Live With What You Have

Lancelot : Part 1

Lancelot : Part 1

It was no surprise that Adrielle loved spending time in the woods. Whether she was collecting herbs for Gaius or just walking around with Beacon, it didn't matter to her. Any time spent in the woods was okay by her. Today Adrielle's journey into the woods was a business trip. Gaius had asked her to gather more mushrooms for his stock. She hoped that if she collected more than enough for Gaius that perhaps some would find their way into her meal. Oh, how she loved mushrooms. Adrielle had been picking mushrooms since she was a small child. Long ago her mother had shown her the difference between edible and poisonous mushrooms when she had tried to feed Merlin a highly poisonous one. On accident of course, but Merlin would say otherwise.

Adrielle saved her trip into the woods for late at night. She knew the best and most delicious mushrooms were at their peak under the moonlight. She had hoped her little four legged friend would have joined her on her midnight adventure, but when she called Beacon he did not make to move and stayed on her bed. Adrielle would have appreciated his company, but she could make due on her own.

Adrielle frolicked through the woods humming to herself no tune in particular. She hadn't bothered bringing a torch with her; her eyes would be able to adjust easily so she could comfortably see in the darkness. Besides, the moon was full and the stars were shining brightly above her.

Adrielle was concentrating on determining which mushrooms before her were poisonous or not when a terrifying noise echoed through the forest. She stopped, the hairs on the back of her neck standing up, and listened. She wasn't sure what she had heard but it didn't sound too friendly. Adrielle slowly straightened out and listened closer, trying to discern what she heard and where she had heard it. Perhaps she was going mad, maybe the night was playing tricks on her. As she listened to the sounds of nature, that's all she heard. She heard the wind rustling through the leaves. She heard crickets chirping, owls hooting, and frogs croaking from a nearby marsh. Nothing seemed out of place.

But as she was about to write it off as her imagination she heard it again. This time she could distinguish the noise as a deep growl, and it was growing closer. She looked up to the sky where the noise seemed to be coming from. In the distance she could see a shape growing larger as it came closer. It had large wings that caused the trees around it to shudder as they flapped. A furry tail whipped out from behind it's body. The beast stretched out its razor sharp talons as another screech escaped it's beak. Adrielle watched as it flew closer and closer to her, aiming its deadly claws right at her.

Without thinking Adrielle dropped her basket and took off in the opposite direction. No matter how fast she ran she knew there was no out running this creature; the distance between them was only decreasing the further she ran. At the last possible moment Adrielle flung herself forward to escape the creature's wrath. She fell to the forest floor with a hard thud as the beast wooshed above her. Adrielle felt a stinging sensation in her right shoulder as she watched the creature land and turn around to face her. She cursed under her breath as the monster started to charge at her.

Oh, great.

Adrielle was probably going to die here in the forest tonight, right here, right now, and for what? Some mushrooms that would never make it back to gaius. She closed her eyes and waited for the impact, not wanting to watch her death approaching her.

Adrielle heard something run past her towards the beast, and rather than it attacking her, the mysterious runner started attacking it. She moved quickly so she was standing and watched the encounter before her. The mystery runner turned out to be a man. It was hard to tell his features in the dark, especially since his back was turned to her. She watched as he parried against the creature's talons.