Post by thalia on Mar 18, 2008 17:59:33 GMT -5
when you live a life of solitude;;
All you have to fear is getting lonely.
All you have to fear is getting lonely.
She could feel it.
Feel that this was the end of her trek; could feel it in the crisp coolness of the early spring night. The sky above her resembled polished black satin, sprinkled with bright twinkling orbs that gleamed like translucent scars, fading as the sky tapered off to a gentle indigo hue at either horizon. The small she-wolf smiled softly to herself. The moon was high and bright in the dark sky, full and casting a pearly, etheral glow over her surroundings. She heard, distantly, a night-owl's hoot, a soft scuffle and a high-pitched mouse's scream, then nothing. As trees closed over the horizon and the moon climbed higher in the sky, she began to reminisce of her past travels to get here, to this darkly mysterious place. Those springs, dyed a sickly yellow-green, had been terribly, wonderfully vile. But after one night sleeping near the stinking contents of her now empty stomach, (there was no other place where the toxic fumes could not reach her), she'd taken to running from that wretched hellhole as soon as the first arm of ray reached out to touch the sky. She crinkled her leathery nose: the mere thought of that place made her head pound and brought a sour smell to her nostrils. And then there was the river, which had taken a cross through several territories to get to. She remembered clearly the light catching particles of gleaming water spit into the air by leaping pink salmon, scales glittering in the glow of a young sun. That perfect feeling of the currents as they rushed past her agile body, sweeping her down river until she managed to grab hold of a tree branch. The experience had been indeed frightening, but she had been clean and well-fed from the abundance of fish. Of course, then she'd been run out by a renegade mother bear hunting salmon for her kin. And after that she hardly remembered anything outstanding. There had been the fields, not terribly enticing. Too quiet. Perhaps another day, another personality. Oh, she had many of those. One moment she could have been self-consumed in peace, and the next moody and brooding. Which wasn't that far off the personality mark right now.
As the forest loomed above her, she began to appreciate its true beauty. A shapeless silver mist encased the tall trees,. swirling delicate patterns and willing her to enter. She could tell it was another territory, owned, and the epiphany created a thin sort of barrier, and plastered to its transparent front was a sign that screamed a warning to her. She hesitated, knowing that this was her last chance to howl to the alpha to let loose that she was here. She deliberated slowly, pacing forward a few steps before snorting loudly. "What the hell." she muttered. The wolf continued past the barrier, which broke with a short pop of defiance audible only to her. Here she truly felt at home. None of the moonlight from before trickled through the dense, heavy-leafed foliage of the forest. The moon was behind her, and as she glanced it beckoned back with its entourage of stars. A light smirk touched her lips and she continued forward.
All around her was the thick mist. It swirled angrily in protest as her gentle steps continued on the springy, mossy earth. She couldn’t see very far in front of her and relied on her senses to guide her. After many sniffs and much deliberation, she led herself into a clearing carpeted with soft moss and discarded leaves. Here, where the dense plant life thinned, moonlight trickled like water down to the floor, where it emitted a fluid glow to her surroundings. That was good, she decided, and would sleep here. If any wolf snuck up on her she’d have the foresight to see who was there. But then, she didn’t think she’d be sleeping yet. She’d wait a few days to make sure she’d stay undetected. That wasn’t likely, but then again this was a large piece of land and, judging by the looks of it, not a very large pack. Eventually they’d find something which would probably lead them to her, but by then she hoped to be long gone.
A small rustle took her attention and focused it to an eastward vicinity. The wolf waited a moment, unrelaxed hackles raised, for something to jump out and attack her. She heard it again, this time louder, closer. She stood in a half-raised position now, alarm evident on her white face. And then, in a brilliant display of suddenly booming noises where there was once a rustle, vivid colors where there was dull blacks and grays stood a tall, dark buck. It was huge; even for the standards of big deer. As soon as she saw it, the wolf was startled and bolted one way, letting out a loud yelp, which in turn scared the deer to leap into the surrounding forest in the opposite direction.
She didn’t know how long she’d been running, or why. But she hated, hated being scared like that. It sent her running until even she forgot what she was running from. Some called it cowardice, others would say she was just being ‘protective of her own life.’ But she knew it stemmed from past experiences, ones she wanted to keep dead rather than alive. But they were forgotten. Soon she was breathless, collapsing into the springy earth and heaving. She no longer knew where she was, how far away the edge of the territory was…she was lost. In these dark woods everything looked the same, at least to her. And the pack members probably heard her from a long way off, but hopefully her quickness had diluted her trail.
“Fat chance.” she muttered bitterly. There was a ghost of a scowl left to her face, but other than that her emotionless mask had returned to its rightful place. She picked up her paws, no longer panting, and continued to wander around alone, helpless, and lost.