starchild
12-08-2013, 08:19 AM
A frozen lake. Cloudy sky. Midmorning. Snow drifted down on him. Ganelon was by himself as usual, dodging little trees that were, he assumed, growing from islands in the ice. Long-dead trees. The soldier stopped to scratch curiously at the ice, but there was no way to see what was under the snow. It was like a hard shell over the actual lake. He shrugged and lurched onwards, gimpy right leg slowing him down as always. At least there wasn't currently a blizzard going down. He could see what was in front of him. Which, honestly, was not much of anything, but oh well. Could be worse. Would probably get worse later on down the line.
He felt the wind pick up and drop down again. It brought a smell on it that wasn't snow. A long-dead animal of some type. He paused again, sniffed carefully, and suddenly started up a slow gallop toward a stand of trees. Something was in there. The white wolf crashed through the trees, eyes studying the scene. A frozen bear. Small, like it was probably a yearling or something. Ganelon didn't know much about bears except that they weren't that great to eat, but homeless wanderers couldn't be choosers. He wasn't going to pass up a chance to have a more or less effort-free meal. Nobody else seemed to have found the carcass already and everything was free of crows, so he supposed all was good. Maybe he wouldn't be killed if he stepped into the open.
So he did that. The first few steps were, as usual, a bit slow, but when nothing happened he sped up and set about clawing at the dead bear. Which was very frozen. Like tearing at a block of ice. Ganelon chewed at the skin on it for a few minutes and stopped, frowning. This was obviously going to take a while. He sat down.
A few hours later he'd made it through one layer and managed to get a moutful of actual meat, which was a bit like chewing a hunk of melting ice. Crunchy. Not that good, but better than nothing. Ganelon had other critic thoughts about his meal, but was interrupted by movement in the trees that surrounded him. A much smaller animal. Probably a coyote. The burly male stood up and frowned over the top of the bear, eyes searching for whatever it might be. If it was a coyote he was perfectly fine with chasing it down and killing it. Would be easier to eat than what he was stuck scavenging from.
He felt the wind pick up and drop down again. It brought a smell on it that wasn't snow. A long-dead animal of some type. He paused again, sniffed carefully, and suddenly started up a slow gallop toward a stand of trees. Something was in there. The white wolf crashed through the trees, eyes studying the scene. A frozen bear. Small, like it was probably a yearling or something. Ganelon didn't know much about bears except that they weren't that great to eat, but homeless wanderers couldn't be choosers. He wasn't going to pass up a chance to have a more or less effort-free meal. Nobody else seemed to have found the carcass already and everything was free of crows, so he supposed all was good. Maybe he wouldn't be killed if he stepped into the open.
So he did that. The first few steps were, as usual, a bit slow, but when nothing happened he sped up and set about clawing at the dead bear. Which was very frozen. Like tearing at a block of ice. Ganelon chewed at the skin on it for a few minutes and stopped, frowning. This was obviously going to take a while. He sat down.
A few hours later he'd made it through one layer and managed to get a moutful of actual meat, which was a bit like chewing a hunk of melting ice. Crunchy. Not that good, but better than nothing. Ganelon had other critic thoughts about his meal, but was interrupted by movement in the trees that surrounded him. A much smaller animal. Probably a coyote. The burly male stood up and frowned over the top of the bear, eyes searching for whatever it might be. If it was a coyote he was perfectly fine with chasing it down and killing it. Would be easier to eat than what he was stuck scavenging from.