The femme tried to ignore her protesting body when her walk turned longer and longer. To any other wolf it would have handled easily, but with her sickness it grew more and more difficult for her to continue on. But she didn’t want to let it defeat her anymore. She wanted to go out and explore the world and be like any other wolf. It wasn’t fair that she was forced to remain in such a small world or risk dying. And so the kalak pushed on, ignoring her aching muscles and her thumping heart and heaving chest. Shilo knew she would come to a point where she would physically collapse from exhaustion, but she would put that off as long as possible. But after enough time it caught up with her, and she knew she needed to find somewhere to rest otherwise the spot she was standing on would be where she would be resting soon. But she didn’t want to be that vulnerable and out in the open. Continuing to follow the river, she saw the beginnings of caves. The waters went underground and would be more secluded and hidden in those darker coverings, and that was where she chose to go. Finally reaching one of the caves, and taking a moment to drink the cool waters, she lay down on the cool ground. Panting heavily for a few minutes, she felt her heartbeat regulate as she relaxed her aching muscles. Shilo knew she pushed herself today, maybe too far, but it was worth it to be in a new place.
After she caught her breath, she felt how tired she truly was, and knew that sleep would overcome her soon. Laying her muzzle down on her tall stilts, she let her form stretch out and relax, tail lazily along the side of her body as he closed her lids. The femme was asleep almost instantly, the exhaustion putting her body to sleep quickly. She was not sure if it was her new attempt to an optimistic life, or that she had been out for so long today, but her dreams were filled with nature and happiness. She did not always dream, and when she did they were not often exciting. But as she slept she imagined she was an adult, healthy wolf. Her form was running, much faster than she had ever run before, through trees and meadows, seeing the world blur by at impossible speeds. Speeds that she would never reach but could only dream out. Childish giggles escaped her throat as she felt the wind through her pelt, taking her vocals away in the wind as well. Her stilts splashed through streams and swam through deep rivers and oceans, conquering waves and distances that would never be truly possible for her. If her dreams were always this exciting then she would never want to wake. But Shilo knew that more often than not they would turn to nightmares, and she didn’t want anything bad to taint this happiness that she felt.
Shilo’s unconscious form slept peacefully, her chest rising and falling rhythmically as she slept on, no part of her aware to what was going on around her. Some wolves could train themselves to wake easily, at the slightest sound, but she had never done that. Whenever she slept, she slept heavily. Normally she was safe within Crith Thalmhainn and didn’t need to worry about anything coming to her in her sleep. But that was not the case now, as she slept in the cave where anyone could come along. But she hadn’t thought it through, thinking that as long as she was covered somewhere she would be safe. But Shilo was about to find out how wrong she was. A stranger’s vocals reached her audettes, and it took her sleeping mind a few moments to process that it was not in the dream but that it was right above her. Slowly stirring from her sleep, her lids opened to reveal cool mint green orbs. When sleep left her enough to be awake, she caught the scent of a stranger, and realized that the voice she had heard was right next to her. Attempting to jump to her paws quickly, she instead felt pain at the back of her neck as she slammed into something, sharp and too close to her. Falling back to the earth, shaking her head to try and get the last bit of sleep from her hazy mind, she turned her head, more slowly this time. Fear gripped the femme as she saw the sharp and waiting jaws of a stranger, clearly with bad intent for her. Why else would he be hovering over her in such a fashion?
Shilo swallowed heavily before she finally spoke up, trying to slither away from his form if he allowed it. ”Who are you? What do you want?” The kalak struggled to keep her vocals from wavering, but she didn’t want to show her real fear to this brute. He didn’t know how defenseless she truly was. She kept her form low to the ground, her tail now tucked up between her limbs as she watched the male. She knew even if she was fully grown that she would be no match for him, she was no match for anyone except maybe a pup. If she was polite and nonthreatening, maybe he would realize that she was of no use to him and go away. This was not how she envisioned her adventure outside of the pack to go.
Picture and table credit to Casey!
//Shilo//Fae//Daughter of Shae and Caspian//Sister to Tiresias, Malina, and Rylan//Crith Thalmhainn//Teen//Violet//
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