Sarah took a step back and shook her head. That well may have been soiled or poisoned or something dire! She leaned over the well for a second, taking a breath and trying to clear her head. She'd dallied too long, she should get to her grandmas in case anything was wrong. She glanced down at her things, the goodie basket, the nuts, and the flower bouquet she'd made of roses, marigolds, and wolfsbane. Her grandma would like it. She put the flowers and the nuts in the basket, best they could fit, closed it up, and began to walk down the path.
She began to feel better as she walked, a bit more spring in her step. It was nice out, with a gentle breeze blowing, a couple birds twittering. As she walked they seemed to get more active. They were flying about and tweeting to each other, it was a lovely sound. Her mind got lost in thought. Some of them must have been in nests, over eggs, some of them hopping on the ground, looking for sticks. Paused right there before she could just scoop them up and then...
And suddenly her train of thought was stopped by a loud growling sound. She quickly glanced around the forest, looking for the orgin, but saw nothing, no life about her. She started walking again, swishing around the saliva in her mouth. Come to think of it, she was feeling rather hungry. Maybe that was it! The sound must have come from her stomach. She gave a small sigh of relief, licking her lips and starting to walk a bit faster. She shouldn't have gotten so distracted, she had somewhere to be after all.
As she walked on, the only thing that seemed weird was the lack of birds. They were all just tweeting, what could have driven them off? She reached up a hand to remove her hood, then brush away her hair; free up her ear so she could hear better. But as she moved back her hair there was an odd feeling on the tip, like some of the hair just wouldn't get away. She was growing frustrated, wanting to be rid of this weird fuzziness. She pulled hard, and gave a sudden yip, coming to a halt and holding the side of her head in pain. She must have pulled at her ear. Sarah moved her finger across the edge and found that the ear and it no longer seemed just right. Now it was not only more nestled in her hair, but she felt an odd point to it. Something must have torn, but she couldn't feel any blood! She sniffed the air, but nothing really smelled like blood nearbye. But just to check, she put her hand below her nose and inhaled deeply. She thought, briefly rationally that she probably should wash up when she got to grandmas. Pulling back up her red hoood, she started again with a new resolve, the balls of her feet quickly hitting the path through a leather base.
But as she walked there were more distractions. The sounds of the forest had returned, less frequent, but more detailed. Her ears strained to hear, twitching under her hood. It was a rich sound, and she felt lulled into the fantasy, the joy of the day. It was getting late in the day, but things were starting to feel hotter, a bit more swealtering. Her mother had told her to dress for warmth but, that's now how today was at all. She parted her lips, breathing a bit heavy, her tongue rolling out from her lips. Her mouth was churning, it had been far too long sense she last had something to eat. She licked out her teeth, to pick out anything that might have gotten stuck. But suddenly another yip. She'd nicked herself on a tooth a bit sharper than the rest. She closed her mouth to hold her tongue, she'd have to be more careful.
But if she wasn't panting she was only getting more hot. It was getting intollerable, and with every step she felt the need to go faster and faster. Her legs brushed against each other, bristling with each step. Her skirt was heavy, far too thick. She couldn't just go on with all this discomfort. Sarah finally stopped, reaching down to pull up at her dress and give her legs a bit of air.
She pulled it up and gasped. From her ankles up, her once smooth legs were flushed with golden hairs. She ran her hand up her leg all the way up to, well, not quite that far, that would be improper, but they were there. She'd just removed the hair this morning, and it was thick, far thicker than she anything she'd ever seen. She gave a small whine. First her ear, now her legs. What was going on?