In theory, Urna should have been heading towards Cloud Bend. But the squirming, gnawing, burning tension at her core had only grown since she'd returned home, and she wasn't ready to face the crowds or sit still for a doubtless long and boring meeting until it was out.
She needed a chance to cut loose and blow off some steam, and she couldn't do that with her kingdom-mates chattering all around her. Urna slipped into the field alone. Goldenrod brushed her chest. The flowers were starting to turn white and fluffy, but they still buzzed with the slow insect activity of early morning. Bees warmed their wings on high stems and crickets hopped away from her paws with every step.
The unbothered quiet called to her, and the itch in her heart grew. She gave in. Urna fell onto her back and thrashed, sending up clouds of downy seeds and tiny moths whose wings caught the golden morning sunlight. She surged to her feet and leapt, kicking like a foal. It wasn't enough. She nipped at the dry stalks, ripped them, worried them flat beneath her teeth. Her claws tore up clods of earth.
The first burbling syllable of a laugh swelled in her throat, but an unfamiliar scent (among the crushed leaves and overturned soil) reached her, and she swallowed the sound abruptly. Flipping onto her stomach, she rose into a wary crouch, her eyes just high enough to peer through to the river bend.
What was that? A something, moving in an ungainly shuffle back towards the water's edge. An otter? But no, it had fins. A seal? Its movement was weird. Huh.
Could catch it and find out.
Urna trotted obliquely closer, drawing as close as she could to the river while still sticking to the higher grasses. The strange creature's smooth little head hit a familiar angle. A cat! Maybe. It clutched a bundle of flowers in its mouth.
"Hey!" Urna galloped the last few paces towards the riverbank, her tail flipping up over her back. "Who are you?" she challenged.
---
just a silly lil dice roll to determine whether she was stealthy in her approach or not
success: with the wind in her favor, Urna's able to get pretty close to Delta without alerting him.
failure: girl u are not even a little bit sneaky. Delta can definitely notice her right away.
She needed a chance to cut loose and blow off some steam, and she couldn't do that with her kingdom-mates chattering all around her. Urna slipped into the field alone. Goldenrod brushed her chest. The flowers were starting to turn white and fluffy, but they still buzzed with the slow insect activity of early morning. Bees warmed their wings on high stems and crickets hopped away from her paws with every step.
The unbothered quiet called to her, and the itch in her heart grew. She gave in. Urna fell onto her back and thrashed, sending up clouds of downy seeds and tiny moths whose wings caught the golden morning sunlight. She surged to her feet and leapt, kicking like a foal. It wasn't enough. She nipped at the dry stalks, ripped them, worried them flat beneath her teeth. Her claws tore up clods of earth.
The first burbling syllable of a laugh swelled in her throat, but an unfamiliar scent (among the crushed leaves and overturned soil) reached her, and she swallowed the sound abruptly. Flipping onto her stomach, she rose into a wary crouch, her eyes just high enough to peer through to the river bend.
What was that? A something, moving in an ungainly shuffle back towards the water's edge. An otter? But no, it had fins. A seal? Its movement was weird. Huh.
Could catch it and find out.
Urna trotted obliquely closer, drawing as close as she could to the river while still sticking to the higher grasses. The strange creature's smooth little head hit a familiar angle. A cat! Maybe. It clutched a bundle of flowers in its mouth.
"Hey!" Urna galloped the last few paces towards the riverbank, her tail flipping up over her back. "Who are you?" she challenged.
---
just a silly lil dice roll to determine whether she was stealthy in her approach or not
success: with the wind in her favor, Urna's able to get pretty close to Delta without alerting him.
failure: girl u are not even a little bit sneaky. Delta can definitely notice her right away.