fter hours of walking away from the village, Analissa had seen the barren land many times before, but it still repulsed her. All life ended as though a strait line had been drawn across the land, and there was only cracked thirsting dirt in all directions. She would feel sick and weak simply at the sight of it, for even the sun seemed a little bit darker of the hellish waste. Then, as she focused her eyes and looked closely at the baked land in the distance, she saw a tiny orange speck on the horizon. The land frightened her, made her weak. But the knowledge that there was something out there beckoned her to rescue it, for it would surely die if she left it in the wasteland. As soon as she stepped onto the dead earth, she felt ill. All death seemed dispicable to Analissa, who had never killed he spider on the floor, or eaten the rabbit soup. The fact that there was no life around her was drawing away her strength. But she trekked on, into the heat and death, towards the little orange speck that could be no more than a trick of the light. The strong willed girl had been stumbling along for what seemed like hours. Now there was nothing in all directions, just dirt. Her cracked lips and dry throat were sore, and she had no water. She tried to only think of the little being that may be out there alone. Finally she could see the shape of what looked like a small animal, laying a few hundred yards before her. She would have run if she could, but she was getting weaker by the minute. However, the sight of her destination renewed at least some of her strength, and she moved faster until she reached it. She was surprised by the little creature. It turned and looked up at her, this thing unlike any animal she had ever seen. Its body was like the tigers told in campfire stories about India, but it had a mane like a pinkest flower she'd seen, and green feathered wings at its sides. She scooped it up carefully, and stroked its neck. Her spirits had been completely restored, but not her strength. She felt weak and every bone in her body ached. Suddenly, her vision wavered, and even as she clutched the creature to her chest, Analissa blacked out. Back Next Backgrounds and bars from Sanori Gardens Creature from The Silver Unicorn