A Small Fright

The sun slowly rose over the forest Snowdrop called home, its light scaring the darkness away as it gave way to a new day. It felt odd to call it the sun, for all of her life before being turned into an esk, she had called it the 'Light Ball'. Infact, she was positive it was her creator themselves who had taught her about the light and told her its proper name. But, truthfully, Snowdrop didn't care what it was called. All she cared about was its purpose, which she now knows, is to feed the plants she cares so much for. 

As she watched the last of the moths flutter away, she looked around at the flowers around her. She loved her boundary. It always made her feel safe and protected, especially during night, when all the bigger, scarier animals would come out, but something felt odd about staying here. As much as she wished to hide in the flowers forever, her heart nagged and nagged about traveling. In her past life, she has been a wanderer, never staying in one place for too long, and a part of her seemed to still be..clinging to that life. 

Maybe she could adventure out of the flower patch. It wouldn't be the first time after all. She had gone out of her boundary many times, though she always stayed close in case she needed to run and hide in the flowers. Maybe she could push it a little farther this time.

The small Esk lifted her head up out of the soft crimson flowers and looked around, her black eyes scanning the area for any movement. As she scanned, the leaves on her face rose slightly, tensing as she prepared for the worse. 

Even with the feeling of safety her boundary gave her, she was still worried about something crossing into her flower patch. Everytime something bigger than a cat even came close to the flower's edge, she ducked for cover. Even if they weren't aggressive their presence tended to scare the small Esk, and cause her to hide in her burrow. However, lucky for Snowdrop, nothing seemed out of the ordinary. It seems she was really alone this time around. Immediately, Relief flooded Snowdrop and the leaves on her body seemed to relax and fall back into place.

But then, she heard something. Immediately, her leaves perked up slightly, and the twigs on her head twitched. Something was here! But what? She slowly pokes her head back up, her heart full of curiosity and fear. What if there was a deer and she had just missed it?

Suddenly, she heard it again and her eyes gleamed with recognition. It sounds like someone was hitting a tree. But what out here would be doing that? She heard the noise a third time and started frantically looking around for where the sound was coming from. Then, she spotted something in the trees ahead of her. 

It was a bird. One of the small brown ones she had seen every now and then. It was so small and so high up, she had mistaken it for a twig. Slowly, Snowdrop felt her body relax and realized how stressed the situation had made her in the first place.

On second thought, maybe today isn't an adventuring day afterall. Maybe she should just stay in her boundary where she belongs. Afterall, who wouldn't want to spend their morning amongst the lovely flowers her patch has to offer.