Word: Meander

meander

\ mee-AN-der \  , verb;

1. to proceed by or take a winding or indirect course: The stream meandered through the valley.

2. to wander aimlessly; ramble: The talk meandered on.

3. Surveying.  to define the margin of (a body of water) with a meander line.

noun:

1. Usually, meanders. turnings or windings; a winding path or course.

2. a circuitous movement or journey.

3. an intricate variety of fret or fretwork.

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Sunlight filtered through the trees of the light forest as a light summer breeze bushed across the lush grass.  Mary looked all around her with bright, exited eyes, doing her best to take as much in as she could.  She meandered through the trees with light, airy steps.  Her white dress fluttered around her as she moved aimlessly through the forest.  Nathan followed her with somewhat more assured steps, his eyes glued to her to make sure she didn’t trip over any exposed roots or step in anything unpleasant.  Her feet only had thin sandals to protect them, and he worried about his sister’s well being.

               “Isn’t this amazing?”  She asked lightly without stopping.

               “Uh, sure, I guess.”  He said, trying to figure out what she was talking about.

               “It feels so good to be out here, you know?” She said, talking about the forest.

               “Oh, right.  Yeah, it is a nice day out.”  He said.

               He had to remind himself that this was her first time being out and about.   From an early age she had been stuck in a hospital bed with a supposedly incurable illness that sapped all her energy.  And yet, only a few months ago, a cure was discovered.  Mary was one of the first people the treatment had been tried on.  Now, only those who knew her would know she was anything other than an energetic teenage girl.

               “Uh huh.  Hold on, I want to do something.”  She said.  She flopped down on the soft grass and started to slip her sandals off.

               “Hey now, are you sure you should be doing that?” Nathan asked.

               “Why shouldn’t I?”

               “Well, you don’t know what might be on the ground.  With the way you’ve been walking, you’re liable to step on deer droppings or a nut or something.”

               “Oh.  But I still want to go barefoot.”  She said, her face falling at the lost opportunity.  Nathan couldn’t leave it at that.  Otherwise he couldn’t call himself a big brother.

               “Hm, tell you what.  When we get home, you can walk on the lawn barefoot. At least there we know that you won’t step in anything unpleasant.”

               Mary stood up like she had been spring loaded; her disappointment vanishing like it was never there.  She rushed up over to him and gave him a large sibling hug. Nathan had to keep himself from laughing at her enthusiasm over something so simple.

               “So, what do you say…”

               “SH!”  She said suddenly, placing a finger over his lips.  Nathan kept silent and still as Mary looked over his shoulder at something.

               She let go of him and crept as quietly as she could around him.  Nathan turned to look at what had grabbed her attention so quickly.  There was a small songbird hopping around and pecking the ground for food several yards away.  It was a common bird with dull plumage.  Ore of them were twittering away in the trees as they had been walking.  The only difference Nathan could see was that this one was on the ground instead of on a tree branch.

               But, it was the first one of its kind that Mary had seen outside of a book or screen.  She was apparently driven to catch it, or at least get a closer look.  She got down on all fours and crawled quietly towards the bird.  Her movement was just as winding and indirect as her steps had been, but with a clear direction.  Apparently she felt that moving like that would lower her chances of the bird noticing her and flying away.  It looked like she might actually succeed for a moment as well.  But the bird took flight long before she reached it.  She stood up and sulked over to her brother.

               “You didn’t actually think you’d catch it, did you?”  He asked.

               “No, but I was hoping I’d have gotten closer at the very least.” 

               “You know those things are everywhere, right?  We can just get a pair of good binoculars so you can get a good look while still keep your distance so they don’t fly away like that.”

               “You mean it?  Really?”  She said, immediately perking up.

               “Sure.  I’m sure mom and dad won’t mind at all.  We can ask once we get home.”

               “Well then, what are we waiting for?  Let’s go!”  She said happily.  She took hold of his hand and pulled him along with her.  Nathan couldn’t help but laugh at her joy as he let himself be pulled along.  

