Explore taeshi

On the hillside it crouched. It was as still as stone, its face carved into a grimacing growl. Wings arched, it watched the people down below, waiting. The villagers bustled around, hurrying to finish the day’s labor. Eventually, the sun set, the doors closed, and the creature began to move. It reached out with a hard, gnarled talon, and clutched the edge of its stone base. It stared fixedly at a single window, the one with a weak, flickering candle. The candle dimmed, wavered, then went out, leaving a single line of smoke trailing upward. The last of the lights had gone out. The creature stretched its growling grin, hungry.  It slid quietly off its pedestal and crept quickly into the shadows where not an eye could catch it. It was time for the hunt. # Isli blinked awake. Her candle had gone out. Tense, she pushed her blankets off, then kneeled up on her tiny bed and patted around the windowsill.  Her hand found the small metal sparker. She lifted it up, clipping it onto the wick.