Bird finally came across a small seep, a trickle of water oozing out of the ground, which flowed over a tumble of rocks before disappearing back underground. There was plenty of moss around, and she got down off Peri, taking a small knife out of the pack to loosen the green velvet from the loam.
She had gathered several handfuls, stashing them into the pack, when, brushing off her hands she looked around her and realized that she wasn't quite sure which direction the trail lay. Bird wasn't too upset about this, just put a little off balance that her sense of direction seemed to have abandoned her. But in the tension and worry of the moment, she had not stopped to check landmarks and the direction she was going. She had just plunged off the track into the forest.
"But Peri will know the way back. That pony is probably the most sensible one in the whole party anyway." Bird could have just morphed into bird form and circled until she located the trail again, but she knew Holly would have her neck if she left Peri alone, even for a moment, in these deep woods. So Bird bent down to gather a last handful of moss before turning back.
And it was then that she heard the twig snap...
[ November 25, 2002: Message edited by: Birdland ]
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