The young ferret scooped her paws into the warm forest soil and let it fall through her claws as she raised them again. Closing her eyes, she let spots of sunlight dance across her face as the breeze rustled the leaves above her. She was kneeling in the dirt, reflecting on the beauty that surrounded her. The forest, with its fresh young trees and rotting old wood, blooming wildflowers and decaying brown ferns, and a million bugs laboring in unseen eternal harmony. And always, above all else, the Great Burrower's children working ceaselessly below the earth in their holy task: to create life from death.
Rising to her feet, Zoya brushed her paws down her skirt, smoothing it. The skin had belonged to a beautiful young vixen, the village's last priestess, who had died of a sudden illness. As the tradition went, her skin was crafted into a ceremonial garment for her successor, as a gift that would remind the new warrior of their place in the Great Burrower's cycle. Zoya was honored to wear it, though she knew she had not fully earned her title yet. No creature could count themselves among the village's spiritual leaders until they had completed the trial.
Zoya was certain she would pass.
She was a very capable fighter, quick and agile, with a bloodthirstiness that impressed her elders. More importantly, she understood the importance of death, and the strength it could grant to the living. If she succeeded in her final test she would return home in triumph, taking her rightful place as a priestess of the Great Burrower. She would then leave once more to travel the world outside her village and carry out her purpose in the cycle, as an instrument of death. The very idea delighted the young ferret beyond measure.
That was why she had come to Mossflower.
She would not fail.
Author's Note: Wow, I haven't written anything in a long time. I feel bad about starting a new story when it's been so long since I've updated Recovery, but I've been having a really hard time working up the inspiration to continue it. I might just discontinue and scrap it? I don't know if anyone was really reading it anyway. lol But I've had this other idea in the works for a while now, and was actually able to start it, so yay. This story will probably not be too long, but who knows, it might end up taking longer to tell than I expect. Well, anyway, hope folks enjoy it, and as always I love love love reviews! Thanks!