As fast and deep as the Stonesong was, there were still places along it where the water raced over shallows that had not yet been worn down into the greater channel of the mighty river. The singing rocks helped block some of the force of the current, creating little pockets of quiet where the sunlight struck down through the clear water to sparkle off the sand and pebbles below, whether an inch or a foot deep. Sometimes great goldfish swam through the deeper shallows, resting on their journey downriver...
And sometimes the other animals of the Wildwood took advantage of them, too.
Two foxes stood still in a protected arm of the river, one red and one white as snow. They were belly-deep in the water, noble tails held up and quivering as they waited, tense and excited, for one of the large goldfish to break free of a passing school and seek a moment's rest amidst the shoals. The white fox waited a little further downstream of the red one, and almost seemed to be directing its companion as pupils pinned and whiskers trembled in excitement.
On the shore a creature of a different stripe waited in the early afternoon sunlight, pale and fluffy and pacing eagerly. Her long, thick feline tail twitched with impatience and she folded and refolded her wings as the little gryphlet watched from the safety of the dry bank, studying her companion and his assistant in their hunting, and occasionally leaping onto a higher rock to try and get a better vantage before jumping restlessly down again, reep! softly with hunger.
Hazel
And sometimes the other animals of the Wildwood took advantage of them, too.
Two foxes stood still in a protected arm of the river, one red and one white as snow. They were belly-deep in the water, noble tails held up and quivering as they waited, tense and excited, for one of the large goldfish to break free of a passing school and seek a moment's rest amidst the shoals. The white fox waited a little further downstream of the red one, and almost seemed to be directing its companion as pupils pinned and whiskers trembled in excitement.
On the shore a creature of a different stripe waited in the early afternoon sunlight, pale and fluffy and pacing eagerly. Her long, thick feline tail twitched with impatience and she folded and refolded her wings as the little gryphlet watched from the safety of the dry bank, studying her companion and his assistant in their hunting, and occasionally leaping onto a higher rock to try and get a better vantage before jumping restlessly down again, reep! softly with hunger.
