Thanks to
Alexandra Semushina for permission to use her charming artwork, "Owl"!
Trina fluffed her
wings and turned her head around, tilting for parallax, as she searched for
signs of any followers. Not much could keep up with her in owl form, and she’d
flown far from last night’s roost. Satisfied, she opened her wings and dropped
down to the ground, changing as she fell. Dropping into a crouch, she swept her
feathered cape behind her back and drew her knife. Losing her owl senses always
made her feel even more vulnerable.
Standing tall,
she sheathed the blade and pushed her goggles back on her head. She eyed the
creek beside her, looking for fish or large pincer-shrimp. Her tight-laced
leggings would keep her feet safe from rocks and the freezing water if she
moved quickly. There, a fat eel rested in the shadow of a boulder, the water
rushing around it. Trina tugged her blade free again and crouched on the bank,
pulling her goggles down to protect her eyes. Drawing on her owl speed, she
plunged into the water and speared the eel with her blade pinning it against
the rock. With her other hand, she grabbed its tail end—far from the needle
teeth—and in one strong sweep, pulled it against the blade, slicing the length
of its body until its teeth wedged on the blade. Holding the still-wriggling
pieces taut against the blade, she backed out of the water and threw it on the
ground.
“That will be a
fine supper,” said a deep voice behind her.
Trina whirled,
then grinned, pulling her goggled off her head and shaking her hair loose. “Indeed.
I might even share,” she teased…
To be continued?
Dogs
in House
|
Houdini
|
|
|
Time
writing
|
~20 minutes
|
|
|
July
word count
|
12,754
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