Post by Mildre(a)d "Bagley-Aldaine" on Mar 5, 2009 21:50:22 GMT -5
Now, going into the woods is never a good idea. At night? Even worse. Alone? What, little girl, do you want to die? Huh, punk?
Mildred stepped shakily through the shin-high scrabbly grass that grew in this small part of the woods, wondering if bugs were chewing through the soles of her shoes every time she took a step. She would have been at least a little less scared if she could actually see where/what/who she was stepping on, but the grass combined with the picky moonlight made this near impossible. She whimpered, clinging to a nearby tree trunk, regretting with every second her dangerous adventure into the forest.
It had all started in the library.
She'd been looking up something--she couldn't recall what it was, now--when she had found an interesting section in a Herbology text book. It was about some odd, magic vegetable, shaped like a cone and coloured orange. It was rumored to make your eyesight better. Mildred, always being a bit sickly and weak, figured that if she could acquire one of these so-called Care-rots, she could make up for her weaknesses by being good at seeing things in the dark. Everyone had a strength, and she had yet to truly find hers.
According to the text book she was reading--which was rather old and dusty, as if it was very old and outdated--they could only be found in the middle of large bodies of trees, at night, hidden in the center of a field. The book cautioned that, just in case, she should be prepared for attacks by rabbits, so she had brought her backpack and one of the steak knives from the dining hall. In her backpack was a small bottle of water, a couple of band aids, and a big blanket, just in case she needed something to hide in or keep her warm. She had dressed snugly for the trip, her over-large blue-gray sweater accented by her pants and leg warmers nicely.
She was thinking of retreating, and perhaps looking for the vegetable some other time, when she was struck by a terrifying thought. She didn't know where she was in the woods. At all. She'd actually started walking during the daytime, hoping to find the clearing before night fell and then have an easy time of acquiring the Care-rots. They sounded a lot like the Carrots her mother used to make her, only... magical, and thus her interest.
Now, the sun had set, she was dirty and sweaty, and she was being eaten by bugs.
Mildred was not a happy little girl.
She mumbled to herself as she ventured from her Safety Tree. "I thought it'd be easy to find..."
It wasn't the woods she was afraid of. Sure, she'd heard rumors about the Forest being dangerous, but she had heard nothing but good things about it, lately. Some older Gryffindors had actually been talking about it being a good place to fornicate--something she wasn't actually interested in--and how, really, the lycans hiding out in the forest were all either gone or tame.
No, she wasn't scared of the woods at all.
She was terrified of the dark.
Ever since she was little, it had scared her, and now was no different. The logical side of her nagged at her, telling her that there was nothing about darkness itself that was threatening, but the other side of her simply refused to be calmed. Darkness was just scary.
It was as she was thinking these things over that she tripped. She swore it was a snake or an eagle or satan--it was actually a tree root--but whether it was any of those things or not, it didn't matter.
The poor little girl went tumbling forward, hands out and eyes closed as she plummeted into the dirt and grass.
She attempted to break her fall using her hands, but weak as she was (and surprised), she failed her saving throw and only managed to hurt both of her palms and smacking her head right into a rock hidden by the small amount of grass.
Dazed, she layed still for a second, and attempted to get up, dragging her right arm over to try and push the ground away from her.
Suddenly, she was conscious of the sharp pain rising from the ankle that had hit the malicious, nefarious root. Apparently, the root had been rather sharp for just some hardened wood, and she could feel blood flowing from the wound she now knew was there.
The band aids in her backpack were completely forgotten, and she cried a little as she rolled on her side and curled her legs toward her.
She hurt.
Mildred stepped shakily through the shin-high scrabbly grass that grew in this small part of the woods, wondering if bugs were chewing through the soles of her shoes every time she took a step. She would have been at least a little less scared if she could actually see where/what/who she was stepping on, but the grass combined with the picky moonlight made this near impossible. She whimpered, clinging to a nearby tree trunk, regretting with every second her dangerous adventure into the forest.
It had all started in the library.
She'd been looking up something--she couldn't recall what it was, now--when she had found an interesting section in a Herbology text book. It was about some odd, magic vegetable, shaped like a cone and coloured orange. It was rumored to make your eyesight better. Mildred, always being a bit sickly and weak, figured that if she could acquire one of these so-called Care-rots, she could make up for her weaknesses by being good at seeing things in the dark. Everyone had a strength, and she had yet to truly find hers.
According to the text book she was reading--which was rather old and dusty, as if it was very old and outdated--they could only be found in the middle of large bodies of trees, at night, hidden in the center of a field. The book cautioned that, just in case, she should be prepared for attacks by rabbits, so she had brought her backpack and one of the steak knives from the dining hall. In her backpack was a small bottle of water, a couple of band aids, and a big blanket, just in case she needed something to hide in or keep her warm. She had dressed snugly for the trip, her over-large blue-gray sweater accented by her pants and leg warmers nicely.
She was thinking of retreating, and perhaps looking for the vegetable some other time, when she was struck by a terrifying thought. She didn't know where she was in the woods. At all. She'd actually started walking during the daytime, hoping to find the clearing before night fell and then have an easy time of acquiring the Care-rots. They sounded a lot like the Carrots her mother used to make her, only... magical, and thus her interest.
Now, the sun had set, she was dirty and sweaty, and she was being eaten by bugs.
Mildred was not a happy little girl.
She mumbled to herself as she ventured from her Safety Tree. "I thought it'd be easy to find..."
It wasn't the woods she was afraid of. Sure, she'd heard rumors about the Forest being dangerous, but she had heard nothing but good things about it, lately. Some older Gryffindors had actually been talking about it being a good place to fornicate--something she wasn't actually interested in--and how, really, the lycans hiding out in the forest were all either gone or tame.
No, she wasn't scared of the woods at all.
She was terrified of the dark.
Ever since she was little, it had scared her, and now was no different. The logical side of her nagged at her, telling her that there was nothing about darkness itself that was threatening, but the other side of her simply refused to be calmed. Darkness was just scary.
It was as she was thinking these things over that she tripped. She swore it was a snake or an eagle or satan--it was actually a tree root--but whether it was any of those things or not, it didn't matter.
The poor little girl went tumbling forward, hands out and eyes closed as she plummeted into the dirt and grass.
She attempted to break her fall using her hands, but weak as she was (and surprised), she failed her saving throw and only managed to hurt both of her palms and smacking her head right into a rock hidden by the small amount of grass.
Dazed, she layed still for a second, and attempted to get up, dragging her right arm over to try and push the ground away from her.
Suddenly, she was conscious of the sharp pain rising from the ankle that had hit the malicious, nefarious root. Apparently, the root had been rather sharp for just some hardened wood, and she could feel blood flowing from the wound she now knew was there.
The band aids in her backpack were completely forgotten, and she cried a little as she rolled on her side and curled her legs toward her.
She hurt.