A walk in the Woods

Chapter One

The season was changing. It wasn’t hard to tell, there were many things that seperated the bleak beauty of fall from the sweet hotness of summer. The birds sang different tunes, the leaves were turning red, brown, and gold, and the other trees were losing their leaves. Even the long grass was taking on a reddish hue, it seemed. The cool air mixed with the faint humming of forest life brushed across a creature’s white pelt. This creature was an Esk, a spiritual being with plant life growing on it. This Esk’s name was Audra, flaunting her red-colored face and snow-colored body, as well as her darker tail that dragged behind her as she walked. On her back there were normally a small assortment of strawberries, but they were gone for now as she had left her own biome.

Audra was unacquainted with this place, but she felt drawn to it. It was far outside of her own territory, the meadow, so she was less strengthened than usual. Luckily, she was a trespasser so it didn’t affect her quite as much when she ventured outside of her own grounds, as she was used to doing so. This place was particularly marvelous, she hadn’t seen anything like it before. What particularly stood out was the assortment of trees, plants, and undergrowth that happened to be just about everywhere she looked. Audra was normally a very temperamental Esk who was fed up with just about everything, as she felt like a prisoner to her territory, but this was different. Everything was so calm that her raging temper was soothed by the sounds of the Autumn-stricken forest. She was walking, exploring, looking around. She didn’t quite know where she was headed, but she knew that she wanted to see more of the colorful woods before they disappeared and everything died. In a way, Audra was still angry because she wanted her own territory to look like this when the seasons changed, but it was impossible. Jealousy is a very strong thing.

Her pawsteps could barely be heard crunching on the leaves, she was such a light individual. Her tail, though, made more sound than normal as it dragged along the leaves that had fallen from their trees. Audra noticed a rabbit out of the corner of her eye and stopped. It was sitting beside a tree, upright on its haunches, staring at her as though it had nothing better to do. This made her mad, and so she took up a threatening stance. The rabbit didn’t budge, nor did she. The Esk lashed out at the animal, and it fled in presumable terror. When it was gone, Audra felt fairly proud of herself. She continued walking through the woods with a better attitude. The sun was starting to set, and Audra found a small creek that ran alongside a tree and a pile of moss that had more than likely fallen out of it. She crossed the creek, it was only about a foot wide and narrowed off quite well. She circled the moss a few times before lying down, as she lay there she became very still, so that you wouldn’t be able to distinguish her from a rock covered with plants without looking hard enough. A few hours passed, animals came and went. A few times, Audra itched to move, but she didn’t due to the fact that she was enjoying herself too much.

When the sun rose in the morning, Audra stood. It was quite a beautiful sight. All of the birds erupted in song at once, and the orange sun reflected the gold and brown of the leaves on the trees. She sighed, and began walking again. This time was a bit different. She no longer heard her tail dragging on the ground behind her, she was too busy listening to the sounds of the lively forest. Instead of being jealous, she appreciated the beauty of what surrounded her. It was as if resting in the place had changed her over the course of one night.

She knew it wasn’t permanent though. Her mood would more than likely come back when she left. But, for now, she decided she would enjoy the peace that she felt. Audra saw a deer, standing tall and proud, and simply looked at it, then continued on. It seemed like she had been walking forever, but there was no real motivation to stop going. She wanted to see what lay beyond, maybe there was a desolate land or maybe even a small paradise? Who could guess? As she walked, she wondered if she would meet any other Esk (she didn’t want to) and how she would react if she did. She also thought about her meadow and the different fruits that grew in it. Maybe it wasn’t so bad.

No, it would never be anything like this. Her mood changed as she thought about it more, and she was back to the same old fed up Audra within minutes.