Marsh Lore!
There was silence as the little leopard walked through the village. There wasn't a soul in sight. Sometimes Marsh did spot someone, but they disappeared as quick as they were spotted. "Are others afraid of me?", the thought made Marsh very sad. She'd been wandering these rotting paths for years, with no company, she faced the world alone. But now that she started to think about it, maybe she truly was alone. Everywhere she looked, there was rot, the plants, the streets, even the old houses were rotting away. "Perhaps everyone had left a long time ago," she thought. Something big must have caused them to leave, because just as she turned the corner she saw big ribbons and streamers hung from lamppost to lamppost. "They were having a party," Marsh thought, "something must've happened to make them just up and leave right in the middle of it."
"Da, what are we running from?", Blaze asked.
"They call it the walking plague," he replied, "keep running."
"I've never seen him this worried," Blaze thought.
As she pondered her father's demeanor, Blaze snapped a branch, and heard a small voice call outto them right after she did.
"Oh Blaze...," Sunspot almost whimpered. He picked up his kit by her scruff and started running faster.
Marsh heard a branch snap in the woods that bordered the village.
"Someone must be here then!", she thought.
"Hello? Is someone there?", Marsh called out.
Blaze struggled in her father's grasp, "Da someone's out there! If we're running, shouldn't they be running too?" Sunspot didn't respond, and Blaze wriggled from his grasp. "Da they need help!", she yelled and then took off toward the village.
Marsh started running towards the woods as she heard a scream or two come from it. And then she saw it, a little leopard about her size, staring back at her from behind a tree.
Blaze ran to the tree nearest the village, and peaked around it, she saw two small lights staring back at her. In that second Blaze felt cold and weightless. She heard her father calling out to her, but didn't have the strength to face him. Her vision started to be swallowed by black, in that second, Blaze finally understood why they were running, but she was a second too late.
Marsh felt so sad, it happens every time, she finally sees someone after miles of walking, but they always disappear the instant she spots them.
Sunspot stood frozen, he saw it, what the walking plague gaze could do. In one instant his daughter was standing right in front of him, in the next, there was nothing but dust. It was just like the letter said, "anything under the plague walkers gaze rots away entirely." He didn't even get the chance to scream, to weep. Instead he just looked up with his tear filled eyes, saw two small lights, and smiled as he realized he wouldn't have to wait to see his daughter again.
Yet to be refined some more. ^-^;
