The Cave
I awoke, silence abundant, into what I could only guess to be dawn, settled in the tall grass of some prairie out of who knows where. The young creature barred next to my hull, unlike the last time. She slumbered still, in a deep sleep caused from such a tiresome day behind her. She snored something beautiful, or I think it was, us timberwolves didn’t snore, but she had a cute melody. She was something else, something different. I hoped she was worth it. Her kind and mine are almost impossible to mix, whatever I would have with this youngling wouldn’t last. What if I don’t want to give her back? I don’t want to be alone... I never did...
I got up carefully, hoping the child would stay asleep. She didn’t move much, just a few small jolts to comfort her body into a relaxing position. The tall grass around us made this resting spot look like a miniature canyon. It all swayed with the wind, swishing around in many directions as the breezes lived and died in motions that none of us could see. Sometimes, I like to believe the wind is its own spirit, petting everything out of love. It’d be the only love I know.
I thought the little one would be hungry, as I would be without my blight water after a time. I didn’t know what she ate specifically as a species would, but meat seemed to be a commodity for other creatures in the forest. She didn’t seem like a beaver, needing wood to eat, we would fear her if she craved us. She clearly wasn’t some sort of squirrel, in need of nuts and berries. It just seemed correct to assume either meat or a plant. Well, there’s grass all around us. It was best for me to get what wasn’t right there.
I went off in only what I assume was north. I wasn’t going anywhere near the forest, even if it meant a quick kill. It wasn’t worth going back in the pack’s territory. I figured if I laid around eventually a critter or two would mistake its way by me, as long as I camouflaged myself enough, but that was the easy part. I found a random log, not far from the prairie, close enough to a tree that it seemed natural for my parts to be placed there. I got down, laying and spreading far enough that it looked like I was a large shattered branch.
It seemed kind of ironic, in the pack all I really did was lay around, useless, and think, and now that’s all I am still. I kept my eyes on the sky in a sense. Birds flew over, some into the very tree I snugged under. I watched them, such great creatures. I never got a close look at them, even though now, only a couple of feet above me, I didn’t take my curiosity far enough. I wouldn’t kill one, they were too majestic to me. I envied them, free fliers, yet imprisoned in their flocks, but they were happy, and that is what I envied most.
I laid there for quite some time, staring at the birds, listening to the wind, thinking my endless thoughts, all in the wait of a creature to pass by. It happened, just not what I exactly wanted, but it was better than nothing. Small little rabbit crossed around, nearing me slowly with its little paws and whiskers. It was a cute bunny, I almost wished I didn’t have to kill it. It hopped towards me some more, something near the tree must’ve been attracting it, or it just did it out of something else. It nuzzled against my bark, right on my front right paw. It was too easy. I opened my mouth and swept towards its neck in less than a second. It kicked and squirmed before I bit down, crushing the little ones neck. It gave a scream before it died, something terrible, it was high pitched and rolled for a bit. It disturbed me, I wish I were deaf. I didn’t really want to kill it, but I thought I had to. I hoped to the wind that this would be the last rabbit I’d kill.
It took some time for me to get up, shocked at my previous actions. I didn’t enjoy the taste at all, it was too morbid for me, but I had to carry it back in my mouth anyways, there was no point in complaining. Its body flopped around as I took it back to the filly. Blood dripped from the spinal cord down, staining its fur and eventually leaking onto my bark.
I found the filly still sleeping in the resting place I left her at. She seemed to have not moved at all, paralyzed by sleep. I dropped the rabbit down by her. It thumped as it hit the ground, creating a small pool from what was left of its blood. Her eyelids departed from each other slowly, in long flickers as she awoke to the noise. She was confused, once again hoping to wake from a dream, or perhaps a nightmare? Maybe she was my dream, an illusion of my subconscious mind exploring a new side of life, just waiting to be crushed and forgotten by reality. I guess time would tell me later on, or maybe in a second?
She just stared at the dead organism in silent booms. I nudged the carcass with my paw, trying to tell her it was hers to eat without spilling my tongue. I don’t know why. I dreamed of conversing with some intellectual from outside the forest bounds for so long, and yet here, alone with one finally away from all my knowledge, I could not speak a word. I wanted to, but something beyond me kept it in. If only I understood more, maybe this would be so much easier.
She was frightened, but at the same time, not. She was disgusted, but hungry. I guess I was wrong. Whoops.
It was mid-afternoon now. The sun well into its opposition. I hadn’t even noticed the time pass, guess I was thinking more than I normally do. The filly still needed to be fed and she didn’t seem to want this wheat and grass mixture, which flourished in this prairie, or maybe she did and I wasn’t paying enough attention? Whatever the case, she wasn’t eating any of it.
As much as I enjoyed this little field of wheat and grass, it wasn’t a shelter, not a place we could live in during a storm and still get food. I still needed to find blight water, and I never knew where to look for some. I could see dark clouds moving across the land in our direction, we needed to hurry.
