After The Storm

[cosycottage]

“Oof!” Lily huffed and puffed as she worked her way through the thick cluster of branches.


“Vera?” Lily called out, as she clambered out of the clump of fallen foliage.


“Halloo!” Lily tiptoed her way along the thick bark…


“Woah!” Lily tried to keep her balance on the slippy skin of the fallen tree.


Lily hopped down onto the soft, wet moss for a moment, before clambering up onto the trunk of another of the tall trees that had toppled in the night.


“Humph.” Lily sat down on the wet bark and sulked, idly twirling a sprig of fir on her lap.


“Hee hee!!” Vera cackled, as she clasped her bow between her fingers.


“Where did she get to?” Lily mumbled dolefully.


“Hands up, you pesky poaching vixen!” Vera yelled suddenly!


“Yikes!” Lily cried, before gasping:

“Oh, you got me!” - as Vera giggled from behind the branches.

...

[cosycottage]

...
“Good camouflage, yes?” Vera beamed as she receded to the shadows...

... where her yellow eyes burnt brightly and her teeth glinted in the gloom.

...

The previous night, Lily had stayed safely tucked up in bed with the covers over her head, listening to the big winter storm as it swept through the forest.


Vera, on the other hand, had stood at the window, beaming and yelping with delight, as the rain beat down against the cosy cottage and the wind whipped - cold and fierce - against her face!


But even Vera wasn’t foolhardy enough to stand out in the darkness, in the middle of the gigantic storm!


However, the next morning Vera had obviously been busy: making a bow and sharpening some arrows, all fashioned out of the fallen branches.

She had been hunkered down for a while now - lying in wait for the deer to appear and munch on the fallen leaves....


Lily made her way over to Vera, who continued to lurk behind a leaf-laden branch as she scanned the horizon…

And so, the two friends settled down, remaining still and quiet, listening to the delicate sounds of the forest…

...

Lily sat and waited patiently. But soon, the clouds closed in and a chill struck the air.

It seemed as if their dinner would never appear.
Until, suddenly…

“…there…” Lily whispered, pointing to the brow of the hill.


Shhh now…

Vera raised her bow and aimed…


The arrow whipped through the air and found its target with a dull thud.

Vera let out a triumphant “Yahoo!” and flew out of her hidey-hole with a single jump; hopping over the fallen trees with the lightest of feet towards her prey...

[cosycottage]

...
As Vera set off to do the dirty work. Lily shuffled a little further away and hummed to herself.

Lily wasn’t squeamish, but this kind of thing was definitely Vera’s area of expertise!

“Ah, my little friend.” Vera proclaimed, as she clambered back to her spot and reloaded, ready for another of those plump deer to appear. “We will eat well this winter!”

"Mmm… let’s see… well, deer steaks, of course… smothered perhaps in some nice sticky barbecue sauce…"
Vera was transported into a world of potential recipes and combinations...
“… and what about a brisket of venison, marinated in a rosemary and bay leaf brine? Ooh yes, and of course sausages for the freezer…”

“And perhaps, with a little practice, I might be able to skewer one or two of those pesky squirrels too!” Vera cackled.

“Well, just as long as you don’t put any new holes in the roof with that bow and arrow of yours!” Lily giggled: silently deciding to herself that she would stick to the venison burgers, which did sound rather tasty the way Vera was describing them!

However, she would steer clear of the squirrel kabobs when they came up on the menu in the next week or two!


“Mmmm… free range and organic.” Vera licked her lips, “You can’t beat it!”

[fin]

[Kate Kane]

Beautiful photos and storyline Cosy. I especially love the pic of Vera outlined in the dark window.

Mmmmm. All this talk of Venison burgers, I'm suddenly feeling peckish.

[Wulfie]

It's good to have Lily and Vera back in play, not so sure about Cosy tho , was begining to think he'd been caught hold of by the Mounties or nabbed by JoeBins Butler.
Another warm offering with a great setting and the 'wanting' of more.


Ok............................... welcome back

[Karrot]

Love it love it love it!

Miss Lilly and Vera always seem to be up to something. And in such a wonderful place too.


Karrot.

[cosycottage]

Thanks for the feedback hope the others like it.

Very pleased with the pics that came out for this story. I had a good time writing and sorting out the backlog of stuff, but it'll take me a week or two before I can catch up on here.

NB I'll try and post one chapter a week of Lily's Summer Road Trip and finally get that out of the way.... maybe that'll help warm people up in this cold snap!

Apologies if my comments are short (if any) on other people's posts on this forum for the time being. Lots to catch up on!

[Karrot]

Originally Posted by cosycottage

Apologies if my comments are short (if any) on other people's posts on this forum for the time being. Lots to catch up on!

Its nice to have you and the girls back mate

Karrot

[Kats012]

Another fabulously filmed story Cosy. Lily is so photogenic and my girls adore her; she's our film star. Vera is the nicest vampire there is - a real sweetheart underneath, I'm sure.
Squirrel is very nice but you do have to watch all the small bones.

[Kharn]

Great photos and a really great story Cosy .