The branches above block all of the light except that which filters through the gaps between leaves, a dappled pattern that shines gold and green on the marsh floor. It mirrors the fanning shape of the greenery that serves as a blanket far above, that protects the swamp and the life that lives below -- except for in one place, where a dark shape blocks out the light, the smudged form that of an arched, winged monstrosity. They turn in place to see what casts this strtange shadow, but can see nothing in the branches above.
Written by blue

A family of ducks float gracefully across a still pond. Little ripples spread and distort the reflection of the clear blue sky.

The trek was too hot, too dry, and too long. Her every step burned. But the reward was worth it as she slowly...

sank...

to her knees.

It was unfortunate that after a long hard year of building up their store of food, as winter's grasp finally unclenched, it remained untouched.

His progeny scattered, spreading darkness in their wake. The world went black and only the glow of their eyes remained.

They pleaded and begged. They screamed at her desperate to be known. All except for the one who stood silently before her, dead eyes holding her frozen. If she spoke her name she would lose it forever. Her mouth opened.

They never changed. Every step was as graceful and sure as the last. Yet the question inevitably came. "Are you..."

"No."

Everything that came within his reach he took and everything in his possession he kept. As the frost settled over the land kin called upon him for aid. He only laughed.

This was his rite, his privilege, his trial. He crawled through the narrowing tunnel heading for the bright spot of light that signaled his end. The sharp rocks bit deep into his flesh as he forced himself forward. So close to the end and it felt like he was in the mouth of a cold heartless creature. It's teeth closing in all around him.

She laughed, standing at the end of the rocky outcropping. It was as thin and sharp as an acha's horns. Behind her the massive gorge yawned and the wind blew her hair around her face. "Kiss me!" She called to an unseen suitor."

The unbridled mischevious joy of a crow as it tugs on an eagle's tailfeathers.

Her mother was giant, even by totoma standards, and it came as no surprise that when she'd bonded with a wolf, it too was an unusually large beast. It was vicious and unapproachable by anyone but her and she doted upon it like her own lamb. When she did eventually foal despite clan-members fears, the wolf naturally took to the totoma lambs and protected them just as fiercely as he did their mother.

Of her siblings, as a lamb she spent more time than the rest in the wolf's presence. Even going as far as developing more wolfish behaviors than that of her totoma family. It didn't take long for her to be known as Sister of the Wolf. She bears the name with pride knowing that she is loved and accepted for who she is not only by her family but also by her eldest 'brother', the wolf.

Before their mane came in they always felt a little strange, a little off. It was a small change, but it meant the world to them.

Some might say he was only a collector, keen on stroking his ego. He has traveled far an wide across the mountain ranges the Totoma call home. In his wanderings he has gathered the lonely, the outcast, and the restless youth under his wing. He guides them, teaches them, and gives them protection until they are strong enough to fight their own battles. In turn, they refer to him as father. He is the father to All of them.

  If it was beautiful, if it was rare, if it was coveted by someone else, he wanted it. He gathered shiny things to himself like a squirrel hoards nuts. Anything he had to do to obtain the items he desired he did and never did he let any of it leave his hoard once he'd come into possession of it. He never used any of these items or even showed them off to others despite bragging of his vast treasure. They were purely to feed his own greedy desires and to establish a sense of importance and uniqueness that sets him apart and above others in his mind.