and leaves rustled, but the beast's position was still obvious from its strange colouring. A nocturnal hunter, she assumed, like Night Lions. That silvery sheen that coated its fur was reminiscent of the coal black hide of those deadly lions. During day, they stuck out,yelled to be looked at, but in Leth's silvery light, in the darkness that smothered the forest during night, they would be invisible.
Without thinking, her bow dropped, the arm holding the string relaxing to let it loosen. She crept, cat-like, across the jungle, sticking to shadows and cover. Her arms moved to the cloak she wore, pulling the feathers tighter around her. It couldn't smell her. That gave her courage, knowing that the scent would otherwise reek of her, with the sweat that coated her skin.
Of course that left two more senses, sight and sound, and she was certain that the creature used both easily. At least false courage was better than none.
Once closer in range, she sunk again, letting her knee settle into a bed of leaves. She could see it now, in all its beauty. A cat, so perhaps her comparison to Night Lions had been a good one. But it was a cat that was so different from the large maned, powerful beasts.
This cat was still deadly - she could see that in the way it moved, shoulders rising and falling heavily as it slunk along a fallen tree, keeping close to the bark. But in a completely different way. This wasn't a pack animal, but a lone hunter, like herself. She knew how it operated: stealth, incredible silence that coated its movements, then speed as it leapt.
Every muscle in its body echoed its proficiency at hunting, even underdeveloped as it was. The paws were still big, clumsy looking. The head, wispy ears trailing off, flickering towards her breathing then towards the fluttering of a butterfly, that head was big too, betraying it still had time to grow into that size.
If she knew anything about cats, she'd be able to guess that it was maybe a year old. But she didn't know, so her guess was vague - no longer a cub, but it still had plenty of time to grow.
Slowly, the eyes turned, almost meeting hers. She held that gaze, breath resting deep in her throat as she did. The eyes were white. A haunting, ghostly white, matching the silvery patterns on its back.
They were still moving, like a breeze was brushing against them. But Merevaika knew that even Zulrav was still before this mighty creature. Even that god couldn't breath with the sight of what she saw, the sight of that majestic hunter before them.
Another jumped up from behind, slightly larger but most likely the same age. It moved defensively around its smaller sibling, letting its tail trace against his jaws.
They turned, having either missed Merevaika or decided to leave her alone.
She watched the silver shapes disappear from her sight as her heart longed to see them again, for just a tick.
They were beautiful. So she wanted them.
wordcount :
"Pavi"
Grassland sign
"Common"
