Spring 61, 513
Cloaked in darkness as it was, with thick gnarled branches twining together, the pale silver of the moonlight could scarcely be seen filtering through the closely knit canopy of trees. All around him, the forest felt different, as though with Leth's reign, it had been given leave to grow more savage, more wild. What luminous beams could be seen shimmering softly down upon the forest floor, transforming the mundane into the mysterious, throwing shadows every which way, and changing the colors of the stream it reflected off of with every passing moment; here a glossy black, there a blaze of silver.
The mountain air carried with it an earthy quality, accompanied by the faintest traces of mint and wildflower. Lyall inhaled the heady scent, his eyes sliding shut appreciatively as each distinct odor flooded his senses, and the wind danced across him, toying with strands of russet fur as it went. As enjoyable as the moment had been, every passing moment caused Lyall pain, reminding him just how severe of a beating his ribs had suffered only a few days past. He doubted he could make it much further without resting, or finding some way to ease this constant, nagging pain.
The soft gurgle of the nearby stream as it trickled by caught the Kelvic's ears, and he could imagine with ease how soothing it would feel to slip into the waters cool embrace, to feel it gently pull the pain from his lungs and replace it with something new, something hazy and numbing. Yes, he would cool off in the water, and then continue on his journey, he told himself, a look of anticipation brightening his eyes.
The closer he drew to the waters edge, the thicker the air became, saturated with moisture, and possessing an energizing charge. Lyall dropped his tattered pack on the ground, proceeding to cross the creek bed with a surprising amount of dignity despite his rather awkward gait, the soft ground giving beneath his weight, and leaving a trail of footprints in his wake.
Lyall entered the water slowly, determined to savor the feeling, as cool tendrils of water wrapped themselves around first his paws, and then his stomach, and then finally his chest, leaving only his head to be seen floating in the water, and the occasional flash of predatory green eyes. The cool touch of the stream sapped the heat from his body, quickly cooling his muscles. He could feel the bed of rocks digging into the pads of his paws, and his mind traveled far from him, going back to the clumsy childish writing scrawled so dedicatedly across the pages of a journal which, in truth, hadn't always belonged to him.
