Post by Therdde on Jan 29, 2010 20:25:17 GMT -5
Maul came out here to be alone. That's what she wanted. She wanted, so desperately, to be away from the constant badgering of her family. Funny, that it took only a few very short weeks for her to get over that desire. Nothing is the same out here, where her father does not constantly keep watch to make sure there is no danger, where her mother is not available at any time when Maul feels a need to relate all of the everyday hurts that are so very important to an adolescent girl.
Still, this is what she wanted, so after sending Thrash away, she traveled several miles before lying down to eat her last easy meal. After eating it, she stood back up to travel even more miles, to try to lose her brother. She told herself to use the water to her advantage, but once she reached the river, she was unable to do so. She crossed it only once, and that took all of the will power she had.
Since that time, she has traveled for many days, eating and sleeping when she could, but otherwise just walking. Or, at times, running, as she found herself convinced she was being pursued by some unseen assailant. She's no stranger to that feeling. She cannot say it is only her imagination. It feels so much more powerful than that. All the same, she has never seen more of this assailant that shifting shadows, never heard more of him than whispers on the wind.
Finally, tired of running from the spectre that has haunted her all of her natural life, she took refuge in what seemed to be a cave, at least in the dark, when she could not make out the details of the walls. The walls were as narrow as that of the cave in which she was born, and only made narrower by the trunks of trees that had seemed to grow from the ground and disappear into the ceiling of the cave. Exhausted by days of journeying, she leaned against one of the trees, only to have it shift away from even her slight weight and nearly deposit her on the floor.
Frowning, she righted herself, then ventured a little further into the black cave. She got only a few steps when, behind her, she could hear sounds that were unlike any she'd heard before. They started naturally enough. It seemed to her that the tree she'd attempted to use to support herself had simply fallen. Even at the short distance she was from the tree, she could not see it, but her keen ears picked up the sound of the first tree being followed by others, which were then followed by sounds much more ominous, almost as when a loose boulder had finally given way to begin a descent down the mountain she calls home.
Frightened by the noises that were becoming increasingly loud, she ran, even with not the slightest bit of natural light to guide her. The sounds followed her for what seemed an eternity, as she repeatedly ran into more of the "trees" that were clearly unanchored by any roots, into stone walls that grabbed at her fur and threatened to hold her in place as the cave fell in around her.
By the time the noises stopped, she was deafened by them. Bruised and bloodied, she could run no further once the vibrations under her feet finally came to an end, and she curled up on the hard ground to rest. When she awoke, it was no brighter than when she'd gone to sleep what she at first assumed was the night before, but what could have been only minutes or hours before, for as much light as she could see. With nothing more than the vaguest outlines of logs and walls to guide her, she walked blindly. She could smell nothing familiar, hear only the occasional dripping or faint whistle.
She might have wandered like this for days, or perhaps only a single day. When her paws hit a particularly sharp stone or she ran into a beam and freshened up a particularly painful bruise, she would lie down, groom herself, and sometimes sleep. Hunger took her early on, and thirst soon after, but she could make no sense of the sounds she was hearing in order to try to hunt for either food or water.
What woke her during her final few hours in the cave was not the dryness of her mouth, the pain in her stomach, or the gentle dripping of water, but rather a screech that she was certain would bring her deafness back to her. It was repeated several times over in slightly different pitches. Despite the noise of it and her bleak circumstances, she was unafraid, and she followed the sounds in the dark. After a time, the sounds got no louder, but neither did they seem any closer. Then, abruptly, they stopped, and she told herself she must have, again, lost her hearing. Just as she was about to give up hope, to lie down with the intention of not getting back up, she heard the flap of a wing unlike that of any bird, and felt a gentle brush against her fur.
For hours, this repeated itself. She would follow the hints of a solitary flapping of a wing, or what felt no stronger than a breeze against her fur. She walked in silence, afraid that she would miss the next clue of where to go, until, after rounding a corner, only after trying to walk straight through the stone, she caught a glimmer of light. When she finally stepped out into the fresh air, it was as though no time had passed at all. Her body still ached, and she still hungered, but the still-full moon hung in the exact same spot in the sky as when she'd entered the tunnels through another opening, allowing her to see the outline of the creature she could only imagine was the one that led her from the labyrinth of tunnels that would have been her death, before it disappeared into the blackness of night.
