[open] ...& maybe she desires death...

[Larkin Knight]

& maybe she desires death;
she just doesn't know it yet...

She had a newly acquired habit of bumping into people at the most inconvenient times. Only a few days ago she had been wandering around the boardwalk and been nearly scared into death by a most alluring young man; who at first she had assumed was a mugger. After talking to him for a spell she realized he in fact was not, but that was besides the point. Lately she had be putting herself in situations that were inevitability dangerous to her health, or existence for that matter. Her sense of direction was horrible, and yet she insisted on doing things on her own in an unfamiliar place; her new sense of freedom had entirely gone to her head.

Today, for the second time since she'd arrived in New Orleans, she found herself alone in uncharted territory, completely lost in her own fantasy world. Forests enchanted her like no other place on earth; each tree and rock had sat for hundreds of years, most likely having a most amazing story to tell, and yet they were bound in silence.

The crunching on mulch beneath her feet and the click of the camera shutter were the only audible sounds. Though there were mostly definitely others, her ears were not attuned enough to hear them. Each new object she found enthralled her; the tree that had a trunk that seems to be millions of small trees formed together, the rock that seemed to possess it's own face, and of course the infinite amount of critters she came across that would stop in her path so she could capture their image before they ran off.
Each picture was a memory preserved forever in time, and Larkin was very sentimental in that sense.

At last, when her eyes began to ache from looking through the lens for hours on end, she decided to take a break and enjoy the meal she had so tediously packed before she left home.
She found a clearing and decided it would suffice as a resting place. There was a creek nearby, and sure enough there would be some sort of animal drinking from it's depths. Perhaps she would wandering down there after. As long as she didn't stray too far from the trail she was satisfied she would be safe.

She carefully packed her camera back into it's compartment, never being too careful with one of her few treasured possessions. One wouldn't be able to call it exactly lunch, as the sun was very near setting; not the safest time to be alone in the woods, but it was the most alluring and made for the best pictures.

As gracefully as was her nature (which in reality was rather clumsy) she folded her legs beneath her and lowered herself until she was seated firmly in the sod. Then, after riffling through her backpack her hand emerged with a plastic package. She unzipped the top and reached inside, producing a lush strawberry. She placed the crimson berry to her lips, savoring the taste of it's natural sugars. Potato chips were overrated, fruit teased the senses so much more. She leaned back on her elbows, enjoying the soft breeze as it ruffled her hair and the tickle of grass against her Capri covered legs. Perhaps it was too late in the season to be wearing such things, but Larkin was reveling in the last days of summer before the snow fell; and she was damned if she was going to wear pants before then. She hated winter with a distinct passion, entirely due to the fact that she despised being cold.

She was very near falling asleep, the sounds of the forest lulling her into her dreams, when she head a distinct crack come from the trees behind her. Quick as humanly possibly she jumped to her feet, spinning around the face the danger. Was it stupid? Most definitely. But what else was she supposed to do... there wasn't a hope in hell on her outrunning a wild animal. She withdrew the mace from her belt loop, standing en guard and trying to psych herself out for whatever was to come next, whatever it may be was no longer her choice, but her undeniable fate.




[o.o.c - have a few posts running right now, though I have a lot of free time lately and I'm bored -shrugs - That, and Lark is new... she could use the publicity =P.]