Fishbowl Linkback perk: Salt and Pepper (Path of the Paladins)
YsabetWordsmith's October fishbowl is open.
Her linkback perk poem, Salt and Pepper (Path of the Paladins), will appear below , a verse for each linkback to the fishbowl. Please notify me of your linkback here.
I will be out of the office from about 4:45 EST until about 6:45 EST, at which point I will update with any new linkbacks!
Salt and Pepper
Shahana and Ari stopped at a salt lick
to harvest salt for cooking.
Clear crystal bands of rock salt
glittered amongst the stone and clay
of the cliff face.
On the ground at the base of the cliff
lay a smooth skirt of sand and silt,
moist from the recent rain
and pressed with many prints.
Shahana named the nearest ones --
deer and bear, porcupine and woodchuck
and the dimly glimmering tracks of unicorns --
then led Ari to a different patch
so the girl could identify them on her own.
As they carefully chipped salt crystals
from the cliff, Ari asked,
"Are there any animals sacred to Gailah,
like maybe the unicorns?"
Shahana chuckled. "Sacred, yes,
but not the unicorns," she said.
"Gailah's animal is the pepper squirrel."
"The pepper squirrel?" Ari echoed,
her mouth falling open.
"But -- they're horrible! They stink."
"Pepper squirrels mostly stink when they spray,
and they prefer not to do that,"
Shahana explained.
"Still, why not choose a nice animal
for an icon?" Ari said.
"Pepper squirrels just have a bad reputation,"
said Shahana. "They're calm and quiet.
They have beautiful ginger fur striped with white.
That caustic, peppery spray keeps them safe,
so they don't need to be aggressive.
They're actually among the most peaceful of animals."
Shahana and Ari continued to talk as they worked,
discussing Gailah and her symbols.
By the time they finished gathering salt,
the late afternoon light stretched across the ground
in tawny bands, and the shadows began to thicken.
As they turned to go, a pepper squirrel
trundled out of the underbrush toward the salt lick.
The wedge-shaped head plowed through the grass
and the plumed tail flowed behind the wide body.
A broad stripe of silver cut through the reddish-brown coat.
"Oh, no, now we'll get sprayed!"
Ari said, flattening herself against the cliff.
"No, we won't," Shahana assured her.
"Can you magic it?" Ari asked.
"I don't need to," said Shahana.
"Just watch."
The pepper squirrel lifted its head
at the sound of their voices, glanced at them,
and then went about its business.
Long claws dug into the soft clay at the base of the cliff.
"That is the most relaxed animal I've ever seen,"
Ari said quietly.
"They can afford to be,"
Shahana replied.
"Is that why Gailah's banner is
Argent chapé tenny?"
Ari asked.
"Yes, it is,"
said Shahana,
leading Ari away from the salt lick.
"I still don't understand why
Gailah would favor them so,"
said Ari, looking over her shoulder
at the unassuming little animal.
"Because, Ari, they embody a virtue
that Gailah desires for her followers," said Shahana.
"A pepper squirrel will never start a fight --
only finish one."
Her linkback perk poem, Salt and Pepper (Path of the Paladins), will appear below , a verse for each linkback to the fishbowl. Please notify me of your linkback here.
I will be out of the office from about 4:45 EST until about 6:45 EST, at which point I will update with any new linkbacks!
Salt and Pepper
Shahana and Ari stopped at a salt lick
to harvest salt for cooking.
Clear crystal bands of rock salt
glittered amongst the stone and clay
of the cliff face.
On the ground at the base of the cliff
lay a smooth skirt of sand and silt,
moist from the recent rain
and pressed with many prints.
Shahana named the nearest ones --
deer and bear, porcupine and woodchuck
and the dimly glimmering tracks of unicorns --
then led Ari to a different patch
so the girl could identify them on her own.
As they carefully chipped salt crystals
from the cliff, Ari asked,
"Are there any animals sacred to Gailah,
like maybe the unicorns?"
Shahana chuckled. "Sacred, yes,
but not the unicorns," she said.
"Gailah's animal is the pepper squirrel."
"The pepper squirrel?" Ari echoed,
her mouth falling open.
"But -- they're horrible! They stink."
"Pepper squirrels mostly stink when they spray,
and they prefer not to do that,"
Shahana explained.
"Still, why not choose a nice animal
for an icon?" Ari said.
"Pepper squirrels just have a bad reputation,"
said Shahana. "They're calm and quiet.
They have beautiful ginger fur striped with white.
That caustic, peppery spray keeps them safe,
so they don't need to be aggressive.
They're actually among the most peaceful of animals."
Shahana and Ari continued to talk as they worked,
discussing Gailah and her symbols.
By the time they finished gathering salt,
the late afternoon light stretched across the ground
in tawny bands, and the shadows began to thicken.
As they turned to go, a pepper squirrel
trundled out of the underbrush toward the salt lick.
The wedge-shaped head plowed through the grass
and the plumed tail flowed behind the wide body.
A broad stripe of silver cut through the reddish-brown coat.
"Oh, no, now we'll get sprayed!"
Ari said, flattening herself against the cliff.
"No, we won't," Shahana assured her.
"Can you magic it?" Ari asked.
"I don't need to," said Shahana.
"Just watch."
The pepper squirrel lifted its head
at the sound of their voices, glanced at them,
and then went about its business.
Long claws dug into the soft clay at the base of the cliff.
"That is the most relaxed animal I've ever seen,"
Ari said quietly.
"They can afford to be,"
Shahana replied.
"Is that why Gailah's banner is
Argent chapé tenny?"
Ari asked.
"Yes, it is,"
said Shahana,
leading Ari away from the salt lick.
"I still don't understand why
Gailah would favor them so,"
said Ari, looking over her shoulder
at the unassuming little animal.
"Because, Ari, they embody a virtue
that Gailah desires for her followers," said Shahana.
"A pepper squirrel will never start a fight --
only finish one."