I gently grabbed the filly by the neck, she squirmed at first, but was too tired to put on a real fight. I didn’t want to hurt the poor thing, so I laid down my head and swooped her onto my back. Her legs faltered, trying to stand up, unable to balance. She fell, smashing my back a bit. It hurt, but I didn’t hear any branches or bark break. I waited for her to grab ahold of any part of me, or at least get to where she wouldn’t fall off. Eventually she grabbed my arch and stopped moving all over.
I didn’t want to head back into the forest, the only shelter I knew for a fact that wasn’t too far away, and that lone prairie tree wouldn’t be enough to handle a storm, especially with this young, probably sensitive filly in my care. I didn’t have many options at this point, I knew if this storm was rough my decision would cost me my only companion in this world, guess I was too stubborn to listen to myself. I took off, sprinting north through the fields, trudging heavily in this small, wild plain. The filly bounced on my back, holding on out of trust I wasn’t sure we had even built up on to this point. Either she was foolish, or I was ignorant.
The plants felt great, brushing against my bark as I bolted through it. It trailed behind me, bending down where I had trampled its many others. It called out to me, whispered in my ear that which I could not understand. They spoke a language I had heard, but never spoke. They loved me, a stranger in their home, for reasons uncertain. They loved everything from their creator to their destroyers. It was in their nature, what was in mine?
Thunder started and spooked the filly as it crashed into the clouds. It banged and shattered the light, bringing darkness with it. The thunder left as quickly as it came, only replacing itself with another only moments later. There was something calming about the thunder, something strange. It reminded me that all things, nature, living beings, and all else, have bad sides to them, or what we think are bad. The thunder wasn’t evil to me, it was like a creature that was righting things none could comprehend needing to be corrected. It was something mystical, a being we had yet to acknowledge in this world. There was so much to learn from something whose lifespan lasted milliseconds. Maybe one day, it too, could learn from us, just like I could learn from this filly.
Time passed, I had no idea if it was night or still in the afternoon. The storm took over the sky, and all was dark. I could see neither moon nor sun through these tinted clouds. They shocked through the prism every now and then, perhaps a rainbow in the near future. I hoped so. The wind was rough and violent, smacking my side and sending the filly into a panic. She didn’t scream, she didn’t struggle too much, instead she was brave. I wonder how far her bravery would go.
I spotted a small cave through the blasting light, not far from our set path. It didn’t look like much, just a bunch of boulders with an opening, but it was our only chance for safety. We were drenched and tired, I wasn’t gonna keep heading who knows where in search of paradise, besides the filly was starting to hurt my back.
The cave was moist, real moist, it wasn’t much of a cave, only went about ten feet deep, just wide enough for me to curl up if I wanted to. The back of the cave ducked down into another tunnel, it was flooded so I didn’t really care for it. I settled the filly down back in the dry part of the cave and stood by, watching the rain near the entrance, waiting for the storm to pass. It was boring, dreadfully boring, one of those things we do without wanting to be entertained not because we want to, but because we had to for our own reasons. It trickled down onto the ground, some leaking into the cave but not far enough to ruin our resting place, at least not now, not for a while.
This would pass for some time, me staring out blankly into the rain, occasionally looking back at my acquaintance to make sure she was still there, to make sure I wasn’t just imagining her out of madness. Every time I looked back, she laid there, almost lifeless, but still there. Had she given up on whatever she had hoped for, or was she just tired? Tired... I’ve been tired for so long...
My mind started wandering, going through topics that weren’t making sense to me now that I think about it. I was dazed and confused for reasons unknown. The world was spinning and I was still, or was it vice versa? I fell over, consumed by the darkness.
I awoke several hours later, I knew this to be true because the storm had passed and the moon was well above the cave. I tried to collect what I could of myself from what just happened, but there was one thing I could not find.
She was gone, missing from where she had laid down not long ago. There was no place she had to hide in, no crevice, no hole, nothing. The cave had only an entrance and this underwater tunnel. I saw no tracks left from her, not one other than mine near the entrance. She couldn’t have left this way. I looked and looked in circles before noticing the odd figure lines in the mud before the water. Something had dragged her in, something had to of.
I didn’t need air, never did, it just wasn’t in my nature, but the thing I feared was this opening into fast waters, where I would be smashed to pieces. I had barely known this filly, not even a real conversation held, nor my chatting revealed to her, but she was all I had left at this point. She may be an ignorant little creature, but then again so was I.
I dove straight into the water, struggling to stay below as my timber buoyancy struggled to stay above the water. I kicked and thrashed my way below and into this tunnel. It didn’t look like it was made by erosion, but what do I know anymore? There were little nicks and scratches on the rocks, dips in the walls that didn’t seem to fit. It wasn’t a long tunnel, just took a bit to swim through it with my back almost pressed against the cave roof. I could feel it scraping at my bark, taking apart the weak little splinters and wood pieces that were loosely holding on.
