This class was just what I needed to really conect with a part of the story I am writing. I could always see the scene play out but didn't know how to put it into words, until now.

Sensory Detail

Seated amidst the foreboding trees she looked up over the town, seeing the wave of hills and the near seeming smile of the cheeky moon, its shape seemed to agree and comiserated with her thoughts on how a humble town could be filled with such stuck up, unimportant people. Sighing contentedly at the beauty saw she laid back down spreading her fingers through the luscious tender grass. Seeing the stars flickering in and out of sight as the breeze stirred the canopy above her reminded her of the lightning bugs that would fly around if one ran threw the longer grass of the hills. But the branches did not just stir they nudged one another tapping out a song so soft and peaceful that her thoughts silenced themselfs and she floated off sleep. 

A loud crashing sound startled her awake, but as the sound came again she recognized it as the belltower, and it was sounding eight o'clock. She glanced back to the sky as she smelled the heavenly scent of a coming spring rain, seeing the quite chubby clouds slowly tumble on their way to the shockingly quiet town. The wind began to buffet her, slapping at her bare arms and face with a cold hand, she shivered, rising to stand on the solid earth beneath her she hastily ran back to her warm home.

 

Part of the story.

Gabriella heard whinning up ahead and skidded to a stop. Had Kaleb somehow found out about her plans to find Noland and figured out a way to intercept her before she even had the chance to find her Mentor, or was it a group of enemy soldiers? The thought of how devastating a blow would be from an enemy crusade sneaking up behind their lines, sparked fear throughout her entire body. Cautiously she peaked threw a break in the trees that seperated her from the noise, she saw something more then a bit surprising. A Kelpie stood there. Strong, with it's large mucles rippling like the very water it was made of. Light shone on it's broad back, the horse flipped its regal head with a snort, mannaging to sound impatient. It seemed to be waiting for something. Gabriella stepped back, her fear springing with more force into her being. A Kelpie so close to their command post could spell out just as much destructionas those enemy soldiers she had imagined. Hurriedly she tried to quell the emotion, to hide the feeling. Normal horses could smell fear, Kelpies lived off of it. Despite her efforts the creature's greenish eyes fastened on hers, it nickered at her, but she remained on her side of the trees. It stepped into the water and dissolved. Her heart sank as she felt a presence behind her. She whipped around as she heard the squelching sound of wet hoofs on soil. She gripped her staff fumbling a bit as she heard more hoofbeats, coming from the opposite side of the lake. The Kelpie's eyes blackened as she looked into them. It lunged, she tried to cast a protective spell but its mouth clamped around her wrist, her hand spasmed with pain as the Kelpie's slightly pointed teath dug into her flesh, her staff fell from her hands. A scream tore from her throat, leaving the spell unfinished. She kicked at the horse, ordered the water of its mouth to separate, tried to cast all of the spells she could think of. But nothing worked. The Kelpie dragged her into the lake and she held her breath, furiously trying to think of spell after spell that could free her, yet the one spell she knew would help was tantalizingly out of reach. Once too deep for her to not easily make it to the surface it let go of her wrist. She would have been relieved if it hadn't done so just to push her to the bottom of the lakebed with its forelegs. She felt the air in her lungs fade away leaving her raw throat burning. Then out of nowhere nostrils flairing another Kelpie slammed into the first, she caught sight of its eyes, which were oddly brown. But her air deprived brain refused to function. She weakly tried to swim for the surface not getting far before her screaming lungs forced her to open her mouth. But no water filled her lungs. Air swept in calming her racing heart, and bringing with it the words of Seala the Nymph. "May you be blessed as we are, my honorary sister."  