Tell me about it

The sickness had lasted for such a long time that Fern was certain she was going to die. Her mind had become addle and she had felt herself slipping away as the fight to stay alive slowly left her. Just when the night had been the darkest and hope seemed lost, the sun returned. When it broke the horizon and bathed the once more bathed the land in its warm rays, Fern had felt relief as the light touched her body and chase away the haze in her mind. At that moment, she had fallen into a deep, exhausted sleep as her body worked to correct everything that ailed it. When her eyes once more opened, she found that the sun was still there. Heart buoyed by the return of the life-giving light, the gray girl allowed her body to rest and recover.

At first, she was uncertain of how many days passed as she begins her convalescence. She slept when her body needed it and spent what little time she was wake tending only to her most basic needs. After serval days of this routine, Fern begins to feel stronger and is able to move further than a few feet before needing to rest. Seizing the opportunity, Fern starts exercising her weak muscles. Everything is sore and aches with each step but she slowly feels herself improving. Since waking up in the sun, a week and a half has passed and Fern is well on her way to being fully recovered. All the boils have popped and drained, scabbing over along with the abscesses and holes that had formed on her skin.

The ooze no longer leaks from her face and has been expelled from her lungs. Breathing has once become easy and effortless leaving only a slight, dull ache in the muscles of her chest. As her strength returns so does her attempts to hunt for food. Her slowed reflexes, along with lack of hunting skills has her missing many simple kills. She curses herself and hears Rudy voice accompany her failures. It is not mean, instead full of happiness as he promises to teach her how to hunt and give her endless amounts of adventure. In those moments, Fern wonders how he and his family faired with the illness and a part of her yearns to return to the castle. More than once, her paws have started in the direction of the Hallows only to change course when Rudy’s biting words remind her that, right now, she is useless.

Today, her paws have drawn her closer to the castle then she has been in a long time. Standing near the border between the rolling hills of a bone yard before her and the tree filled forest behind her, Fern wrestles with the idea of moving onward. Aqua eyes scan the bone littered hills as she remains lost in her thoughts. Suddenly, a strange scent reaches her and pulls Fern out of her musing.  She tests the air, trying to determine if it a threat. It seems canine but there is something unfamiliar about it. As the gray girl continues to wrinkle her nose and try to figure out what exactly belongs to that scent, a loud, ear shattering roar comes from the tree line behind her. Wheeling around, Fern watches as a huge grizzly bear bursts through the darkness under the canopy of the trees and charges straight toward her.

Quickly Fern yells for help as she pins her ears, curls her lips and hunches her shoulders, preparing for a fight. The bear charges at her head on and Fern notices that it is missing its right eye. It is upon her in the space of a few heart beats and, just as it is about to reach where she stands, Fern launches herself sideways, toward its right side, to try and disappear into its blind spot. Massive bear teeth close around on the spot where her head been moments ago and Fern swiftly dances out of reach of it clawed paws. It turns toward her as she resets her stance, preparing for the next attack. It roars loudly and angrily at her before once more starting to charge. Fleetingly, Fern hopes someone will appear soon to help her fight this thing. Her still healing body is not yet back into top fighting condition and that worries her.


"Speech"