Dragonfly Fen Concertina Briarpatch

A labyrinth of tunnels through concertina wire-like thorn bushes encrusted in the woody colour of rust, the briar patch is a confusing, dense and thorny thicket made painful with agonizingly sharp turns more suitable for a rabbit or fox. There are few landmarks nearby from which a wolf could catch their bearings, and the branches arching overhead sometimes make it impossible to see more than a shred of blue sky. Some paths end in an impassable cul-de-sac, and it is not unusual to spot a scattering of bones or tufts of fur caught in the thorns. In the high of Summer, however, this otherwise plain and ugly labyrinth becomes disguised under the blossoming of the pale pink briar rose- but the facade does not last for long and otherwise serves to be as beautiful and dangerous as a venus flytrap.

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The air was thick, heavy and close and the sky above was dark despite being mid-day. She felt a tension rising in the humidity and knew that a storm would likely pass over in the next few hours. Nevertheless, she roved through the Deep Forest, searching to find another den of fox kits, if any had had a second brood. She was not far from the place in which she had met Enoki, on the day when they'd discussed the surplus of foxes and the idea that eating them was probably the best remedy. She found little trace of them, though, and smirked to herself- perhaps the magpie-coloured female had taken care of the fox over-population by herself. She almost hoped so, but still wished to find something for herself to eat.

She moved further into the Deep Forest which became more and more silent, the sound fading into nothingness in the same way that the mist was burned off a meadow under the summer sun. One black ear flicked as she heard the sound of wingbeats overhead, but apart from that, nothing stirred. The woodlands became tighter and tighter and she winced as a bush she'd brushed against dug into her fur. She snapped her head sideways, giving a sharp glare to the accusing branch but her gaze softened slightly when she saw that it was strand of thorny branch festooned with a few small, pale pink flowers. They were beautiful- the branch was forgiven because of it.

Finally taking a moment to really notice her surroundings, Sagacity saw ahead a tunnel of darkness- a tunnel which was, in fact, above the ground. Her ears flicked back and forth, unsure what to make of this. She stepped forward and approached, and saw that the tunnel had been created by some small and determined creature which had fought its way repeatedly through a thick, seemingly endless briar patch. The tunnel was small, but big enough for Sagacity definitely- even a large wolf could fit in, though they'd have to be mindful of their step and flanks. The ground was dirt- not enough light for grass but it was sun-dappled nontheless where the upper branches grew sparse in places. The entire mass was covered in the small, fragrant flowers.

It would be a safe haven for prey, she thought, and with one final flick of her ears, she entered.

(This post was last modified: Jun 24, 2013, 02:36 PM by Sagacity.)

Avatars by Arla!

i'll wrap my hands around your neck so tight with...

Adonis Aquila

The sound of his heartbeat pounded in his ears, moving so rapidly he was sure anyone close by would be able to hear him. His breath hitched as he fought for breath, something his burning lungs refused to give him as they screamed out for a rest. The encounter had been terrifying - one moment he had been lapping water from a small brook, enjoying warmth from the sun despite the muggy day. He had not been looking forward to the thunder storm that would no doubt follow later in the day, but he was no coward and would let it pass over him with his head held high - he cowered at nothing and no one. Or so he had thought, until he had been joined further up the river by a bundle of brown fur. The creature was strange to him - a long, thick snout, shiny black eyes and covered from head to toe in chocolate-like fur. He hadn't been scared, the creature was a little smaller then him and he was no longer a wuss... or so he liked to tell himself. No, he had stood his ground. Even when the bumbling creature that stumbled over its four legs came towards him. He had growled a warning, snapped his teeth and sent the silly creature packing... only for the creatures mother to appear shortly afterwards. She was not a fluffy, bumbling creature but what he now recognised as a large grizzly bear, with teeth as long as his legs and a temper to match in the fear factor department. He'd never seen one in real life, but heard the stories of what giant, terrifying creatures they were. He hadn't hung around to assess the creature for long, instead opting to run as fast as his long legs would carry him and not stop until he was certain he was safe.

That had been around an hour ago now he would estimate; the sun had been higher when he first set out, the weather warmer too, the sky was growing gloomy now as the threat of a thunder storm drew nearer. The bear had given chase for sometime that he had lost his bearings and the further he went the higher the trees and brambles because, disorientating him from the direction he had been sure was where his home lay. He didn't have time to be frustrated though, his body was protesting to any further exercise, his legs growing stiff and painful to move, his heart pumping so fiercely he felt he might burst open his ribs. Though he had not seen the bear in sometime, he didn't want to take a chance that she had simply given up - he didn't have much luck so it was better to be safe then sorry.

