Fruitless Search
"How could she just disappear!?" Turai demanded of the forest as he spread his arms and wings in frustration. They had searched the forest thoroughly nearby and were now perched on a collection of boulders level with the tree tops.
"I have no idea. Not even a good scent trail.," Ryoichi said innocently. He had placed a dangerous bet on the night before on Turai not being able to smell well while covered in so much blood. "At least she isn't dead..." he trailed off and his ears went askew. "I think."
"No," Turai agreed. He sat down and propped an arm on his knee. "We'd have found blood, a body, both, or just something. Anything."
"Give her time. When's she's ready, she'll return," Ryoichi said lazily as he stretched.
"That's not a bad idea," Turai said softly.
"About time you listened to me. Cats always know best," Ryoichi said proudly. "In fact, we wouldn't even be out here with who-knows-how-many thieves and thugs wanting revenge on us for killing some of their friends if you'd listened to me several times over."
"No, not that," Turai said. He was relaxed. His wings were by his side, he sat cross-legged and gripped his ankles like a cub, and looked to the sky hopefully. "'Return'. I'm going home."
"What home? You turned on the only ones who would give you a home," Ryoichi demanded with his head ducked and ears askew. "Give or take a few gully hens."
"In the Nyre forest across the plains. My exile ended years ago," Turai said as he stood and stretched. "It's time to go home and start over."
"Exile?" Ryoichi asked.
"It's a long story," Turai said swung his arms a few times to ease the soreness in them from yesterday. "She's in a situation similar to mine. And she'll do the same when the time is right."
"There had better be some fish for me in this," Ryoichi grumbled and followed a cheerful Turai off the boulders and into the forest.
Turai strode cheerfully through the forest with Ryoichi padding quietly along beside him. There was a tension and ache in his muscles from the exertion the day before, but overall he felt like his life had taken a turn for the better. He was finally back on land for good, under the trees and in the dirt where he belonged. Although there's no telling how long it'll take to get the salt out of me! He chuckled. Will my parents recognize me?
Notes & Commentary
January 3, 2013, Thursday
Fruitless Search
There was a hole further in the cave. She slipped out deeper into the woods than they expected.
Who says you can't go home? I imagine it won't be very safe. When his mother finds out he didn't come running home as soon as he was allowed... *shudder*
I love how pine trees smell. I don't like how they drip sap on your head, or leave it all over their roots so when you step on it barefooted it takes three days of hard scrubbing to get it off, or fall over easy due to lack of a proper taproot, or how bloody difficult it is to draw their needles. But they do smell nice. And their needles are fun to play with when they fall off.
Once had a teacher in school tell me that pine trees don't shed their needles in autumn. Um, they do. Just because they don't go bald doesn't mean they don't do some extra shedding during autumn. Might have been the same teacher that told me you can't hear the "l" in "milk" and that birds of prey never glide.
Getting this page done was very iffy. Husband got the flu and then I got a mild case of it from him. (Thank you, hospitals, for all the good you've done us lately! Wouldn't have gotten it if there hadn't been a recent hospitilization.) Instead of the usual symptom of "I want to crawl in a hole and die" that everybody else gets, I got the "O wondrous, beautiful bed whose fluffy pillows and warm blankets are as heaven on earth!" Probably took advantage of the sleep thing a bit too much, but I was pretty weak and dizzy if I didn't. My son was an awesome nap trooper and snoozed with me the whole time I did.
Characters - Turai Specklewing - Ryoichi -
Tags - Just Another Day -
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