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Yeah, I've got nothing to say right now.  Just you know, enjoy the story and stuff.  Maybe go outside afterwards if its a nice day and such. 

Word: lacerate

 

lacerate

\ LAS-uh-reyt \  , verb;

1. to tear roughly; mangle: The barbed wire lacerated his hands .

2. to distress or torture mentally or emotionally; wound deeply; pain greatly: His bitter criticism lacerated my heart .

adjective:

1. lacerated.

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Kyle and Jill moved carefully through the cavern, both keeping a keen eye out for anything that might be considered a threat.  They knew at least one threat in the form of the savage predator they saw earlier.  There was also the issue of having another intelligent creature in the cavern with them.  They didn’t know if it would be a hostile species or not, but neither wanted to take any chances.

               Although both of their minds were racing, neither spoke.  Since they no longer knew what might be waiting for them around the corners formed by the glowing butterfly colonies, they had opted for as much silence as they could muster, and that meant not a word escaped their lips.  Jill’s heart was beating like a drum though, and she was worried that something with keen enough hearing might be able to hear it.  She wanted to take some deep breaths to try and calm herself down, but the need for silence kept her from doing so.  She had a suspicion that it wouldn’t help much anyway.

               Suddenly, the call of some animal echoed through the cavern.  It sounded almost like a midsized wild cat with an unusual strong voice.  The two explorers looked at each other, fear showing on their faces.  Cats were always top predators, especially the big ones.  Without weapons, they were at the mercy of whatever it was.  But the most worrying thing was that it was close.  Very close.  In fact, the only reason they couldn’t see the animal was that it came from the other side of a particularly large stalagmite.

               The animal’s call echoed again through the cavern, louder and fiercer than the first.  Then the sounds of what sounded like a fight reached their ears.  Kyle’s curiosity got the better of him, and he slowly and carefully crept around the rock formation, hoping the glare from the butterflies combined with the rock formation itself would keep him out of sight. 

               There were two animals fighting.  One was one of the large, voracious predators they had seen earlier.  This one looked to be just over three feet tall.  Its back didn’t protrude any, so it hadn’t eaten recently.  The other animal was clearly the source of the calls.  It was feline it shape, about the size of a large bobcat, save for the fact that its legs seemed a bit too long.  It’s fur was sleek and black, reflecting the glow from the butterflies nearby.  Kyle thought some of the reflections were a bit more substantial, like they weren’t actually reflections, but something on the fur, but it was moving too fast to see clearly.  By far the most noticeable feature though was the tail.  It was slender and very long.  About mid way through it though, it slip into two separate lengths, each apparently able to move independently.  On the ends of the  tails were three clawed appendages that seemed to have some finger-like qualities.

               The cat like creature was jumping around the much larger beast, making use of the springy moss as well as its feline grace to jump well clear of its opponent, flipping and turning so that it used its clawed tail to rip into the beasts flesh.  The cat occasionally landed on the beasts back to make use of the sharp claws on its feet to tear and rip into its opponent, while using the claws on its tail to hold on.

               The beast bucked and threw its weight around, trying desperately to throw the smaller, more agile creature off it.  It was clearly unable to do so though, as the cat was easily able to avoid any attacks of the larger creature, and its claws were more than strong and sharp enough to keep it rooted on its back, even as it was torn to shreds.  As Kyle watched, mesmerized by the one sided fight, the cat made its first mistake.  In its attempt to inflict as much damage as possible, it dug it’s claws into an area that it had already thoroughly lacerated.  The result was a much weaker grip.  It probably wasn’t much, but it was enough for the large, powerful beast.  It flung the cat off it’s back and sent it soaring off.  The cat was able to flip itself upright and land on its feet, using its claws to dig into the moss to keep it from bouncing back up uncontrollably.  It was not a moment too soon either, as the beast opened its mouth wide and flung one of its razor sharp teeth at the cat.  Kyle expected the bullet like projectile to end the fight.  To his amazement though, one side of the cat’s long, split tail lashed out, knocking the small but deadly tooth out of the way.  Without wasting a moment, the cat jumped forward, using the springy moss to propel it with incredible speed.  The beast fired off more of its teeth in the hopes of hitting the fast moving cat, but the feline’s tails kept any of them from hitting. 

