[Tenshi]

(The writing prompt was a description of a nature scene. Since I love writing descriptions, I enjoyed this one a great deal. Since I enjoyed it, I wanted to share it! Critique welcome, of course!)

The threshold to civilization is a lone steel gate, its thick, round post arcing smoothly into a single arm across the entire road. The road itself is made of coarse, dusty gravel that stretches a short fifty feet before being consumed by water. Slow moving ripples trace each stray piece of gravel as the water glides past. Distorted images of a green and brown landscape shine outward from the water, reaching toward the reflection of a perfect cobalt sky.

Beyond the gate, vibrant green limbs encroach on the path from all sides. Trembling in an unseen breeze, the limbs dance and sway with thousands of tiny fingers waving at passers by. Each finger reflects the deep, hearty green from beneath the surface of the water. Some of the fingers defy this norm, instead taking their appearance from a myriad of tones from a fire. Orange and red, yellow and white, all vying for attention among the other colors.

Continuing down the path, the edge of the water beckons. Each step along the gravel roadway kicks up a small cloud of fine, tan dust. It swirls and sways, twisting in on itself in a rolling ball of air that leisurely heads toward the water as well. Each crunch of rock stirs a small tumble from its neighbors, creating a symphony of dust-covered gravel.

To the right, up and away from where the road meets the water, stretches a long trail of shimmering sky. It is a reflection, a perfectly smooth mirror that shows clouds drifting aimlessly through a sky so perfect in color that it seems surreal. To the left, down and away, the same reflection curls around a bend quickly. Tall, dark green behemoths stretch into the perfect blue on either side, as if trying to claim it for their own. From all around in any direction, the soft chirps and calls of a thousand animals fills the air.

At the top of the water's edge, the cool scent of water can be felt. It is an odd sort of flavor, a description difficult to place anywhere but “cool”, leaving a sense of some mysterious refreshment. Fighting for dominance with this fresh scent is another, far heavier tone. It comes from all sides, a thick blanket that smells sweetly of aged mold, of animals fur, and of human sweat. Another touch is there, barely present among the others. Despite it's similarity to decay, the smell itself is sweet; bathed in the same freshness as the water itself.

One step forward into the water is an immediate shock to the system. Here the scent alone is not “cool”, the water is frigid as well. Even where the noon day sun casts its eyes on the water's face, beneath her skin her temperatures belong to the last remnants of winter. Below the surface, the gravel becomes slippery and slick. Billowing explosions of mud brown silt rise from each footstep beneath the water's skin, quickly rushed off to the left and away.

Ahead, the road rises out of the water once more. The gravel there is dry, clear and inviting in the shade of another group of dark green behemoths. They stretch with impossibly small fingers, millions of them, to the very edge of the water. There they drink, standing on a single brown leg with rough, cracked skin. All around, there is a sensation that invades every small space in a person, filling them up with a single, yet simple notion. This place? It is alive.
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. Dubbed "Usagi" by AsA .
Keeper of the Siderean Swords

"If by chance some day you're not feeling well, and you should remember some silly thing I've said or done, and it brings back a smile to your face or a chuckle to your heart, then my purpose as your clown has been fulfilled."
Red Skelton

[spawnofjaws]

Cool.
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Hoffman icon courtesy of my very good friend, Isaymakebelieve, on LJ, check her out! http://community.livejournal.com/isaymakebelieve/
In my brain, I'm someone famous AND important!
Dubbed 'Egg' by ASA, but also responds to "spegg"...
Keeper of Oliblish and Teh Poodle Stick....
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