Long stilts carried the kalak through the trees as a warm summer breeze brushed through her orange and black pelt. She had been going out more and more and trying to explore lands further and further from the pack lands. For so much of her life she had been hidden away, part of it her own doing and part of it how she was raised. Ever since she was a pup, Shilo knew that she was different from the rest. Even from the moment of her birth, she had been able to feel how weak she was, and not the normal type of weakness that a pup went through after being born and before feeding for the first time. She had been born with a blood sickness that would always leave her weaker than most wolves. And it was not something that she could train her body out of like one could train their muscles to work better. There was only so much physical activity that Shilo could undergo before she felt the signs of exhaustion coming on, and she had pushed herself too far many times and had even collapsed and worked herself to unconsciousness. When she finally came to terms with her sickness, and that it was not something that she would be able to get over, she hid herself away from the world. When she had been younger she was always encouraged to take it slow, to stay home and not tire herself out, and now that was exactly what she had been doing.

Shilo was not sure what had changed recently, but she realized that she was wasting her life away. What was the point of living if she was just going to hide in her den all day and keep herself from the world? Wouldn’t it be better to live as much as she could? And so Shilo found herself going out more and more, trying to see the rest of the world that she had been hiding herself from for so long. Her black stockings led her through the trees, moving at a slower pace than most would travel at, but it was better than her not traveling at all. After some time the femme found herself at a river, and she paused for a moment to take a drink, quenching the thirst that she had built up from her exercise. The water was cool and refreshing, and made her feel a little off, but she figured that was just because she had been dehydrated and needed to drink more often. Shaking her head to clear the fog, she continued along her way, following the river to see where it would take her. There were many spots where the larger part of the river branched off into smaller streams, and she considered following some of them, but there was something leading her onward and telling her to follow the widest part of the waters.

Shilo’s form began to slow as she grew tired, and she knew that she would need to take a break soon. The river took a sharp bend, and she followed it, seeing that it now connected with the larger body of water that would become the vast ocean. She could keep following the waters to the beach, but she knew she was too tired for that right now. And there was something else in her telling her to stay nearby. Mint green orbs looked around to see what else was around here, and she would rest for a bit. Shilo spotted a covered cove area that would give her shelter from the warm sun, and she padded over to the covered area, her limbs walking through the cool water to get to a dry patch in the middle. It was cool inside the rock covering, but it was not so deep that sunlight did not make it in at all. The shade was a nice break, and she stretched her limbs out as she lay on the earth. The kalak was not so tired that she needed to sleep, but ore that her muscles ached from all the walking and exploring she had done today. Remaining alert, black tipped pinnas high on her cranium, she listened to the cooling sounds of the waters as they flowed around her.

Picture and table credit to Casey!

//Shilo//Fae//Daughter of Shae and Caspian//Sister to Tiresias, Malina, and Rylan//Crith Thalmhainn//Teen//Violet//