DANCING DOWN THE LADDER

[ANIMA B.]

She loves the docks. She hasn't been to the seaside in what must of been an age and amongst all the hustle and bustle of the black market, she eventually ends up wandering to the seafront. It hasn't been completely unnecessary and a wasted trip, she'd managed to trade a doe skin for some arrowheads and fletches and a nice hot warm meal. Annie really does need to start bringing spices with her when she leaves town, she concludes at that moment when she's sat by shore, back propped up against a rock, eating a dish of rice and seafood. Her purchases are also propped on top of the rock, her hawk stood upon them all tearing into a late-hatching chick with glee.

She's taken off her boots and left them on top of the rock, socks tucked neatly inside so that she doesn't get sand in her boots. It's a pain to get out and she has one pair of shoes. If she has to leave tomorrow, she'd rather not run out of town with shoes full of sand that chafes. That being said, Annie doesn't hate Blackfall. Quite the contrary, the traders were seemed to be genuinely fair. She likes fair - fair can be swung in her direction. Trying to swing a trader in your interests when they already want to con you is much harder.

It's also nice and quiet by the shore. The sea lapping against the shore is nice - serene and calming. Compare it to the sounds of a forest at dawn Annie would. Looking out to the horizon is nice, the sun beginning to set on a lazy summer evening. It's all pleasant, something that the wilderness uses to lull you into a false sense of security if you're not careful. And Anima is incredibly careful - even here when she should have nothing to fear. It doesn't help that whatever Seven decides to snap his attention towards, be it a particularly loud sound or a movement off in the distance, it's the same sense of alarm in the back of her own head.

Perhaps she shouldn't of been with such a cautious animal. Perhaps a bear, powerful and soft. Or a wolf, fierce and loyal. Perhaps when Seven dies she'll find one of them instead of this godamn bird.

"And all the harm that ever I've done, alas it was to none but me." Singing isn't something that she does often in a public place. She hasn't got a good voice, no natural talent but she is able to hold a tune rather well. It doesn't sound completely grating. Still, she's mostly alone with nothing but the sea and a bird for company. Stands to reason that she should be able to fill the silence with something.

"And all I've done for want of wit, to memory now I can't recall.
So fill to me the parting glass, goodnight and joy be with you all."

song reference - the parting glass