Shadows <Earth Kingdom>

[natsumi]

The forest lay still, for once this place was undisturbed. The birds were singing merrily in the peace that flowed within the air, zagging between the trees and ending at the open areas where the peace was not so calm. The whole place smelled of pine needles, the sweet spicy fume that brought the woods such an excitement. Even the hunted creatures found bravery here to venture where they may in fact take their last breath. It was a cool night. Not like many nights that this world had seen. The trees wavered in the air as the wind blew gently. It was a crispy night, indeed. Though, not an unpleasant one. The stars were out, shining over the world brightly, despite the trees branches attempting to block them all out. The moon was in a crescent shape. It was curved like a dagger but gentle like a soft feather. No animals feared the moon, not even those who thrived in the sun feared such a thing. The owls and wolves would give joy to the orb that would vanish like a blanket covered it, and then, like magic, reappear again, sometimes brighter than the last. Some nights the moon would turn a blazing red, or would even be blotted out by the turn of the earth. This, the woods had all seen. They had also seen the shedding of blood. The blazing of fire. They trembled before the flames as it licked helplessly at the roots of its trees, chasing out it's animals and soon becoming wounded, sometimes for a few weeks, and some wounds would never heal. The forest remembered all things. Pleasant things, horrid things, still things, wondrous things, miracles--all was merged into the trees' memories. They would never forget. Not even the girl who was hunting among their branches.

Natsumi raised her bow and took aim at the rabbit who sniffed the air before her. She licked her lips, imagining the smell of cooking rabbit over the fire. It brought a rumble in her stomach but she quickly hushed it, urging it to be still. Natsumi pulled back on her bowstring. She closed her left eye and aimed with her right. She felt the bow strain under the string. Natsumi's eyes locked upon the rabbit, so unknowing of the creature that stalked it, ready to take its life to help her own. Natsumi took a deep breath, aimed, and... Natsumi let go of the bowstring. It gave a sharp whine as the arrow hissed through the air. Her jaw dropped as she watched the rabbit bound away unharmed.

"I missed! Of all the nights I could have missed I had to miss on the night I was most hungry." Natsumi cursed under her breath, mumbling about her bad luck. She spotted a fallen log and sat down, crossing her legs as one foot rocked a bit, back and forth. This wasn't her day. She had gotten sunburned, despite her dark skin, and almost had gotten herself caught in one of her own traps. Not the best hunter, she thought. She was lucky though that she didn't catch any wandering person in one of those traps. She shuddered at the thought of a fire nation soldier stepping into one of the nets. Though the idea seemed to humor her as she giggled a bit. Natsumi sighed and leaned back. "Oh well, I can always try my luck in the morning." She put her hands behind her head, feeling the silky brown hair between her fingers. She leaned back against the truck of a tree and sighed, staring up at the stars. "I wonder if he's up there, mom. Do you think the avatar is really up there?" She closed her eyes, imagining how the avatar looked, and how the fire lord would tremble before him and then... there was the peace that would soon follow with the fall of the war. Natsumi couldn't help but smile, even in the presence of such shadows that loomed around her.