Foothills (For QuadRaptor)

Hills and mountains on either side. Nothing but an endless arid land, with small shrubs and cacti that make the land look greener from a distance. The sky is clear and blue, the breeze is strangely cooling for such a climate. The sun shines brightly on me, yet I don't sweat. No civilization for miles, though one road winds, and an occasional car drives a lonely path.

I've walked away from the only sign of human presence, over a few of the hills to where all I see is the rugged terrain. The wind blows here, the air penetrating through my shirt and caressing my skin. As I stand here, staring at the distant clouds over one of the many peaks, I see an old friend walking by. He is far away, searching the numerous shrubs for a suitable meal. I don't approach, I simply watch as the stag's antlers sway with his head.

He spies me, but remains unalarmed. His eyes meet with mine, despite the distance. I watch as he turns and wanders off, climbing over one of the hills in the distance and vanishing from sight. Curiously, I choose to follow, walking toward the place he was enjoying. Here I find hoofprints buried in the ground, this was where he stood. I look up the hill he crossed, and with an anxious sigh, I climb.

I am nearly rounding the top of the hill, awaiting to see the stag's gentle face again. As I stand on the top, I look around, not spotting him in the horizon. Looking at my feet, I see the hoofprints continue, and as I follow them, I find my friend.

He was a skeleton, slumbering on the earthen ground by one of the shrubs he so loved. It was here I understood that he met his end here, whether it was from dehydration, illness, or from a predator I will never know.

I sit by his side, and looking into the empty sockets that once held his eyes, I can imagine him looking up to me, perhaps the first visitor he has had since his departure from the world.

Goodbye, my friend. Your lively beauty has inspired me, but in death, you remain a tribute to the land.

Ironically the one I wrote above was from my experiences in Taos, New Mexico and the surrounding foothills. But I've got an idea for your story, thanks for requesting


One more thing, if you can't really think of anything right off hand in description, you can show me a picture of a place you'd like me to write about instead and I'll do the same thing.

To The West for Zyzzy

Focus. Take your time. Watch him move. He is slow. I am fast. Instinct. Swiftness. Death from above.

He will never know what hit him.

The eagle's eyes were locked onto her prey. To those without her sight, the squirrel would only be a speck of black on the earthen wall. She steadied her glide, circling, ready to swoop.

Let him get distracted..., she thought. The squirrel picked off a wild berry from the foliage. He began to eat the sweet berry, his mouth filled with the wonderful taste.

The eagle swooped here. She tucked her wings in, the air ripping past her as she raced toward the rock with stunning speed. One false move and she'd crash into the canyon. But she was very agile. That wouldn't happen.

Savor your last meal. Savor your last meal. Savor your..., she thought repeatedly, the squirrel coming closer and closer to view.

She opened her claws, and letting out a screech, she watched as the squirrel looked up just in time to see her. His heart literally stopped at that moment, the moment when her powerful talons dug into him.

She plucked the squirrel from the rocky wall, squeezing so tightly that the talons sunk deeply within the squirrel's body. He struggled and cried out terribly, and then, seemingly instantaneously, his body dangled limp in her grasp.

The eagle perched on a strange part of the canyon. There was a man-made rock wall where she dropped the squirrel and began to enjoy her meal. She knew they were watching her, and ripping off a piece of the squirrel's body, she began to chew while staring at the humans on the other side of the glass. She didn't know what they were doing here, what business they had with this canyon, but she didn't care. They didn't bother her, though she apparently bothered them.

The humans on the other side were trying to enjoy their own meals in the Grand Canyon Lodge Dining Room, but the eagle's grotesque spectacle was ruining the meal for them. Many of them had to look away while eating their steak dinners. Others simply were angered and complained to their waiters about the bird.

The eagle looked back out onto the land...her land. The great canyon's view was breathtaking to the humans, but to her, it was nothing other than a place to hunt squirrels and other rodents. The interchanging colors of the canyon's wall helped her know where to hunt, she knew where they preferred to scavenge and where they often were found climbing. She was the master of this land.

She continued to eat her meal, ignoring the now outraged diners within the lodge. When she had her fill of the squirrel, the eagle spread her wings and took to the sky. The canyon grew smaller from her eyes, and at this point she surveyed the land. Very few clouds in the sky, flatness of the plateau made hunting easy. She looked to the distant hills, planning on going there if the squirrels decreased in number here.

She looked back to the lodge where she perched, that ugly place the humans built on her land. And all she could think were the following words:

Such disrespect to shape the land to your favor. I pity your kind, you who destroy the beauty of my domain. I shall eat where I please, whether you like it or not.

For this is my canyon, mine alone.

Sure, though I need a landscape or a setting too. Surprise me haha!

You got it, thanks!

I plan to see that forest sometime too, when I take my big trip in 10 years or so. I bet the trees are going to astound me.

Beautiful! It was quite a trip reading that. Thank you for writing it. And how cool you got to go to Taos! I've always wanted to travel there.

That was kind of cute actually. Also made me think of the video clip I took of the other koi pond the park had. My two classmates lured them over with bits of potato chip and cinnamon.