He was not sleeping, but he might as well have been.
Sleepy Time - or, as he was known in this bizarre place, Somnus, was crouched down beside a large and imposing oak tree, arms wrapped around his knees. There was a comically enormous piece of fur wrapped around his shoulders and upper torso, nearly burying him so that he looked almost headless from behind, only a crop of pale hair sprouting above. Beside him, a large white wolf was nosing in the ground, clearly looking for scraps to eat.
Somnus pulled the furs tighter around him. His teeth ached, and he could smell the soil that his wolf - Petra, though sometimes he just called her sweetheart - was sniffing around in a little too clearly for his liking. They were both on the edge of the city, huddled together with a bundle of wrapped meat intended for the market, but they had yet to actually go in.
It was loud. It was cold. Somnus would have preferred to stay in the woods, would have been quite content to curl up with Petra and fall asleep under the stars, letting the wildness of the trees and the taste of the snow be the last things he thought of before he fell asleep. But he was hungry, and Petra was antsy, and so he had come back, creeping through the shadows without a sound.
His stomach growled. The meat was deer, not one that Somnus preferred to eat, and he hoped that he could swap it for something else, barter with a Crafter for something a little less...smelly. Petra had already eaten, and disliked his penchant for softer, more tender foods but since he put up with eating rabbit for her, she could put up with some potatoes and cheese.
Or maybe a tart. Something with fruit.
Sleepy Time - or, as he was known in this bizarre place, Somnus, was crouched down beside a large and imposing oak tree, arms wrapped around his knees. There was a comically enormous piece of fur wrapped around his shoulders and upper torso, nearly burying him so that he looked almost headless from behind, only a crop of pale hair sprouting above. Beside him, a large white wolf was nosing in the ground, clearly looking for scraps to eat.
Somnus pulled the furs tighter around him. His teeth ached, and he could smell the soil that his wolf - Petra, though sometimes he just called her sweetheart - was sniffing around in a little too clearly for his liking. They were both on the edge of the city, huddled together with a bundle of wrapped meat intended for the market, but they had yet to actually go in.
It was loud. It was cold. Somnus would have preferred to stay in the woods, would have been quite content to curl up with Petra and fall asleep under the stars, letting the wildness of the trees and the taste of the snow be the last things he thought of before he fell asleep. But he was hungry, and Petra was antsy, and so he had come back, creeping through the shadows without a sound.
His stomach growled. The meat was deer, not one that Somnus preferred to eat, and he hoped that he could swap it for something else, barter with a Crafter for something a little less...smelly. Petra had already eaten, and disliked his penchant for softer, more tender foods but since he put up with eating rabbit for her, she could put up with some potatoes and cheese.
Or maybe a tart. Something with fruit.
Beejoux wrote: