The Death of the Wind

A wind blew across the Stedding, rustling leaves and making them dance in the night. It blew the clouds until they covered the moon, blanketing the Stedding in even deeper darkness. The wind was not THE beginning…but it was A beginning….or an ending.

A clap of thunder awakened her abruptly, heart hammering, her breath coming in short gasps. As her golden eyes swept the room, she calmed a bit. Nothing looked amiss. Wind lay curled in his customary spot near the fireplace, gone cold in the night. She’d forgotten to cover the coals. Her clothes lay neatly folded on the chair where she’d left them, her crossbow nearby, bolted and ready. A soft rain began to thrum against the shingles of the tiny cabin and she shivered. What a horrible dream, roughly she scrubbed at her face with both hands…and finally caught the scent of blood on them.

With a hoarse cry she staggered from the bed, the harsh reality of the Dream crashing into her. Horses screaming…..Trollocs everywhere…..a man who resembled her father laying in her arms….dying. Her white nightgown was smeared with blood and mud, her bare feet scratched and bruised. She could almost still feel the heavy sword in her good hand, too heavy to wield properly…too slow and clumsy. The Queen! But that’s not possible….. She stared down at her hands as the images flashed. Eyota neatly severing the throat of the Trolloc hovering over her....Wind lying so very still.

Wind!

Janna turned to the fireplace, dropping to her knees and running her hands roughly through the wolf’s fur, wet with blood from a dozen wounds. Light! He was breathing but it was whisper soft and worse, she could sense nothing from him, no answer to the frantic pleas from her mind. Wind! Windracer, answer me! Oh please, please, please…let this be the dream.

The cabin door opened with such force it rebounded off the stone wall and might have slammed shut again had Eyota not shouldered it roughly aside. Behind him she could sense Randon and the pups, anxious…afraid.

Janna burst into tears, the sobs tearing half formed words from her throat. “Wind….please…†Saying nothing Eyota gently pushed her aside and cradling the old wolf in his arms turned to the door. Janna sat frozen for a moment and then Randon was there, pawing at her arm, whining softly. She clutched at him, struggling to gain her feet. The wolf bore it though she could tell she had hurt him. Stumbling she followed Eyota into the night rain.

Janna Telenvar

Head Tracker

Companion to Windracer….

~ Not all those who wander are lost ~

OOC: So ya....I did consider calling this thread Gone with the Wind...but that was a bit too corny...even for me ;)