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Description
"I found myself staring in silent fascination as I approached. I had seen the body through the trees from some distance off, and decided to make a small detour form my route to investigate. I thought that maybe I could help in some way, even if only to determine the cause of death and perhaps bring the sad news to the victim's loved ones. But even with my experience as a doctor, I had never seen anything like this.

"The figure was young, female, and appeared to be a cross between a human and a feline; this was no surprise, as there was a village of such creatures nearby, which I had visited in the past.

"No, the surprise, which was in equal parts fascinating and horrific, was that some kind of plant had infested the body. Apparently spurning insects and other scavengers, of which I saw none, this plant was growing through her. Roots, which seemed to be centered somewhere in her abdomen, crawled under her skin and occasionally broke through to root themselves into the soil. I wondered how this had happened to her, as I had never seen the like.

"I nearly jumped out of my skin when her arm twitched and a quiet, anguished gurgle escaped her throat. By the gods... this girl was still alive."

- - -

A rather horrific scene, I know. It's from a story idea I had some time back. Don't worry, she's going to be okay: the man who found her cuts her away from the ground (cutting the roots, not her) and brings her back to her village, where they are able to purge the parasitic plant from her.

I'm trying to be less timid with my shading. I don't know if the shading is that successful here, but at least there's some contrast, right?

Description
"I found myself staring in silent fascination as I approached. I had seen the body through the trees from some distance off, and decided to make a small detour form my route to investigate. I thought that maybe I could help in some way, even if only to determine the cause of death and perhaps bring the sad news to the victim's loved ones. But even with my experience as a doctor, I had never seen anything like this.

"The figure was young, female, and appeared to be a cross between a human and a feline; this was no surprise, as there was a village of such creatures nearby, which I had visited in the past.

"No, the surprise, which was in equal parts fascinating and horrific, was that some kind of plant had infested the body. Apparently spurning insects and other scavengers, of which I saw none, this plant was growing through her. Roots, which seemed to be centered somewhere in her abdomen, crawled under her skin and occasionally broke through to root themselves into the soil. I wondered how this had happened to her, as I had never seen the like.

"I nearly jumped out of my skin when her arm twitched and a quiet, anguished gurgle escaped her throat. By the gods... this girl was still alive."

- - -

A rather horrific scene, I know. It's from a story idea I had some time back. Don't worry, she's going to be okay: the man who found her cuts her away from the ground (cutting the roots, not her) and brings her back to her village, where they are able to purge the parasitic plant from her.

I'm trying to be less timid with my shading. I don't know if the shading is that successful here, but at least there's some contrast, right?