An Exploration Gone Wrong
01-31-2015, 09:31 AM
Eliza was lost.
Well, not lost, she thought to herself as she walked through the subterranean tunnel. She wouldn't say lost. Lost indicated that she didn't know where she was, had absolutely no clue whatsoever where she was or where she was going to go. Of course she knew where she was, and of course she knew where she wanted to go! She was Eliza! Surely it was obvious that she knew where she was. She knew everything, it came with the package of being Eliza, the most beautiful, daring and intelligent little yearling ever known. Of course she knew everything. To even consider for a moment anything to the contrary was nothing short of heresy. She was just exploring, that was all. That was acceptable, she thought to herself to justify herself. Not that she needed to justify herself, of course, but she thought about it anyway. No: this was fine. She was exploring. She totally wasn't lost in a big, big cave network with no idea how to get out, and she totally wasn't scared. Eliza Rose Windern didn't get scared. That sort of thing didn't happen - it just don't. No - if anything she was exhilarated. That was the word: exhilarated. She totally wasn't terrified out of her wits about never seeing daylight again and being stuck here forever -
- No, she thought to herself firmly. She was exploring. She was just exploring and she knew exactly where the exit was. 'Course she did. In fact, if she so wanted to, she could go right now. But she was making a conscious decision not to because she hadn't explored it all yet. She was brave like that, the little yearling thought to herself as she walked. She didn't quit like other, inferior wolves who couldn't deal with those sorts of things. She was brave and strong and clever and that was why she had gone down here. She totally didn't, in any way, shape or form, simply come down here to escape the rain. Wherever did wolves get those sorts of ideas from? She had come down here to explore and that was what she was going to do, period. Eliza didn't get scared and she didn't quit: not when there was more to explore (and a way of stumbling upon the entrance/exit again, although she wouldn't admit this for the world). So she was staying.
The yearling wouldn't admit it, but she was getting scared now. She had been wondering around in this big cave system for over an hour, and not only was she tired and hungry, but she had no idea where she was. She had gone here originally to escape the rain, but seeing a tunnel down the back wall of the cave she was in she had gone in, and that cave had led to another one, and another one, and, eventually, she had managed to get herself so lost that she had no idea where she was or how to get back. Every tunnel seemingly opened up to another cave and she couldn't tell where she was - every cave looked almost identical. How could she even get out? Eliza didn't know how to get out, and this was becoming increasingly obvious with every passing second. Not knowing how to properly navigate places like this she hadn't even thought to leave marks or rocks in a particular pattern to show when she had already been in a cave before: she didn't know how to navigate at all, so she was wandering about without any sense of direction whatsoever.
Eliza walked into another cave, squinting in the darkness. It was hard to see, too: she shuffled into the new cave, letting out a tiny whine as she did so. Where was she? Was she any closer to the entrance? As she walked in, her paw suddenly collided with something. Eliza looked down - and saw that she had hit into the skull of a wolf, brittle with age. Letting out a shriek of terror the girl shrank away, backing into the wall of the cave and pressing herself up against it. Heart going wildly she glanced around her, trying to see if there were any more skeletons or bits of bone lying around.
Well, not lost, she thought to herself as she walked through the subterranean tunnel. She wouldn't say lost. Lost indicated that she didn't know where she was, had absolutely no clue whatsoever where she was or where she was going to go. Of course she knew where she was, and of course she knew where she wanted to go! She was Eliza! Surely it was obvious that she knew where she was. She knew everything, it came with the package of being Eliza, the most beautiful, daring and intelligent little yearling ever known. Of course she knew everything. To even consider for a moment anything to the contrary was nothing short of heresy. She was just exploring, that was all. That was acceptable, she thought to herself to justify herself. Not that she needed to justify herself, of course, but she thought about it anyway. No: this was fine. She was exploring. She totally wasn't lost in a big, big cave network with no idea how to get out, and she totally wasn't scared. Eliza Rose Windern didn't get scared. That sort of thing didn't happen - it just don't. No - if anything she was exhilarated. That was the word: exhilarated. She totally wasn't terrified out of her wits about never seeing daylight again and being stuck here forever -
- No, she thought to herself firmly. She was exploring. She was just exploring and she knew exactly where the exit was. 'Course she did. In fact, if she so wanted to, she could go right now. But she was making a conscious decision not to because she hadn't explored it all yet. She was brave like that, the little yearling thought to herself as she walked. She didn't quit like other, inferior wolves who couldn't deal with those sorts of things. She was brave and strong and clever and that was why she had gone down here. She totally didn't, in any way, shape or form, simply come down here to escape the rain. Wherever did wolves get those sorts of ideas from? She had come down here to explore and that was what she was going to do, period. Eliza didn't get scared and she didn't quit: not when there was more to explore (and a way of stumbling upon the entrance/exit again, although she wouldn't admit this for the world). So she was staying.
The yearling wouldn't admit it, but she was getting scared now. She had been wondering around in this big cave system for over an hour, and not only was she tired and hungry, but she had no idea where she was. She had gone here originally to escape the rain, but seeing a tunnel down the back wall of the cave she was in she had gone in, and that cave had led to another one, and another one, and, eventually, she had managed to get herself so lost that she had no idea where she was or how to get back. Every tunnel seemingly opened up to another cave and she couldn't tell where she was - every cave looked almost identical. How could she even get out? Eliza didn't know how to get out, and this was becoming increasingly obvious with every passing second. Not knowing how to properly navigate places like this she hadn't even thought to leave marks or rocks in a particular pattern to show when she had already been in a cave before: she didn't know how to navigate at all, so she was wandering about without any sense of direction whatsoever.
Eliza walked into another cave, squinting in the darkness. It was hard to see, too: she shuffled into the new cave, letting out a tiny whine as she did so. Where was she? Was she any closer to the entrance? As she walked in, her paw suddenly collided with something. Eliza looked down - and saw that she had hit into the skull of a wolf, brittle with age. Letting out a shriek of terror the girl shrank away, backing into the wall of the cave and pressing herself up against it. Heart going wildly she glanced around her, trying to see if there were any more skeletons or bits of bone lying around.