Click.
That soft sound was so faint it was almost unnoticeable, like a dewdrop slipping silently from the tip of a leaf and falling into the pool below.
Yet in this Holy Sanctuary, rendered unnaturally filled with Silence by the Divine's restless mood, it reached Herbert's ears with crystalline clarity.
He saw the extra shawl-like robe on Fulingya's body, as if it had lost its support, quietly slide down from Her rounded shoulders and pool at Her smooth bare feet.
Beneath the robe, it was not the forest huntress outfit he had seen last time, but a new set of light, thin gauze, patterned with floral designs.
Through the gauze he could faintly glimpse that long, slender figure brimming with Nature's power and beauty.
Her skin held a healthy sheen, the lines smooth and strong, as if the agility of a jungle leopard and the resilience of ancient tree-vines had been fused into one, with only the crucial spots cleverly veiled by blooming flowers.
