When Morning Is As Crisp As A Bright Fall Apple
12-24-2018, 12:32 PM
Lydia inhaled deeply of the crisp morning air as she strode into the tall grass plains. For once she wasn't carrying her pack. She needed to get out and clear her mind and for once just enjoy the environment rather than hunting fervently for herbs. Perhaps that seemed strange. Winter was weeks away and she knew she still had so much to do to get ready for the change in seasons. Frost already covered the ground and clung to the golden and amber grasses of the plains. The sunlight struck the frost causing it to glisten though as the day went on Lydia knew the frost would melt. Thankfully, winter was much slower to move into the southern territories where as the north was already getting good amounts of snow. Lydia continued trotting through the plains, keeping the orientation of the sun in her mind so she knew which direction was east as she headed west. She wanted to get to the Alabastrine Shrine and the tall grass plains were expansive and marked with few landmarks. The last thing Lydia wanted to do was get turned around and offset her journey even more. She froze startled as a doe suddenly raced across the plains, parting the golden grasses as she ran. No doubt there were a number of animals stocking up on food for the winter and gorging themselves when they could. She paused and glanced behind her. In the distance she saw the golden drapes of the weeping woods. The willows would be some of the last trees to loose their leaves. They were beautiful and she almost hated to see them succumb to winter but hopefully the winters in the south would be short. This would be her first time actually living in the region as winter set in. She'd passed through numerous times in the past but often she'd been so focused on herb hunting that she didn't pay as much attention to her surroundings as she wished she had. Lydia turned her attention back to the west and continued on her way, the grasses parting around her as she pushed through. She carefully maneuvered around a patch of thistle then found herself pausing again as she herd a chorus of honking. Lydia lifted her head to see a flock of geese heading south in the familiar "V" formation. That had to be nice, to fly south every time the weather turned disagreeable. Yet, perhaps she was being too harsh on winter. As a healer with her fondness for collecting fresh herbs she tended to give winter an unfair shake due to how much harder it made her job. However, wolves as a whole could thrive in winter when their prey was weakened or struggling with moving through the snow. Of course, it was a delicate balance. If prey was hit too hard then wolves to would suffer. A brush of cool air got Lydia moving again. She didn't want to linger too much and as she glanced to the north she could see dark grey clouds starting to build in the distance. With the wind sweeping down from the north there was a good chance they could have more flurries tonight and she wanted to be settled somewhere nice and warm when the storm moved in. Not that she was expecting a blizzard or anything but while the weather had been mostly pleasant all autumn long she didn't want to let down her guard. An unwelcome rain storm could soak her to the core a lot quicker than she cared for and in these temperatures that would not be good. Breathing at a steady rate she moved into a leisurely lope, just focusing on her path west. With the sun behind her warming her back she was feeling pretty good. Lydia continued at that pace for several hours until in the distance she could see lithe white branches stretching up into the sky. Those were the tell tale sign of the Alabastrine Shrine. She'd heard tales about the place and finally decided to pay a visit. She was making good time and figured she'd be there before dark. She didn't really want to hang around the place during the night. She'd heard far too many stories. This was meant to be a quick visit and then she'd turn around and head back. There were no good places to bed down for the night and she doubted she'd have enough daylight to make it to the Redbud Nook. As noon fell across the plains the sun started to disappear behind a blanket of soft grey clouds that had stretched out from the cold front sweeping its way down north. Ahhhh dang… it was moving a lot faster than Lydia had realized. She stopped and hesitated for a second before turning around and heading back toward the weeping woods. Even if she didn't get to her original destination she did have a nice walk and got to explore more of the tall grass plains that made up Kesali's homeland. All in all she still considered this a trip well spent. "Talk" "You" Think |