Snippet #2184616

Blood, there was something so distracting about the warm crimson life fluid. For Lyrana, she enjoyed her meat red and juicy, on the rare side when not raw. Unfortunately her current meal was not as she would rather have her food. Even fresh fish, which was about as bloodless as she could deal with, was a distant desire. Her sharp teeth chewed through the heavily salted beef jerky as her travelling dress fluttered above the dirt in her wake. At least the salt reminded her of home, the scent of the brine below the cliffs. A decently sized pack tried to weigh her down as she stuck with her unappetizing meal. It was times like this where she wished she could actually hunt on land. Any and all attempts had been met with failure and any water she had come across wasn't exactly rich in prey. It had been a few days since she had parted from the caravan.

The gypsies had been very polite and helpful, some of them going out their way to give her a hand in learning the ways of the wild. Still a few days were not enough to learn how to sustain herself. So Lyrana had to be content with the weeks worth of trail rations and the longing hope that she would find a lake or a river that could actually submerge herself in. So far all that held her attention was the dusty path stretching before her. It was somewhat irritating that was in the middle of nowhere, although she respected her father's wishes she disagree with his sentiment 'go where your dreams lead you.' Apparently it was the dreams that drew her parents together. Lyrana couldn't put any value in dreams, they were unsubstantial things twisting and manipulating reality to follow the most abstract of thoughts. At least that was what she had experienced and had been taught to her. Neither could she bear the thought of her future being decided for her and in such a ridiculous way as finding a mate. Yet her was her father's request and her mother's final wish, she would do asked they asked. An endeavor like this would supposedly provide the mastery of her magic, the skills and the experience required to be the ruler her father, the king, and the people needed her to be.

Despite all her skepticism there was something disturbingly familiar about the surroundings. The loneliness, the dirt path, the slightly overcast sky. They were something akin to a the fracture madness of a dream. With nothing in her plans she had nothing left but to follow this supposed fate. Head where the dreams take her, when things seemed recognizable and comfortable she could feel confident that she was going the 'right' direction.