Turning sharply he spotted a wall of dense foilage ahead. He ran alongside it, hoping for an opening in which to break free - what he found instead was a tunnel. It was hard to make out which way it went, having lost his bearings a long time ago, but the tunnel was small enough that if the bear was still on his heels - she had no chance of fitting. She was far too vast and with the weight he had lost recently he would slip through with ease. Lowering his head, for one couldn't lose much in the height department when hungry, he slipped into the tunnel before he and scampered further into the maze without glancing over his shoulder until he was so far in, he was sure he would never find his way out again. All around him the thick bushes rose to the sky, his vision was limited to the path either ahead or behind him. It appeared someone or something had used this tunnel often, flattening down the floor enough to walk upon but where it lead he would not know until he got there - wherever there might be. Still, it was not too far in that he deemed himself safe and allowed himself to collapse onto the floor and noisily struggle for air and his body to stop hurting.
It was then the first shout of thunder filled the air and the warm rain began to pour. "Ergh." he groaned, but simply shut his eyes and willed his mind to close down, just for a moment - in the next instance, he was fast asleep, blocking the tunnel and completely unguarded.

Though slim and lithe, navigating through the briarpatch was still an arduous task for the petite female. If she raised her head at the sound of a bird above, she risked having thorns claw at her face. One step in the wrong direction and they would comb through her fur which, as it was summer, was very short and thin. Some strands of thorns strayed from the tangle and out into the path before her which she had to step over, but couldn't allow her height to change otherwise she'd feel the thorns rake down her back. he she knew if she struggled in the thorny grasp she'd only get tangled even more. It wasn't the most comfortable place to explore, but at the same time, it was fascinating.

More than once she found herself facing a dead end, but one of those times had brought her face to face with an old skull, its bare teeth grinning at her in a macabre sort of warning. It was small and the tatters of a faded red pelt told her that it had once been a fox. She grinned back at the skull with just as fearsome a smile- the idiotic thing, getting lost and tangled in a briarpatch and eventually dying there. Of course, it could've just gone there to die on its own, perhaps as an aged creature which didn't want to be hunted down, but she liked to believe that the fox, like all other foxes, had been stupid and had found itself lost and tangled and had starved to death.

She sheathed her fangs and backed up until the brush of thorns against her tail told her she was out of the cul-de-sac. She continued on, taking confidence in her own security by knowing that she could track her way out, and at the entrance to each dead end she cleft the earth with one paw, leaving behind four scratch-marks so that on her return journey, she'd know not to follow her trail down that path again. Having found some humour in finding the perished fox, she left two scratch marks, just in case she decided to remind herself of how superior wolves were by looking at its toothy skull again.

Within the briarpatch, she was very aware that all sounds seemed amplified. She could hear her own breathing and footsteps, no matter how quiet she tried to be. And when she found that the sounds of breath did not match up with her own, she stopped and pressed her tongue to the roof of her mouth, stopping the air there and trapping it in her throat. The breathing continued. Quietly, she sniffed the air and amid the smell of the briar roses which were incredibly fragrant within the confined space, she caught the scent of a wolf. One which was wild and smelled of travel- of pines, or fields and valleys, of mountain water and the dust of an open field. A lone wolf. She listened intently to the breathing- shallow and regular, indicative of slumber. Body held even lower now, she crept forward.

When she first peered around a bend in the path her breath hitched in her throat and she pulled back immediately. It was a large male, with black fur tinted with flecks of grey. A grizzled black wolf. Her heart rose within her throat as she quietly peeked around again and she had to strangle a whine as she recognized the features- and exhaled when she realized that no, it couldn't be him. Too young, still soft around his lips and eyes, though he still possessed a certain hardness which hinted at the difficulty of travel. But it was too painful to see the resemblance, and her heart ached, wanting the stranger to be Rhysis so badly. She had to try and calm her spirits before she spoke, unwilling to take another look at him until she'd managed to convince herself that this was not her beloved, lost in the labyrinth.

The warm rain filtered down through the thorns and made her coat darken slightly. She tried to speak several times. He was asleep, though, could she really disturb him? She needed to, though- she had to see his eyes and hear his voice and know that it wasn't him. It pained her, knowing that she still felt the grief of losing him, something she'd not felt in quite some time, now that she had Mercy. But this wasn't Rhysis, it couldn't be...But at the same time...

She backed up as quietly as she could manage, and once she was only just within earshot of his soft breaths, she coughed. She stiffened, then, hoping that it would be loud enough to wake him without it seeming as though she'd intended to do so.

Avatars by Arla!