Monthly Story Prompts

How does your character prepare for winter?

Simply enjoy the season for what it is

Roe walked hurriedly along the cobblestoned street. The early evening breeze whistled tunefully past her, ruffling the long fluffy tuffs on the tips of her ears. The sun was just about to dip for the night and Roe was taking her usual summer stroll up the hill to her favourite reading spot to catch the last few rays. It had been so unbearably hot for the best part of the day meaning that this young doe had been hidden in a tiny corner of the library (as per usual). She had devoured two books already and was just coming to the end of her third when she decided to raise her head, catching a sharp glimpse of sunlight through one of the library's many stained glass windows. It was so blinding, it made her squint and immediately turn away but she knew what this flash meant - she had been so enthralled by what she was reading, she had almost missed the sunset! This is why she was now practically cantering up the last few steps, sweat beading on her forehead, to a small grassy section.

Here, an old oak tree sat proudly. This oak tree was ancient and grand. It towered above the small huts that lay on the outer skirts of Namarast, its leaves tickling the sky and chasing the clouds away. Roe plopped down beside it's massive trunk, nestling amongst the root system to face outwards towards the horizon. It was like the tree was grown for her with its perfect little perch. She sighed heavily, still slightly panting from the short burst up the hill in such energy-sapping heat. She reached inside her satchel to pull out a beautifully hand stitched, navy blue leather book. The front cover was adorned with hand printed gold embellishments. She nudged open the front cover and read the front page which stated the name, author, date of publication and some other jargon that was meaningless to Roe. The published date was so long ago that the addresses and names might as well of been a part of the fictional world that the story was telling. Without reminiscing too much about the past, Roe quickly flicked to the page she had so hastily bookmarked before she raced out the door to get here. In her rush, she had clumsily torn and folded the edge of the page slightly. Roe huffed. How could she have been so careless?! Hopefully, a well-meant apology would suffice to the damage she had caused to ease the telling-off she was going to receive from the annoyed librarian later. At least it wasn't one of the more prestigious books in their collection.

She began to continue her read, quickly becoming wrapped up in the story once more as the brave adventurer in her story came to one of her final struggles before the end. Stories like these were predictable - the warrior would come across a danger that they had never battled before. The battle would become hairy, teetering on the edge of success, when the warrior would 'unexpectedly' find a deeply-hidden strength to push through and defeat the monster! Victory would rain down upon the warrior and the story would continue. Despite this, it made the book no less enjoyable, especially in such glorious weather. The sun sunk lower and lower, finally reaching the horizon. It's final act was a mesmerising dance of colour across the sky. Yellows and pinks and purples and blue. It was such a sight to behold even the bookworm herself lifted her gaze to watch. This is why she liked sitting here every evening. It had become a ritual of hers every summer ever since she had moved to The Order. Her first time being up here was purely by accident. She had run away from training as she always had but it had been a day of library closures (something to do with the higher ups needing the archives for themselves) so her usual bolt hole had been blocked off. Instead, she skittishly ran through the streets. A spindly little deer dashing through the streets of Namarast was a unusual sight to see which caused many residents trying to capture her, calm her or steer her different ways so she wouldn't run into the many street vendors. Frightened out of her mind, she bolted up this very hill to this very oak tree which offered her such comfort and calmness, it was where she hid for almost 3 days until the rumblings of her stomach sent her back to the school. Now, she came here willingly, the oak greeting her like a friend every time. They had grown fond of one another in the years she had grown here like a grandfather watching her granddaughter flourish.

The sun had now become just a flicker of light, the sky now darkening ready for night. Roe finished up with her book, making light work of the last couple of chapters. She closed it, the hard back cover making a satisfying thwack against the pages inside. For a moment, she just sat there. It was still so warm despite the darkness but she knew this wouldn't last. The fields were full and bursting, ready for a harvest. Once the crops had been collected and the straw had been bailed, it was time to bunker down ready for the ruthlessness of winter. But, for now, the air was warm and all was calm. She was simply going to enjoy the season for what it was.