Darkened Skies
01-14-2018, 02:59 AM
It had been a long time since Sterling had been anywhere familiar, and today was not much different. Although she'd spent enough time in the west to find her way around, she'd never come this particular way. She'd always stuck to the water's edge instead of making her way through the trees, figuring it would be the easiest way to keep her bearings. But now that she knew what lay on the other side of the woods, she figured she might as well explore within. She knew she'd come across a familiar landmark eventually, and could find her way from there. Wherever that 'way' was anyways, considering she wasn't sure where she was headed. She felt sort of lost, her mind urging her to return to Talis for the comfort and safety she had felt there since her birth, but her heart not in it. She wasn't sure if the things that Talis stood for really lined up with her own values, even though she had worked so hard for everything leading up to the raid. After experiencing the violence, and the strife that was left between the two packs, Sterling just couldn't... it was why she'd left and stayed on her own for so many seasons. Only loneliness, and the desire to see familiar faces, drove her to seek her old pack and her family members. But she didn't think she'd ever truly go back to them, and that thought alone frightened her.
So for now, she wandered in a state of limbo, delaying that difficult reunion as much as she possibly could. As the rain began to patter down, growing heavier by the second, she felt that the weather rather suited her dreary state of mind, leaving her with a fuzzy uncertainty that was mimicked by the haze brought on by the rain.
Her head hung low, silvery ears flattened against the back of her neck, her eyes squinted against the downpour. Lost in thought, and her vision somewhat impaired by the rain, it was fast and startling when the ground suddenly gave way under her paws. As the front of her body slipped forward, her paws quickly losing grip on the wet grass and dirt, her knees bent, hind legs attempting to pull her body back; but her balance was already weighing too far forward. With a screech, Sterling plunged downward, her body twisting as she attempted desperately to scrabble against the edge of the ravine with her forepaws, frantically trying to grab a hold of anything she could reach. It was futile, and within a heartbeat she struck the ground. A pained yelp escaped her, one that echoed off the steep walls of the ravine, before silence followed. The only sound to be heard was the steady hiss of heavy rain striking the ground.
In the blink of an eye her consciousness was snuffed out. Her bruised frame lay outside the ravine's overhang, and the rain began to seep through her gray pelt, plastering the fur against her side. Not a hair on her body moved, the only sign of life was the faint but telltale rise and fall of her ribs with each breath.
So for now, she wandered in a state of limbo, delaying that difficult reunion as much as she possibly could. As the rain began to patter down, growing heavier by the second, she felt that the weather rather suited her dreary state of mind, leaving her with a fuzzy uncertainty that was mimicked by the haze brought on by the rain.
Her head hung low, silvery ears flattened against the back of her neck, her eyes squinted against the downpour. Lost in thought, and her vision somewhat impaired by the rain, it was fast and startling when the ground suddenly gave way under her paws. As the front of her body slipped forward, her paws quickly losing grip on the wet grass and dirt, her knees bent, hind legs attempting to pull her body back; but her balance was already weighing too far forward. With a screech, Sterling plunged downward, her body twisting as she attempted desperately to scrabble against the edge of the ravine with her forepaws, frantically trying to grab a hold of anything she could reach. It was futile, and within a heartbeat she struck the ground. A pained yelp escaped her, one that echoed off the steep walls of the ravine, before silence followed. The only sound to be heard was the steady hiss of heavy rain striking the ground.
In the blink of an eye her consciousness was snuffed out. Her bruised frame lay outside the ravine's overhang, and the rain began to seep through her gray pelt, plastering the fur against her side. Not a hair on her body moved, the only sign of life was the faint but telltale rise and fall of her ribs with each breath.