morning stroll.

[umbrella]

tag;; o p e n.
[w]
--

It was admittedly very nice today. The sky was very blue, insanely blue, so blue, in fact, that it almost seemed painted. Good weather, no? There were only a few clouds in the sky, dotted in the sky here and there and it was nice. Very nice indeed. The only thing that dared disturb the picturesque scene was the breeze that ran through the trees, rustling the leaves. It was the first time Emma had been alone since she’d come to Sanglignee. She had much preferred to surround herself with people after seeing only three or four (at most) in the same place for three months. Of course, she’d let herself be isolated when she slept, or when she needed to take a piss. Okay, let’s rephrase. It was the first time she’d been alone when it would have been more comfortable to be around other people. Better? Yes. Anyway, Emma liked it out here. It was rather green, despite the forest’s name, “Yellow Pine Wood.” Emma caught herself smiling in spite of herself when she thought of what her grandmother would say. It’s so fucking green! Yeah. Grandma Joanie was amusing.

She wrapped her red coat a bit tighter around her as she stood, shifting her weight from one foot to the other. Though the weather was bright, there was still a bit of a chill left over from winter, and Emma’s coat wasn’t keeping her as warm as she’d like. However, it was sufficient, and she decided to walk over to one of the trees, rather than standing stupidly in the middle of the clearing. Leaning against one of the trunks, she filled her cheeks with air, and slowly let it out. How long had it been since she’d left home? It must’ve been eight or nine months now. Funny, it seemed like so much longer. Years. Maybe even decades. She was still surprised that couple had bought her that plane ticket to Barcelona. What were their names again?...Emma decided not to strain her mind to remember. She wasn’t even sure that she’d asked their names, and besides, they weren’t important. What was important was that she was here, now, in present time. Among her own. But yet Emma still felt that she didn’t belong very well. She decided once more not to strain her mind to wonder why. This was a simple little excursion, to enjoy the scenery and such. Besides, things like those took time. You couldn’t expect it instantly.

So she kept walking, the cold chilling her cheeks and making her nose feel very similar to an ice cube. But no matter, there was plenty of time to get warm later. She headed out of the clearing, making sure that the little town was still in sight. It was one of Emma’s many phobias: getting lost and never being found. She was beginning to get over it now, but the original fear was still there. Just waiting. Emma slapped herself mentally. Come on, don’t worry about it! The woods aren’t that big anyway. Right. Sure. Well, her conscience was usually right, and she made the decision to follow it, going deeper into the forest. Making a left while studying her feet most carefully, she ran into a tree.

Agh. Smart.

Emma scrunched up her face a little, trying to rid herself of the dull ache there was appearing in the top of her head. She grumbled a little, sighed, then got up and brushed the dirt off her jeans. That’s what you get for looking at the ground and trying to walk at the same time. Her feet weren’t very interesting anyway. Just two big flipper-looking things with a pair of slightly worn sneakers on them. Her head snapped back up from observing her feet once more and another sigh escaped her lips as she stared at the tree trunk. Almost robotically, her hand moved up to her scalp, feeling the place where she’d hit her head. A lump was already forming.

“Well played, sir.” Emma said, patting the tree. “Well played.”

[aero]

Aero moved through the forest. He was hiding again. He was in his wolf form this time. He was hiding from his parents. They had been calling nonstop claiming to have found the perfect bride for him. Yet again. If he ignored their calls enough they would loose interest and go away. At least he hoped the would. He liked being out in the forest just to be out here and not having anything to truly worry about. He sniffed the ground and smelled a rabbit. He spotted it under the brush near him. It saw him and it was hoping that he wasn't going to see it. He raised his head and howled letting other packs around know that he was on the hunt. He looked at the rabbit and it bolted without a thought and he was hot on its heels.

It dodged behind trees and brush trying to throw him off of his trail. But Aero was no ordinary wolf. He had a human mind and human logic. He was a blur of black and gray fur as he sped along running close to the ground. Aero made one final leap and caught it be the neck. He slashed it's throat quickly not wanting to prologue it's pain. He savored the taste. May people didn't like raw meat and Aero was one of them but to a wolf cooked food was completely unacceptable. He smiled wolfishly and moved toward the sound of water leaving the carcase for the scavengers. He washed his muzzle and drank his fill gratefully. the water here was so clear and clean that it made filtered water taste like death was swimming in it. He moved on hoping to find a nice warm spot to curl up and sleep.

He lifted his head to smell the air and scented something both familiar and odd at the same time. Human, he identified. He trotted through the woods to find the source and see if it was a hunter or anything he should worry about. He followed it deeper and deeper into the woods. It was either lost or it was someone to be worried about. He followed it softly keeping his claws from anything hard enough to make noise. He spotted something moving ahead in bright red. If it was a hunter it obviously wasn't a very good one. as he moved closer he realized that it was a woman and he blinked his brown mossy eyes thoughtfully. She definitely wasn't a hunter he couldn't smell anything like a gun on her at all. He watched a for a while moving like a shadow to walk parallel to her.

He blinked and winced as she hit the tree. The birds flew off shouting insults. He snorted and his tail wagged and a growling sort of laughter came of of his throat. He grinned and shook his lupine head and walked toward her. He looked up at her as though he was a real wolf and stared at her as though he hadn't known she was there. His mossy brown eyes gazed at her. He looked at the bump forming on her forehead. He looked at her carefully and looked her over. She must be lost. He had never seen her in the woods before. He sat down on his haunches and watched her. He didn't know if she would react well to him turning into a human and helping her so he rested in his wolf form. Aero rose his ears to catch anything the woman said to get any hint of what she was doing in the forest.