Gabriella would have swam for joy but as she took stock of her situation her eyes widdened. The two Kelpies were engaged in battle, hoofs striking, teeth ripping flesh. They screamed, tossing their heads as they reared up at one another, it was much like the fights she had seen among the wild horses to assert dominance as alpha. Both had blood leaking from several wounds, but as she watched the brown eyed horse took a hit in the throat. Its form fluctuated from horse to young man. The First horse took advantage of the state of its combatant dealing the young man a deafening blow to the head that sounded like an explosion underwater. The young man began to sink. Summoning her staff to her hand she comanded the water to part around them all, the young man laying deathly still on the riverbed. On somewhat solid ground once more she turned to the Kelpie and set her feet firmly, she leveled her staff at it, gathered all of her extra energy taking hold of the magic around her and said the first thing she could think of. "Become a fish!" A large blast of energy came from the staff hitting the Kelpie in the side it looked just as surprised as she felt, it shrank, turning into a small red and white fish that gasped where it now flopped on dry ground. She allowed a tendril of water to scoop the koi up and carry it into the water floating over the edges of the lake. Once it was gone Gabriella ran to the prone figure panic mounting. She rolled him over and gasped. It was Ryshonn. Blood rushed down his shoulder, and several other large wounds. She looked around for help, but shook her head. "No one else is out here Gabriella, you are the only one here to help him." She told herself. So mustering her courage she searched herself and her staff for all the dregs of her magic. Laying a hand on his chest she could sense the water inside. He wasn't breathing. She found the water in his lungs, and felt how hard his lungs were trying to deny the liquid. She focused on it putting a hand above his mouth she mentally grasped the water, calling it out of his lungs. The water gathered in a sphere over her hand untill all of the excess water had left Ryshonn's body. Gabriella let the sphere disperse, but kept her eyes on Ryshonn, as he took a huge shuddering breath. Her heart calmed feeling a part of the crushing terror leave her. Now her attentions turned to his many wounds, he was breathing again but he could just as soon bleed to death. She let water settle on his wounds, willing the healing experience she had had with the water to flood through her, guiding her mind to the power of true healing. Serenity swept threw her, opening her eyes to see the liquid glow with a golden light. It soaked into Ryshonn's skin, filling his shoulder and several large gashes in his sides and legs. Ryshonn sat up inhailing sharply, his eyes flicking open. Their eyes met, but Ryshonn's gaze settled on the water that was held back in a wall of restraint that took a great half of Gabriella's thoughts to maintain. Ryshonn stood rather unsteadily, looking around them in shock. He inspected himself seeing the blood and his tattered clothes. He turned back to her. "Are you doing this?" He asked. She nodded, a feeling of pride swelling in her chest, but his disbelief pained her and she couldn't say why. "And you healed me?" Another nod. He offered her a hand up, she took it but winced drawing her hand back as her wrist seized again, much sharper this time. A grunt escaped her lips. Ryshonn was at her side in an instant hands outstretched in an uncertain guestgur. "Your hurt." He softly. It was a statement not a question so she didn't respond. Instead she wrapped her wrist in water, feeling the change this time as the water became something more. It soothed her aching tendons and muscles and feeling no pain as her skin sewed itself back together once more. She flexed her fingers in amazement. Ryshonn touched her shoulder. "We should get out of here before the strain becomes unbearable." He started to a side of the lake bed, and as she followed her foot got entangled in the vegetation. Her hands slapped the ground as she fell taking the brunt of the fall. Yet again her staff slipped from her grasp tumbling into the healing water she had created. She reached for it hearing the water begin crashing down around them but stopped something was off, power seemed to radiate off of the puddle. She watched it unable to take her eyes off of it. A crystal the size of her fist materialized in the exact place she had always imagined her's would one day be. Tears of joy filled her eyes as she gently caressed the bright blue and gold stone. A feeling of completeness washed over her as she stood there. Then her mind snapped to attention. The water around her was rising and her ears bearily registered Ryshonn's pleas for her to hurry. She wanted to test her power. Water twirled around her, lifting her and Ryshonn up as the rest of the lake came crashing down. He looked dumbstruck as the liquid set them down on the riverside.He looked at her, saw her staff and smiled. "You quite managed to thwart my attempt to save you." Then he turned serious. "Have you seen Noland?" Gabriella sook her head. "I was trying to find him. But he disappeared a while ago, I only just got away from the soldiers that were guarding me so I could look for him." "Guarding you?" A shout came from the other side of the lake. "Get the Wizards!"