Proverbial Prodigies [c]
Jan 20, 2015 0:37:40 GMT -5
Post by WARDOG on Jan 20, 2015 0:37:40 GMT -5
It was a rough night to be travelling, and Mhera had been walking for most of it. The wind had chased her for hours and showed no signs of letting up. This weather was the icing on the proverbial cake. She had been walking for days after waking and realizing that the only way to stop thinking about Cascaro was to go back. Mhera hadn't been that far away from the area, not really, but she had stopped and started so many times that she may as well have left a week later. Once she made up her mind, doubts had come at her relentlessly. In her year and a half away from Kekoa Mhera had gathered quite a few miles under her belt. There were several cities and little gatherings of dogs that she had entered, and even a few that she felt tempted to join. All of them, however, were compared to Kekoa. She couldn't quite place why it happened, but it happened none the less.
She had grown since she left the mansion, but all she could see was the flaws that still glared at her. The cowardice plagued her every morning on her way back, eating at her fears that Kekoa was not as good as she had remembered. That they would not want her back. After all, what did she have to contribute? All she could bring to the table was a hereditary knack for foul language and an ability to find herself in the wrong place at the wrong time. She could run, sure, she had legs for days. But what else? Mhera couldn't see that she had grown into her legs, that she carried herself with more confidence despite what she thought. She had also learned many things in her wandering, but nothing she could recall specifically. All she knew was that nothing felt as much like home as Kekoa had, and that she needed to go back.
The wind did not let up, even as she got closer to her destination. The weather and the hour were not planned for, and neither was the level of exhaustion that she was feeling. When she realized that the sun would be well below the horizon when she arrived, an alternate route was decided upon. It wouldn't do to arrive at the mansion in the middle of the night with the wind howling through the rafters. It was like the beginning of every scary story she had heard when she was young. No, it was better to find shelter somewhere close and approach in the daylight. There were several places on Kekoa land that would work, but the hedge maze was the closest. The layers of thick foliage would provide a nice barrier to the wind, and there were several little alcoves that one could find comfortable. A good place to stop and collect her thoughts before facing what she both wanted and feared.
Mhera's memories of the area were still good; she found the beginning of the maze without trouble. And just in time, too. The chill of the dark and cold was starting to get to her, beginning with a slight shiver that promised worse to come. The wind raged at her back, as if trying to force her into the maze. Luckily she was near the entrance so she wouldn't have to find a hole to scramble into. She didn't think she could work her way through the maze without getting lost, but she could certainly get in and out again easily enough. Once in the hedges, the change in atmosphere was palpable. A few more steps in and the first turn faced her. Mhera could have stood on her hind legs to see above the wild shrubbery, but that would mean being in the wind again. She would take her chances with the maze.
A few more turns and she was almost lost. She thought that maybe there was a little hole somewhere nearby, maybe, but couldn't be sure in the darkness. She would find one eventually if she nosed along far enough. Hopefully. Being so close to the end of her journey had put a finality on her actions and her body was ready for rest. Mhera was certainly stronger than she was when she left, but over a hundred miles of walking would make anyone weary. To be out of the wind and so close to home made her paws drag and her eyes droop. If it wasn't so cold out, she would have dropped then and there in the middle of the path. As it was, she was perfectly capable of missing a turn and walking into a hedge or into a person.
shit post is long and shitty. private for pere.