Post by Deleted on Mar 4, 2014 13:19:16 GMT -5
The day was dull – a pathetic fallacy attributed mostly to the dreary sky and biting winds that chilled Avani’s ears and muzzle no matter where her pursuit for shelter led her. Wandering far from the beaches – a habitat she naturally gravitated towards due to her upbringing – she found herself meandering towards the centre of Anikira to escape the harsh coastal weather and venture to pastures new; hopefully rich in game and absent any other wolves whose presence lingered at the back of her mind as a constant peril.
By nightfall, she’d approached the border of an unfamiliar territory, and though she paced precariously at its edge in hesitation, her reluctance waned for the half-second it took for her hunger to drive her onward, encroaching on new ground that was undoubtedly the home of many whom would deem her unwelcome – a fact that she had come to accept due to her lowly status as an outsider to this land. She suspected that most creatures could sense that she was foreign; they could smell it on her, the alien scent of faraway lands that boded the unknown. Even after the innumerable days she'd spent at sea, until she was finally swept forth upon these strange sands so long ago, the bizarre and exotic stench of her distant home still clung to her fur and lingered in her trail.
The delicate sound of water distracted her for a slow moment; an all-too-familiar noise that her mind was keen to perceive amidst the dark forest and its nocturnal hum. This water sounded… not quite right, however. It didn’t have the steady rhythm of a rushing stream, nor the stagnant scent of a lake. Afflicted by her innate curiosity, she curbed her direction towards the sound, still vigilantly watchful for the income of resident wolves. If her presence were to be received in hostility, she had little faith in herself that she would be capable of defending her right to trespass – especially since she hadn’t had a full meal since her arrival on this wretched island, and her leaned condition was beginning to show on her normally well-padded frame.
As she approached what appeared to be a collection of peculiar-looking lakes, she noted with surprise the tendrils of steam rising ethereally from their surface. The water was blackened by the night’s dim illumination, but as usual, her fair pelt made her stand out like a golden beacon at the thick of dusk. Her ears perked up in rapt confusion as she stepped forward, her steps dainty in their anxiousness, and her maw lowered slowly to the undulant edge of water; her withers trembled in surprise and she retreated a step from the pool, teeth bared at the sharp heat of the water. Was this pool… somehow cursed? She had only ever known water to be cold – anything else was unnatural.
Or perhaps this was something rare and undiscovered, a secret apex of her god’s true will hidden from contamination and malady. The water intrigued her to the bone, and before she could suppress the urge, she sprang forward at its edge to touch it most tentatively with the pad of her paw. Its surreal heat was a thrill to the intrigued femme, whose tail wagged with the tempered glee of a pup. She cared little for how foolish she looked, so enchanted by such a simple thing – but as she was assuredly alone, all thoughts of poise vanished from her mind as she cavorted to and fro from the heated spring with quaint playfulness, teasing its waters as though her folly might force it to surrender its meaning.
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