               As it got closer to the beast’s head, the cat held both halves of its tail out.  With lightning speed, the cat gripped both sides of the beasts head with the clawed appendages, and used them like a pole vaulter would, sailing well over the beasts back.  Once there, the cat tore into the fleshy, elastic pouch on the beast’s rear, then jumped away.  A thick putrid liquid poured out of the deep gash.  The smell was horrible, Kyle held his nose shut to block the scent, but it still got to him.  The beast howled in pain as the fluid gushed out of it.  It took a few steps, trying to get away from the cat, but it fell, succumbing to its many injuries.  The cat stood by, waiting for the beast to finally fall.  Once it was dead, it looked up and let forth a might victory howl into the roof of the cavern, high above them. 

               With the fight over, Kyle slowly and carefully backed off.  He didn’t want to deal with something that could take down one of those beasts without a single scratch.  He had to get back to Jill, and then the two of them needed to get out of there as quickly as they could.  Hopefully they could get far away while the cat was busy with its kill.

               Jill was where he had left her, looking at something with her back turned to him.  He tapped her on the shoulder.  She practically jumped out of her skin when she felt his touch.  Pure fear was plastered on her face, sweat pouring from her forehead. 

               “Come on, we have to get out of here.”  Kyle whispered as quietly as he could.

               “I don’t think that’s possible right now.”  She said.  She spoke in a normal voice, breaking any attempt at silence.  She nodded over her shoulder at whatever she had been looking at.  Kyle glanced over his shoulder and saw several pairs of glowing yellow feline eyes looking back at them.  A lump formed in the pit of his stomach.

               Several more of the felines crept out of the shadows formed by the glowing pillars.  They were surrounded by them, with no clear avenues of escape.  Not that they could, even if there was.  Kyle knew how fast these creatures were, and had no illusions about their chances of escape.  As he looked at the animals though, he noticed that every one of them was larger than the one he had seen earlier.  He also noticed the bright blue markings on their fur.  Once he thought about it, he had noticed some similar markings on the fighting animal, but it had been moving too fast to properly identify.  The markings were very similar to those they had found on the cavern walls, and seemed to have been painted on. 

               “Jill, I think we just found the intelligent species down here.”

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Ok, so it's Sunday, so what?  Weekends are still part of the week.  I just had to use this word.  I can't tell you how many weeks I've been waiting to introduce these guys, and this was the perfect word to do so.  Unfortunately, I ran out of words before I could really do anything with the locals, so you'll have to wait for that.

Word: Jilt

 

jilt

\ jilt \  , verb;

1. to reject or cast aside (a lover or sweetheart), especially abruptly or unfeelingly.

noun:

1. a woman who jilts a lover.

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             Ed nursed his fourth beer.  Or was it his fifth?  Or sixth?  He had lost count he’d had so many.  He knew he’d have a massive hangover tomorrow, but at the moment, he didn’t really care.  He just wanted to forget.  Of course, that wasn’t really possible, given the circumstances. 

               He stared at the small jewelry box that rested on the bar’s countertop in front of him.  He didn’t know why he kept the box out in the open.  It would be much better if he put it in his pocket.  Maybe a part of him was hoping someone would snatch it up when he went to the bathroom.  At least then someone would get some use out of the very expensive diamond ring that was inside it.

               “Hey, you ok pal?  You’ve had like, eight of those.”  Said someone on his right.  Ed’s head lolled over to look at the speaker.  It was a short, pudgy, friendly looking man sitting on the stool next to him.  Ed tried to remember if the man was always there, if he had just shown up, or if he was the product of all the alcohol coursing through his bloodstream.