I couldn’t see much, all that was there, was in blur. Little leaves and dead bugs floating around, black dots of things I wasn’t sure. I could see a change in the tunnel, it was ducking underground more, yet opening into a new room. I couldn’t see much of it, still blinded in a sense, but I could see it was a dome at best description. The ceiling raised as I officially entered this new room. I rose from the water, unlike any mammal would under a bit of time, gracefully. There were stalactites on the ceiling, staring down to the floor. The floor abandoned the water not far into the room, creating its own little island in the center. There was a mound on this island, not one of just rock and dirt, but of things I cannot describe. It reminded me of my old mound, the one that kept my solitude in a specific spot, the one that kept me overwatching my pack. I missed that mound in all truth, but that was then, this is now.
I walked up onto the island, sinking into the silt at first, but got up to a stable mud formation. It sneaked itself into my paws, making it a little uncomfortable to walk. I could see fur, the fillies fur to be exact, stuck in the mound. I had no idea how she got in here, maybe she sipped into the water and unknowingly swam the wrong way, or maybe something dragged her like I thought originally? I walked closer and it was just her, nothing else, but a hole in the mound. I didn’t give much attention towards it.
I gently pushed the filly with my nuzzle, she didn’t react. I pushed her once more, this time with more force, still no reaction. So I relocated myself around to where I could see her face. She was dreaming of something happy, surely she was, as her smile was greater than I knew she could possess. I couldn’t help but stare at it, it was something I physically couldn’t do. I was jealous. I didn’t want to move her, but I wasn’t really thinking at this point. The storm was over, we could leave and find a better place than a cave to sleep. I wasn’t going to pick her up by the neck, It might hurt her. I gave her one final push and her eyes sprung open. She rubbed them with her hooves, calmer than I was in this situation. I pointed my head in the direction of the tunnel while the filly had her gaze on me, and I signaled to her to head that way by bobbing my head a little. She must’ve been smart to understand me, even if it did take her a bit.
I watched her go that way and yet, I still didn’t know if she could swim. I just wanted her out of this part of the cave, the same with myself. It never really occured to me before now that she was a pegasus, why hadn’t she fluttered her wings? I was curious, the kind of curious you are dying to feed, but won’t ask out of a silly feeling you don’t understand. I didn’t like this feeling, not one bit.
The little one had looked back towards me before entering the water. I hadn’t move from my spot since I woke her up. I don’t know why I wasn’t going with her. She turned her head back towards the tunnel are slowly stepped into the water. I trudged over the mound, going towards her without haste. It was silent in the room, so silent. Even the water droplets falling from the ceiling failed to splash with enough volume. It was like I had lost my sense of hearing. She had entered the water now, waist deep.
The silence was broken by sharp, slithering hisses. I turned my head back towards the noise and there sat something I had never seen. This organism, it was without limbs, yet it stood tall before me. I couldn’t understand how it moved, did it even have bones or was this flesh and muscle purely? It had scales, thousands of scales. So little, so many, I couldn’t count, nor would I try to. It stared into my soul with its black, pinto bean sized eyes, looking through my memories, my thoughts, my life. That was all it seemed to do. I was but sticks to this animal, despite what magic made me living.
The creature darted off suddenly, without giving any signal of its advance. It went for the filly and I chased after the tail. It was long and narrow, unlike anything else in the forest. It seemed a being of stealth, yet had such a large body. It didn’t matter, it wanted my companion. It was right before it reached her that I gained the opportunity to pounce. I caught it in my claws and dug my fangs into its flesh. It squirmed and lured its head back, biting me in defense. I gave it another great bite, this time deeper and towards its sole organ. It thrashed for a while, but gave up eventually, dying in my snout.
The filly had gone under, I hadn’t noticed. She bore no witness to this event and I would rather keep it that way if I were to do it again. I followed back through the tunnel and found her nearly passed out once more on the cavern floor. I was tired, I didn’t even want to journey out at this point. If only we didn’t need to get away from here...
The filly got on my back once again and we started off into the prairie. I don’t know which way I went, but I knew we were going to get there soon. The stars would guide me, even if they were a map I could not read. The ground was soft... cold... fluffy... I wanted so badly just to pass out then and there and lie forever. It wasn’t long before I found myself walking without acknowledging the act. Even in this dark night, the moon still created shadows, and I found myself under a great one. The mountain wasn’t much refuge, but I found a nice spot to settle. The filly had already slept for so long, I was getting worried. I don’t know how they look when they are healthy compared to sick, but it just seemed like she was used to this. I fell asleep with ease, it was the last thing I remember...
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I don't have a reason for not updating this.
Take this as an apology.
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Edit: Actually, looking back at the date of the 2nd chapter, I believe I was going to write chapter 3 the next week but then fell into a deep depression over some crap. All is well again though!
It lives!!!!!!!!
Woot! more! time to read :D and good to hear your back ^^
Fantastic