Still, this is what she wanted, so after sending Thrash away, she traveled several miles before lying down to eat her last easy meal. After eating it, she stood back up to travel even more miles, to try to lose her brother. She told herself to use the water to her advantage, but once she reached the river, she was unable to do so. She crossed it only once, and that took all of the will power she had.
Since that time, she has traveled for many days, eating and sleeping when she could, but otherwise just walking. Or, at times, running, as she found herself convinced she was being pursued by some unseen assailant. She's no stranger to that feeling. She cannot say it is only her imagination. It feels so much more powerful than that. All the same, she has never seen more of this assailant that shifting shadows, never heard more of him than whispers on the wind.
Finally, tired of running from the spectre that has haunted her all of her natural life, she took refuge in what seemed to be a cave, at least in the dark, when she could not make out the details of the walls. The walls were as narrow as that of the cave in which she was born, and only made narrower by the trunks of trees that had seemed to grow from the ground and disappear into the ceiling of the cave. Exhausted by days of journeying, she leaned against one of the trees, only to have it shift away from even her slight weight and nearly deposit her on the floor.
Frowning, she righted herself, then ventured a little further into the black cave. She got only a few steps when, behind her, she could hear sounds that were unlike any she'd heard before. They started naturally enough. It seemed to her that the tree she'd attempted to use to support herself had simply fallen. Even at the short distance she was from the tree, she could not see it, but her keen ears picked up the sound of the first tree being followed by others, which were then followed by sounds much more ominous, almost as when a loose boulder had finally given way to begin a descent down the mountain she calls home.
Frightened by the noises that were becoming increasingly loud, she ran, even with not the slightest bit of natural light to guide her. The sounds followed her for what seemed an eternity, as she repeatedly ran into more of the "trees" that were clearly unanchored by any roots, into stone walls that grabbed at her fur and threatened to hold her in place as the cave fell in around her.
By the time the noises stopped, she was deafened by them. Bruised and bloodied, she could run no further once the vibrations under her feet finally came to an end, and she curled up on the hard ground to rest. When she awoke, it was no brighter than when she'd gone to sleep what she at first assumed was the night before, but what could have been only minutes or hours before, for as much light as she could see. With nothing more than the vaguest outlines of logs and walls to guide her, she walked blindly. She could smell nothing familiar, hear only the occasional dripping or faint whistle.
She might have wandered like this for days, or perhaps only a single day. When her paws hit a particularly sharp stone or she ran into a beam and freshened up a particularly painful bruise, she would lie down, groom herself, and sometimes sleep. Hunger took her early on, and thirst soon after, but she could make no sense of the sounds she was hearing in order to try to hunt for either food or water.
What woke her during her final few hours in the cave was not the dryness of her mouth, the pain in her stomach, or the gentle dripping of water, but rather a screech that she was certain would bring her deafness back to her. It was repeated several times over in slightly different pitches. Despite the noise of it and her bleak circumstances, she was unafraid, and she followed the sounds in the dark. After a time, the sounds got no louder, but neither did they seem any closer. Then, abruptly, they stopped, and she told herself she must have, again, lost her hearing. Just as she was about to give up hope, to lie down with the intention of not getting back up, she heard the flap of a wing unlike that of any bird, and felt a gentle brush against her fur.
For hours, this repeated itself. She would follow the hints of a solitary flapping of a wing, or what felt no stronger than a breeze against her fur. She walked in silence, afraid that she would miss the next clue of where to go, until, after rounding a corner, only after trying to walk straight through the stone, she caught a glimmer of light. When she finally stepped out into the fresh air, it was as though no time had passed at all. Her body still ached, and she still hungered, but the still-full moon hung in the exact same spot in the sky as when she'd entered the tunnels through another opening, allowing her to see the outline of the creature she could only imagine was the one that led her from the labyrinth of tunnels that would have been her death, before it disappeared into the blackness of night.