Writing Prompts: February #1
Feb. 8th, 2018 05:26 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
Nexus Writing Prompts: February #1, Year of the Dog Special
It's the faint sound of whining that first draws his attention - the sound of a distressed hound, out of place in the twilit winter woods. Without his conscious direction, his feet leave the path as he starts searching for the source of the sound. After a few minutes of walking, a shack seems to materialize out of the gloom, and it's fairly obvious the sound is coming from within.
Vanyel steps up to the door and finds it ajar. It's entirely dark inside, and there's no sound to be heard aside from the whining, which changes to growling as Vanyel nudges the door open. But the sound is still so quiet, so weak... "Hello?"
A bark, that sounds more like a cough.
He slips inside, casting Magelight as he goes. The thin blue light illuminates a shack no different from many he's seen: table and chairs, cookpot over the firepit, bed and chest in the far corner. But it's all clearly abandoned, a thick layer of dust over every surface. Beside the bed, though... what he first took for a fallen blanket or a crumpled rug moves, the dog lifting its head and snarling at Vanyel.
"Easy," he murmurs, "I mean no harm."
The growling doesn't stop, but the dog doesn't move, either. Possibly because it can't - the poor creature is hardly more than skin stretched over bones. He steps carefully toward the dog, and it struggles to its feet - but he's distracted from that by the what's still lying on the bed. Magelight sticks close to the caster, so it didn't illuminate this corner fully until he stepped toward it. And now that he has, he can quite clearly see the dead man on the bed.
The dog is trying to defend its owner, even now.
Vanyel crouches down, shrugging his pack off and rifling through his provisions. Finally, he comes up with a few strips of jerky to offer the dog. It falls on the meager meal eagerly, and Vanyel takes the chance to run a hand along the animal's side. It's not quite skin and bone, but not far from there either. Standing back up, he notices a journal atop the chest, left open, so gestures the magelight closer so that he can read the page.
Well, after all my years living in these woods, it looks like the Rockjoint will finally be the end of me. I guess that's fine. All my friends are long dead. The only one left is poor Meeko. He was always a loyal companion, and I know he'll be able to take care of himself. I hope someday I'll see him again.
He glances at the body again, then at the dog. There's not much he can do for the man now - the ground is still too frozen for digging graves this far north, and only priests of Arkay are permitted to transport the dead. The best he can do there is backtrack to Solitude and let them know at the Temple of the Divines. For the dog, though?
Vanyel rustles through his pack and comes up with another few strips of jerky. The dog's ears perk with interest, and its tail starts to wag hopefully. Vanyel kneels, offering the jerky, and pets the dog's head as he eats. "How would you like to come with me, Meeko?"
It's the faint sound of whining that first draws his attention - the sound of a distressed hound, out of place in the twilit winter woods. Without his conscious direction, his feet leave the path as he starts searching for the source of the sound. After a few minutes of walking, a shack seems to materialize out of the gloom, and it's fairly obvious the sound is coming from within.
Vanyel steps up to the door and finds it ajar. It's entirely dark inside, and there's no sound to be heard aside from the whining, which changes to growling as Vanyel nudges the door open. But the sound is still so quiet, so weak... "Hello?"
A bark, that sounds more like a cough.
He slips inside, casting Magelight as he goes. The thin blue light illuminates a shack no different from many he's seen: table and chairs, cookpot over the firepit, bed and chest in the far corner. But it's all clearly abandoned, a thick layer of dust over every surface. Beside the bed, though... what he first took for a fallen blanket or a crumpled rug moves, the dog lifting its head and snarling at Vanyel.
"Easy," he murmurs, "I mean no harm."
The growling doesn't stop, but the dog doesn't move, either. Possibly because it can't - the poor creature is hardly more than skin stretched over bones. He steps carefully toward the dog, and it struggles to its feet - but he's distracted from that by the what's still lying on the bed. Magelight sticks close to the caster, so it didn't illuminate this corner fully until he stepped toward it. And now that he has, he can quite clearly see the dead man on the bed.
The dog is trying to defend its owner, even now.
Vanyel crouches down, shrugging his pack off and rifling through his provisions. Finally, he comes up with a few strips of jerky to offer the dog. It falls on the meager meal eagerly, and Vanyel takes the chance to run a hand along the animal's side. It's not quite skin and bone, but not far from there either. Standing back up, he notices a journal atop the chest, left open, so gestures the magelight closer so that he can read the page.
Well, after all my years living in these woods, it looks like the Rockjoint will finally be the end of me. I guess that's fine. All my friends are long dead. The only one left is poor Meeko. He was always a loyal companion, and I know he'll be able to take care of himself. I hope someday I'll see him again.
He glances at the body again, then at the dog. There's not much he can do for the man now - the ground is still too frozen for digging graves this far north, and only priests of Arkay are permitted to transport the dead. The best he can do there is backtrack to Solitude and let them know at the Temple of the Divines. For the dog, though?
Vanyel rustles through his pack and comes up with another few strips of jerky. The dog's ears perk with interest, and its tail starts to wag hopefully. Vanyel kneels, offering the jerky, and pets the dog's head as he eats. "How would you like to come with me, Meeko?"