Thicket of Secrets you left me with a bittersweet taste

RE: The nearby plants sparkle with autumn frost. Sunset, Overcast Clouds, 55.4°F, 13°C.

Somewhere along the western horizon the sun had begun to descend from the grey overcast sky, casting glistening rays of warm orange light between the tall trunks and bows of the trees, and causing the frost which covered their sparse autumn foliage to glow and sparkle.

To the small girl who wandered cautiously through the dense brush of the thicket such a sight would surely have been enchanting. However, unfortunately for her, she was instead managing to pick her way deeper into the darkest part of the woodland, where light could only be glimpsed through the thick entanglement of thorny bramble which weaved its way between the trees.

Ariadne let out a small whimper as a stray thorn caught her side. Viciously it tugged at her pale fur as she attempted to navigate her way safely through the dense foliage in the dark. Stumbling forwards to free herself from the bramble, the small girl came to pause for a moment as her burnt orange eyes peered out towards the darkness which suddenly seemed to loom all around her.

Something stirred then — a spooked bird or small mammal, most likely — causing the vegetation behind the girl to rustle ominously.

Sinking like a stone through water, she felt her heart drop, and in an instant panic set in. Wide eyed and afraid, the young girl raced forwards, a series of small yelps erupting from her charcoal lips as she tried desperately to force her way through the mesh of branches and bramble which prevented her from escaping the eerie gloom of the thicket.

(This post was last modified: Nov 07, 2017, 10:10 AM by Ariadne.)

Summiter
Look what you made me do

Damn it. He really shouldn't have come this way. The overcast sky had urged him onward. If there may be just something waiting to be found in the looming darkness. If all he had to do was stetch himself one or two more wolf lengths and all this distance would be worth something. What found was disapointment. The deer's trail he'd been most after led him to only a severed limb. The murderer had left its scent and he felt his blood turn cold. The long course hairs around his nape raised. Screw that! This was where he hid his victims and he wasn’t gonna play around.

Heart thudding in his ears he eagerly pushed deeper into the thicket. If he’d been smarter he would have turned around. Sudden fear had provoked his system into preservation and he only cared about putting as much distance between him and the tom mountain lion’s kill.

The brute ran until he felt his heart ease against its cage,and his toes pained. Numb by the frost he’d collected with his miles. Not to mention the several, new miscellaneous cuts from forcing paths. This ought to do. The lion wouldn’t care now. His icy blue stare roved the tangles of bramble,bush, and trees. What was this place? The shadow made it all hard to discern. Had he come from that way?

Terrified, shrill cries forced him to jump. His hair in sudden disarray again. Something was clawing it’s way to him. With lips raised he took a strong stance. Ready. Or so he thought until he saw her.

Send me a PM if you want me to change anything!

Dark lashes clenched shut, she attempted to shield her eyes from the onslaught of brush and bramble which scratched at her face, as she blindly forced her way through the thick entanglement of vegetation which made up the thicket. Desperately she clawed her way forwards, spurred onwards by the frantic beating of her heart and the creepy noises which erupted out from the darkness behind her.

Pulling hard to free herself from the thorny bramble which had ensnared her thick coat, Ariadne once again stumbled forwards. This time, instead of more prickly brush, her muzzle collided with something warm and strangely familiar.

OOMPH!!

Tumbling backwards a few paces in surprise, she immediately cracked one orange eye open and peered up nervously at the stranger. For a few rapid heartbeats she simply stared at him, her eyes straining hard through the dark to take in the adult’s monochrome coat, the pale blue of his eyes and his strong stance. Instinct told her to cling to his side for safety, but the fangs which he exposed from beneath his top lip told her to be cautious.

Unsure if she could trust him, she done what any scared, desperate wolf would do – she cowered down submissively in front of him. Chest still heaving in panic, she focused her burnt orange gaze first on him and then twisted her scratched, bloodied muzzle back around to peer out at the darkness which loomed behind her.

“There’s something creeping around out there…” She whispered fearfully, turning back to meet his cold blue stare. “Please, don’t leave me.” She whimpered pathetically, as she dared to take a couple of steps closer towards him.

(This post was last modified: Nov 07, 2017, 11:20 AM by Ariadne.)

Summiter
Look what you made me do

A rough wheeze of a cough erupted from his throat upon collision. Stunned. But, his paws remained rooted as his instinct. Ready to fight. A growl ready to roll from his chest. Her fear, he thought may just be a deceptive ruse, and she'd snap his nose first. Disappear. The longer he stood, looking into those eyes,a rich red in the darkness, he felt tension lift from his stiff limbs. The wariness of him gone. What would she have to gain by hurting him?

Tucking his fangs away, he attempted to unlock his stare as she seemed to shrink closer to the ground. He wasn't seeing fear any more.Something more menacing.

Horror. A trapped bird unable to escape to the sun. The evidence more prominent on her pale muzzle lined with streaks of blood. What was she running from? If to answer she looked behind her, and the brute stretched on tiptoes, looking past, if he might see. They didn't see the same thing. Not exactly. It might have looked like an endless stretch a thicket. Morning would come.

Ready to assure her, his words had no chance to form. Her whisper ignited dread back into his bones, and his hair began to stand on end again. He thought he knew what it might just be, and eyes began checking for movement. They wouldn't get much of a warning.

Suddenly the brute blinked with a twitch of his forehead. Taken back, as his eyes pulled toward her. "I won't," he softly spoke in confidence. He wasn't that cruel. He was sure of at least one thing;they both really wanted to get the hell out of here, and he'd get them through. Though he'd never been anyone's savoir he wouldn't let that stop him. He brushed his shoulder to hers. "Come on, we're getting out of here." He breathed deep, trying to find relief there wasn't a lion's scent on the breeze. It was just mind over matter.

Like he had promised he did not falter from her side. He pushed through the nettle, and trampled goose grass. Pausing to hold a low branch in his teeth so she could slip past.