Hunter's Mark - Chapter 16She followed his finger to the thin line of comfortable smoke coming from a second-story chimney pot, a chimney pot belonging to a tidy brick building tucked away behind the rim of the hill.She stared. "That didn't used to be there.""It was built about ten years ago. You would have been in Flanders."The trees opened out as they rode down the hill, into the front yard of the guild building. It looked odd sitting there in the middle of the forest, for it was built in the design of a regular burgher residence; there out to have been houses stacked left and right of it, but instead there were only blank brick walls with heavy wooden shutters. The yard was surrounded by a high brick wall, but the gate was open and there was no one on watch that Kyril could see.The light thwuck-thwuck of horses treading earth turned into the sharp klak-klak of hooves on flagstone. There were large planter pots set out around the yard, as though someone had tried to pretty it up, but anything they had onc
Hunter's Mark - Chapter 15He woke up slowly, to the rhythm of early morning birdsong and slow, great breaths.Then something warm and moist whuffled in his ear, and he sat up with a start. His blanket slid from his shoulders, letting a flood of cold air down the front of his shirt.His horse gazed at him benignly from a few inches away, then leaned in to lick him again. He fought it off by quickly offering to scratch his ears, an offer the gelding accepted with gusto. It felt odd to be on a level with the big horse's head like this. But the horse, feeling unusually safe in this lush, sheltered meadow, had seen no reason not to lie down to sleep, and Kyril had seen no reason not to bed down next to him for warmth. Anything but being shut up in that windowless, claustrophobic cabin for the night."Morning."He hadn't heard her coming over the bridge. He wondered how long she'd been standing there, watching him snuggled up against his horse. Agathe apparently had no problem with small, dark places. She looked fres
dreamwalkerit always ever ends the sameonce they know more than your nameand see what happens to your paindreamwalkerrun awayyou're one percent and we do not knowwhat to make of a person who doesn't showthe breath of a track when she walks on the snowdreamwalkerrun awaystay with the rest of us here on the groundwe give what we get and it all comes aroundso do as much damage, and bring others downdreamwalkerrun awaybut tears become flint for the fire of your mindand hurt becomes color you weave and unwindand scars become silver you polish, refinebut tears become water that feeds living springshurt becomes healing bec
dragons in the snowbefore me the seas and mountains and cloudsand dreams that rise from the sandand worlds within me sing and dancewhen I but raise my handsand my pencil flies across the pagejust as eager to showthe hills beyond these, monsters thereand dragons in the snowI've awakened; follow if you canthrough the wasteland dry and bleakto a better place away from the chainsthat bind you dull and meekbefore me are waves that wet the sun and trees that pierce the skyand cities sailing over the cloudsand dreams deep as a tiger's eyebut I won't look back at the burning darkat the ruin left behindno matter who calls like an angel of lightin
Midnight RainbowI stumbled on his writingsA book grown old and frailBut clear upon its pagesWas yet a living tale.In vivid shades of midnightHe painted, and despairedTo live he had no reasonTo die, was unprepared.And though the ancient pagesReveal the dust of timeThough ages stand between us,His story could be mine.We've tasted each the bitterWithin our cup of yearsAnd walked a midnight rainbowThat spans a sky of tears.He too escaped his sorrowAnd left that shadowlandWhere hope is not permittedAnd death is close at hand.But we will long rememberThe ancient one, and IThat bitter, midnight rainbowAcross a weeping s
Strings AttachedStrings Attacheda Princess Tutu fanfiction by Tripleguess[Post-Series; possible mild spoilers for Princess Tutu]Genre: Drama/HumorRated PG+July 27, 2007Summary: They say Drosselmeyer never gave anything away."In other words, the fact that I was a duck... or how long Ive been me as a girl... and before that, what I was then...? Ah... I dont understand at all!"-Ahiru, Episode 2White halls. White walls. Pale curtains against the moon.A silhouette against the window. Looking away, outside, to the endless landscape beyond the glass.Glass and bars. A pristine room; a spotless tower.A prison.The silhouette turne