               “Whatever.” Ed slurred out.

               “What happened?  A guy doesn’t drink like that unless something’s wrong.  So, what’s up?  Maybe I can help.”

               “Nnnnoooope.” Ed said.  “Can’t help.”

               “Why not?  I’m a pretty good problem solver.”

               “Cause the problem… the problem is this.”  He said as he took hold of the box and held it out for the man to see.

               “Oh.  I see.  I take it she said no.”

               “Not just no.  She dumped me.  I asked her to marry me, and she dumped me.” It took a few tries for Ed to get out such a complex sentence, but he finally managed.

               “That sucks.  Wait…you didn’t ask her after a month or something, did you?” the man asked.

               “Five years!”  Ed said.  He held up an unsteady hand, holding all five of his fingers up for emphasis.  “Five of the…the best years I ever had.  I…I treated her good.  Real good, and she just…she just…”  Ed began blubbering before he could finish his sentence.

               Ed very nearly collapsed onto the man’s shoulder, and shed his tears there.  The man awkwardly patted Ed’s back as his shirt became soaked with the drunk’s tears.  He motioned over to the bartender, and gave a silent signal to cut Ed off from any future drink orders.  The bartender nodded his agreement.  Ed suddenly wrapped his arms tightly around the man’s neck.  He wanted desperately to remove them, but thought better of it, opting instead to continue patting him on the back.  He just hoped Ed would stop soon.  He happened to like the shirt he was wearing, and it would take quite some work to get the smell of beer and tears out of it.  Thankfully, Ed soon let go, and returned to an upright position on his bar stool.  Or at least as upright as he could get.  He just ended up flopping onto the bar, cradling his beer in one hand and the box in the other.

               “Feeling better?”  The man asked, reaching for some napkins to try and dry his shoulder off.

               “Little bit.”  Ed slurred out.

               “Alright then.  So, what exactly happened?”

               “Said I don’t have any am…ambich…ambition.  I got plenty of ambition.  It’s just…just different than hers.”

               “And that’s why she left you?”

               “Guess so.  Didn’t say anything else.  Just said I’m not going nowhere, and left.  Just like that.” He tried to snap his fingers, but found his fingers unable to accomplish the task.  He tried a few more times, but gave up in favor of taking a long drink from his glass.

               “Ouch.  Well, look on the bright side.”

               “What bright side?”

               “You’re single now.  That means you have infinite possibilities ahead of you.  You can find a new girl.  A better one.  One that appreciates your ambitions, whatever they may be.”

               “Better?  No better than her.  She was perfect.”  Ed said, new tears forming in his eyes.

               “Well, clearly she wasn’t.  I mean…”

               “You…you take that back!”  Ed said, raising a shaky fist in attempted threat.

               “I mean, if she couldn’t see whatever it is you want to do as ambition, then she clearly wasn’t right for you.  You might not see that now, but in a few days I’m sure you’ll come to your senses about it.”  The man said.  Ed just mumbled something in response.  His head came in contact with the bar as he continued to mumble incoherently. 

It looked to the man like he was nearing his limits and was about to pass out.  He considered his options about the drunken man.  He couldn’t just leave the guy there.  But at the same time he didn’t know where he lived to call a cab, and inviting him into his own place might not be the best idea. 

“Peggy why?  Why’d you leave me?”  Ed muttered, just loud enough to be heard.

The man sighed.  He got his shoulder under Ed’s and heaved.  Fortunately, Ed still had some consciousness in him, and was able to stay more or less upright with a little help.  He wasn’t coherent enough to protest when the man guided him out to his car and put him in the back seat of his car.  The man knew he might end up regretting the decision, but he couldn’t leave Ed alone in such a condition.  He drove off, with his passenger muttering to himself, hoping that he wouldn’t end up having to clean up vomit the next morning.  

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Who else has been in this position?  I personally haven't, but I'm sure it must be terrible.