[Zodiacal Event] - Drabbles

[Owlsomniac]

Posts in this thread are made from the POV of Little Owl - an "invented" pet for the purpose of the event.  

[Owlsomniac]

Prompt 1: The Old Mountain
"There are seven stones standing in a wide, empty field. "

There are six white stones on a field of grass, high in the mountains where the air is thin and the birds wheel ahead into endless blue skies. In the center is a black stone tall and weathered where rain and wind and sleet have marred its surface even though it still gleams like a dark diamond. As the sun rises and sets the dark stone casts a shadow that moves along the circle, long, then short, then long again until it is swallowed in the night and the once plain white stones seem to glow with an eerie light of their own in the pitch black beneath the stars as if reflecting the light back into the dark of the world.

It is so very quiet, here, and Little Owl feels at once both lost and perfectly at home in this perfect stillness. He curls up there just outside the circle curious and watchful but unwilling to enter despite his desire to do so. He is restless and anxious and calm all at once and it is very, very strange. Then again he is also still very young so who can say what it is he is really feeling, even himself.

Eventually he sleeps and dreams of stars and things that move in the night, waking now and then to the scent of something unknown on the wind. Creatures sometimes move in the nearby trees both small and large and it is thrilling to be here in this secret place that he alone has found.

Still, he wonders about the stones and their perfect placement. Where could they possibly have come from and who would have put them there? There are no answers of course. Only the wind greets him with its nonsense whispers and the cold stars above are no more enlightening. He does not venture into the trees at night though, even though he tells himself that he isn't afraid. The circle is too strange and mysterious, sacred almost, and he can never bring himself to wander too far from it with only the stars for light. He isn't afraid.

He is not afraid here and though he has started to think of himself as something of a watcher there are times when he feels watched instead. In moments like this he will stand and walk or run through the field until he is sleepy again, his long legs ungainly like a foal's, and he will lie in his customary spot where the shadow will rise first in the morning and wait for the new day.

Eventually he must leave. There is nothing more to do here and whatever other secret the circle may be hiding he doesn't know if he will ever discover it. Besides, it's lonely on the old mountain by himself and he misses the raucous calling of birds and frogs that the swamp has to offer. Not to mention the warmth. Perhaps one day when he is older and much wiser he will return to this strange place with new eyes to discover what he couldn't before.  

[Owlsomniac]

Res for prompt 2  

[Owlsomniac]

Prompt 3: The Twins

“The birds are out and curious despite the cold.”

It is his first winter and Little Owl finds that despite the somewhat frigid weather he rather enjoys the way the cool air prickles against his skin when the wind ruffles his fur and tugs at his tail. Many of the creatures in the swamp seem to be sleeping through the cold or at least tend to keep huddled in their burrows most of the day. Some, however, like Little Owl don't seem to mind the cold so much and as he hears the chirping of a songbird not too far away the young Kimeti can't help the small smile that crosses his face.

As he picks up his pace and trots a little further away from his cave he tilts his head up to search out the source of the song, his ears and nose twitching against the cool air. The song is taken up by another bird nearby and then he finally spots one of them. It is bright red with patches of white like a frost-bitten berry and against the winter-green and brown of the swamp he wonders how he hadn't spotted it until now. The newcomer is a little more elusive, but Little Owl doesn't mind as he follows their twittering calls into the swamp toward an open patch covered in the white fluff of snow. It crunches beneath his hooves as he makes his way out of the trees and he shivers as the cold races down his spine before pausing at the edge of the clearing to watch the birds.

The second one he can see now as it swoops down to grab something off the ground nearby, a berry or perhaps some sort of twig for a warmer nest. This one is a brilliant blue that rivals the cold sky above and contrasts beautifully with its partner. For what seems like a long time he simply watches as they trill and chirp and swoop around the clearing as if in play and his heart feels light simply watching them. The cold air doesn't seem to be doing anything to keep them down and if anything seems to have invigorated them the same way as it has for Little Owl.

Soon enough, though, even his fluffy coat isn't enough to block out the chill, especially since he is simply standing there in the cold air. He moves around the edge of the clearing, looking for a place that is a little less open to the wind and finally finds a small alcove carved out of a stone where he curls up against the bare earth to conserve his body heat.

The birds continue their play, soon joined by another, and then another, and then others until there is a small group of them flashing about in all manner of colors. Their song is rich and varied now and Little Owl watches them with a small smile and half-lidded eyes until he drifts into a sort of half sleep where he will eventually wake to the quiet of the once more sleeping swamp and only the steady thumping of his own heart for company.
 

[Owlsomniac]

Res for Prompt 4