felt the cold (calanthe) (random threads)

[Amaris Silvershade]

felt the cold

[attr="class","box1a"] It was too late, by the time Amaris realized she was on the grounds of a manor house. She should have seen it sooner. The trees were too evenly spaced, too well-groomed. It was unnatural for such a place as Faerie. But a well-pruned evergreen was as good a roof as any when she'd come all the way to the North Court on the run, and the snow would be setting in soon. She could already feel the frost baring its teeth.  All of the worst times were clashing together. She could feel the approach of the new moon in the heaviness of her limbs. She had to get somewhere marginally safe before it arrived, before she could barely move at all. If the new moon came first, she'd be essentially helpless wherever she happened to be.  She reached a footpath and froze. There were prints in the silver-edged grass, frozen into place. Someone else had been here, and recently. But there were so few places to hide. A sudden shriek startled Amaris into a defensive stance, but it was only a crow on a branch—a whole cluster of them. She counted them off in her head. Seven. Was that an ill omen? Her thoughts were running thick and slow. She couldn't remember.  Calanthe Willowlace [newclass=.box1a]margin:0px auto; width:300px; height:425px; background: transparent; overflow:auto; padding:8px;[/newclass] [newclass=.box1a::-webkit-scrollbar]width:5px;[/newclass] [newclass=.box1a::-webkit-scrollbar-thumb]background: #4d221a;[/newclass]

Music Word count: 214 Notes: Prompt- The counting crows rhyme. "Seven for a secret never to be told."

credit to Laura of Adox + SeaJem

[Calanthe Willowlace]

    Calanthe walked quietly through the manor gardens, leaving dark footprints in the frosted grass as she went. The gardens were near silent, the cold in the air muffled most sounds, and the thin layer of frost that crept along every leaf, branch, and petal painted everything silver around the edges. It was beautiful. The gardens were the place Calanthe loved best, her place of solace, where she went when she wanted to be truly alone; accompanied only by the many kinds of plants that filled the meticulously maintained grounds. The gardens were cold, sharp, and silent, just like her. 

   She closed her eyes and tilted her face towards the pale grey sky, feeling the cold nip at the tips of her ears and across her face, deepening the already blue tinge that painted her features like watercolors.

   A shriek split the air, shattering her quiet moment. Calanthe's eyes snapped open as she whipped around to face the sound. What had caused it? Where? There. Up in a large beech tree, its few leaves rimmed in silver, sat seven black crows, stark against the whites and greys of the sky. "Seven, a secret then." she thought to herself, a bit amused that she remembered that silly little rhyme. She hadn't heard it since she was much younger, much warmer. They perched in a cluster, some preening, others ruffling their wings and tilting their heads as they watched her... and watched something else. A few of the crows were turned away, watching something past the large holly bushes that stood far taller than she. They blocked her view, but the crows didn't seem afraid, so she relaxed, if only slightly. Curious now, Calanthe crept quietly towards the bushes, pushing spikey-leaved branches away, just enough to peak through.
   
   Just enough to see what lay on the other side. 


tags:Amaris Silvershade ,

[Amaris Silvershade]

felt the cold

[attr="class","box1a"]Amaris knew how she must have looked to the noble girl whose eyes rested on her now—hunched, ragged, feral even in a place as wild as Faerie. She was all jutting bones, maned with rusted hair, electric blue eyes dulled as the moon waned. She wouldn't be surprised if, at the sight of such a creature on her grounds, the noble lady struck her down.  Or had she been at the revel? What if she recognized Amaris in the vicious, violent force that had reddened the night of the blue moon?  Amaris drew back, a hand on one of the daggers she carried. If she had to strike or strike down a noble, it would only continue to excavate the hole she'd dug for herself. But then again, someone else with power would be gone from this world, the structures shaken. If she had to die, it would be doing something that mattered.  Again, one of the crows gave voice. Seven. Seven was a powerful number in Faerie.  Calanthe Willowlace [newclass=.box1a]margin:0px auto; width:300px; height:425px; background: transparent; overflow:auto; padding:8px;[/newclass] [newclass=.box1a::-webkit-scrollbar]width:5px;[/newclass] [newclass=.box1a::-webkit-scrollbar-thumb]background: #4d221a;[/newclass]

Music Word count: 169 Notes:

credit to Laura of Adox + SeaJem

[Calanthe Willowlace]

    Calanthe froze as she peered through the bushes. There was a woman there. A wild looking woman, a familiar, wild looking woman. It didn't take Calanthe long to recognize the person before her as the ferocious force that had ripped through the Blue Moon revel, killing or mauling every fae she could get her hands on. For all the panic this woman had caused before, she didn't seem so terrifying now. Hunched low to the ground, grasping for the dagger at her waist, hair matted, face set somewhere between a grimace and a snarl, she looked scared, and in pain. 

    Again the crows high in the old beech tree cracked the frozen, silent air with their craggy voices.

    "I wouldn't do that if I were you. Pulling a dagger on someone in their own domain isn't usually regarded as the cleverest choice."  She tilted her head and lifted an eyebrow, almost amused that this girl thought she could do any damage in her current state, no matter how much of a force to be reckoned with she was at the revel. Calanthe glanced around the garden, checking that no other soul had wandered into her sanctuary. "If you hurry, I will allow you to leave my gardens with no fuss, but I recommend you leave now before my family, or our guards, catch wind that there is a weakened stranger on our lands. They will not be so kind as to let you go unpunished for trespassing."



Amaris Silvershade,

[Amaris Silvershade]

felt the cold

[attr="class","box1a"] Amaris had been reduced to little more than vital functions and screaming instinct. She had to process through the words slowly, feeling so alienated from the formality of the gentry that she was like an animal being coaxed to calm down. "I'm not going down unarmed," she said, her voice jagged with disuse. "You don't want my blood on your silk and furs anyway." This girl didn't look dangerous, not like Amaris did, but appearances in Faerie were more likely to decieve than not. She wasn't stupid enough to let her guard down.  "And I'm supposed to trust you won't have me followed?" she demanded, her breaths coming shallow and heavy, rattling behind her sternum. "That you won't send your hunting beasts after me?" One of the crows called again, a mocking scrape of a sound. Amaris's head snapped towards it. "Are they trespassing too?" she muttered, eyeing the birds.  Calanthe Willowlace [newclass=.box1a]margin:0px auto; width:300px; height:425px; background: transparent; overflow:auto; padding:8px;[/newclass] [newclass=.box1a::-webkit-scrollbar]width:5px;[/newclass] [newclass=.box1a::-webkit-scrollbar-thumb]background: #4d221a;[/newclass]

Music Word count: Notes: 

credit to Laura of Adox + SeaJem

[Calanthe Willowlace]

    "They are birds, you are not. The rules of the sentient do not exactly apply to them," replied Calanthe, unamused, "And if you want assurance I won't send anyone after you, then you have my word that so log as you leave straight off the grounds with no detours, nor do you steal or harm anyone or anything, then I will not have anyone follow you. You know as well as I that the fae cannot lie." Calanthe looked at the girl curiously, where was she from? Who was she exactly, beyond someone with enough gall to go on a killing spree in the middle of a revel? And most importantly, why was she here, in Calanthe's sanctuary? May as well find out while I can "Who are you anyways? And what exactly are you going in my garden? I expect both answers have something to do with why you feel confident to threaten me not once, but twice in my own territory?"


Amaris Silvershade,