SMELLING THE ROSES

The carmine coated viper has not been back to the soulless forest in a very long time. Artemis had left her, Ody had vanished right from under her nose... there was nothing left for her there but agonizing memories of what she could not hold onto. But, for some inexplicable reason, today she has an impulse to return to the mist cloaked forest. Perhaps it is the hope that Artemis will return to her den that urges her conscious to act on the impulse. Fiamette gives into her overwhelming curiosity, and allows herself to be drawn toward the borders of her former abode. There are multiple scents here now, as if an army of wolves had trampled across the mucky territory in the pursuit of war. Idly she begins to wonder why, her robust appendages carrying her toward the heart of the territory as she sniffs her surroundings for any lingering wolves. The heart of the forest was where Artemis kept her den. She feels a flutter of emotion devour her stomach as the small opening of her former den slips into her view, and she suddenly stops in her tracks. Instead of entering the den she is hesitant, her volcanic orbs staring at the dens opening as if something would emerge from its depths. She stands there in silence for a moment, her mind obviously placed elsewhere. She is not paying attention to her surroundings at this point.