Post by Deleted on Sept 29, 2015 19:17:04 GMT -5
A warm afternoon had acquiesced into utter darkness as night descended upon the desert territory, mercifully unclaimed by any wolf or pack. During the day, it was an empty wasteland, dead and ugly to her, but everything was different when the sun descended below the western horizon each day. The ink black sky above, cloudless and enchanting, was speckled with tiny points of light, stars ever watching from above. Tonight was unusual, though. The moon was an unnatural scarlet shade, like the petals of a wilting rose, reflecting in the swift-moving current of the river. She watched as the full moon vanished into dark as she padded along the river in a slow, dallying pace. The dainty femme had nowhere else to be, anyway. She had no doubt that the river was powerful, and she kept her distance from its shore, despite a nearly overpowering desire to lap up the cold water. She had been walking since sunrise. The rapids of the water drowned out all other sound. If she fell in, no one would know or care.She had never seen this before, but she had heard stories of the phenomenon, explained in a variety of ways that all seemed absurd to the fae. Some said it was a night monster devouring the moon. Others claimed that it was a sign of ill omen from a god, or gods, or whatever silly thing they happened to believe in. All of these suggestions seemed equally preposterous, amounting to little more desperate explanations for something they could not understand, and thus, feared. Sunny believed in nothing beyond her own self. She trusted no one, especially not something that she could not see. The blood-red moon up above did not frighten her, either. In passing, she wondered why the moon couldn’t look this way more often. The scarlet shade seemed suitable, somehow. It was a lovely color.Traveling alone, she had no one to share the experience. Sand between the pads beneath her paws, Sunny was uncomfortable, but the solitude didn’t seem to disturb her. She was going nowhere in particular, in no hurry. Her tail waved behind her like a flag as she moved gracefully, carrying herself in brazen hubris. She was queen of nothing, companion of no one.Just as the female was settling in for the night atop a huge rust-hued rock, the scent of a stranger stirred her attention. Her lilac-tinted eyes turned reluctantly from the eclipse to see who else had come to watch the show. Making no attempt to move or hide herself from view, her delicate features unperturbed by the possibility of another wolf happening upon her. Overhead, the darkness was receding slowly from the moon’s surface, revealing only a razor-thin, curved sliver of shining silver as the shadow crawled away in retreat.Her stomach grumbled in protest as she rose to her paws, tail twitching behind her form… How long had it been since her last meal? Too long, she decided. Though she was accustomed to skipping occasional meals, the she-wolf made a point to never allow herself to starve. Where or how she acquired food was of little consequence. Only survival mattered, and Sunny happened to be quite adept at it.Perhaps she had questionable judgment. Perhaps any other wolf would have fled, or bristled at the presence of another. But Sunny was not like other wolves. She was confident that whoever it could be, she would not be in great danger. She had ways of protecting herself, after all. She always found a way out – or in, as the case may be, easily befriending others when it suited her purpose. Her pretty features, the markings that painted her feminine form, tinted in shades of steely gray and bronze, were unmarred, lacking any evidence of the fights the mixed breed fae had endured.If it came to it, she was capable of defending herself. But why resort to violence first when it could be as simple as a playful smile and sweet tone?All that is nowAll that is goneAll that's to comeAnd everythingunder the sunis in tuneBut the sunis eclipsedby the moon.