...--%%&§@ @§&%%--...
.....~†%%§ §%%†~.....
....~-†&¶@ @¶&†-~....
.~-†%&§@## ##@§&%†-~.
.~-†%&§¶@# #@¶§&%†-~.
....~~††&¶ . . . ¶&††~~....
.~-††%%&§@ . . . . . . @§&%%††-~.
.~-†%&§¶@# ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ #@¶§&%†-~.
.~-†%&&&§@ - - - - - - - - - - - @§&&&%†-~.
.......-%§ †††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††† §%-.......
....-††%%§ §%%††-....
.....~~†%§ just off the coast to the baltic sea §%†~~.....
.~-†%&§¶@# there's a freshwater pond, secluded #@¶§&%†-~.
.~-†%&§¶@@ among ashen and juniper. a cleft in the @@¶§&%†-~.
.~-†%&§¶@# limestone bedrock, sharp-cut from the #@¶§&%†-~.
.~-†%&§¶## surrounding plains, a ninety degree ##¶§&%†-~.
....-%%&&¶ drop down, down, to the midnight-black ¶&&%%-....
....~-†%&§ water. §&%†-~....
.~-†%&§@## ##@§&%†-~.
.....~~-%§ ----%%%%%%%%---- §%-~~.....
.~-†%&§¶@# --%% %%-- #@¶§&%†-~.
...~~†%%§§ -----%% fairies live here. %%----- §§%%†~~...
.~-†%&§¶@# --%% %%-- #@¶§&%†-~.
.~-†%&§¶@# ----%%%%%%%%---- #@¶§&%†-~.
.~---%&&&¶ ¶&&&%---~.
..~~††&§§@ they speak to the sloane, caress it, @§§&††~~..
...-†††&¶¶ urge it to grow thicker, tangled, with ¶¶&†††-...
.~-†%&§¶@# longer and sharper thorns. they tell it #@¶§&%†-~.
.~-†%&§¶@@ to stay just below the grass, so that @@¶§&%†-~.
.~-†%&§@## the animals what come to drink the ##@§&%†-~.
.......-%§ water cannot see it before it draws §%-.......
.~-†%&§¶¶¶ their blood. closer to the pond, the ¶¶¶§&%†-~.
.~-†%&¶@## sloane can grow taller, being able to ##@¶&%†-~.
......~†&¶ hide also in the juniper. ¶&†~......
.~-†%&§¶@@ @@¶§&%†-~.
....--††&§ the fairies will beckon the animals to §&††--....
.~-†%&§¶@# push forward, tell them that they're #@¶§&%†-~.
.~-†%&§¶@# almost at the water, that they may #@¶§&%†-~.
....~~†&§@ drink soon. and they will tug on the @§&†~~....
.~-†%&&&§@ sloane to make sure that the thorns cut @§&&&%†-~.
.~~~~†&§¶¶ deep. when they finally find the path ¶¶§&†~~~~.
.~-†%&§¶¶@ down between the rocks, away from the @¶¶§&%†-~.
......~†&§ bushwork and into the cleft, they are §&†~......
.~-†%&§¶@# bleeding from a thousand wounds. as #@¶§&%†-~.
.~-†%&§¶## they drink from the dark water, it is ##¶§&%†-~.
.~-†%&§¶@# in turn drinking the animals blood. #@¶§&%†-~.
..~~--%&§¶ ¶§&%--~~..
.~-†%&§¶@# the circle is complete, the contract #@¶§&%†-~.
...~--%&&¶ carried out; the animal is abandoned to ¶&&%--~...
...-†††&§§ find its own way back. the bushes roots §§&†††-...
.~-†%&§¶@# drink the nutrutious water. the fairies #@¶§&%†-~.
.~-†%&§¶@# dance in the sunbeams. #@¶§&%†-~.
...~†††&&§ §&&†††~...
.~-†%&§¶@# †††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††† #@¶§&%†-~.
.....-%&§¶ - - - - - - - - - - - ¶§&%-.....
.....-†&¶@ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ @¶&†-.....
.~-†%&§@## . . . . . . ##@§&%†-~.
.....~†&§§ . . . §§&†~.....
.~-†%&§¶@# #@¶§&%†-~.
.~-†%&§¶@# #@¶§&%†-~.
.~-†%&§¶@# #@¶§&%†-~.
.~~--†&§¶¶ ¶¶§&†--~~.
.~-†%&¶@## ##@¶&%†-~.