Tomorrow Arrives
12-23-2018, 10:35 PM
Balsam had finally made it to Boreas. The moment he'd crossed that line his heart had tried to beat out of his chest. This was it. The land of giants. Here he would either make his name or meet his maker. Either way, this was where his story was going to unfold. It was exciting to think about. He was going where no Songa had gone before and that thought alone was heartening.
The real adventure was going to have to wait until tomorrow, though, because the sun was going to rise soon and Balsam had yet to find a good place to sleep. He'd been traveling at night and sleeping during the day for the whole duration of his march north. At some point he might give that up, but not today.
Up ahead was a large promising tree so after checking to make sure the coast was clear Balsam jogged across the creek bed and jumped up the embankment on the other side. He placed his paws on the trunk of the tree and then stared up into its boughs for several seconds. Yes, he decided, this was a good one. Now to find nesting material.
Balsam hopped down and began to look around for soft things. As he did so his mind drifted back to the woman who had started this all. Velvette. Just thinking her name brought a dreamy sigh to his lips. No matter the hardship he faced in the land of giants, she was worth it. Not only was she smart but she was beautiful. She was a delightful cheetah print lady and she was flawless. More than anything else he wanted to be worthy of her time and thinking of who he was now make him ache with embarrassment.
As he gathered moss his thoughts shifted to the moment he had realized he was in love with Velvette. They'd been pups - little more than babies, really - and he'd spied her across a clearing. She'd been playing with her friends or participating in a lesson, maybe. Balsam had heard her laugh and the sound, like music, had immediately emptied his mind of other thoughts. He'd caught himself staring, mouth hanging wide open, and hadn't cared at all. Not even when his friends teased him about it. Why? Because he'd found his soulmate and he couldn't have been happier.
He'd known right then that they were meant to be together and in the coming months had used her for inspiration during his training. His lessons had been grueling, but a mix of love for his oblivious muse and a desire to live up to his father's name had propelled the wannabe Soundless through the lessons with dogged determination. While not the best at what he did, his skills were nothing to sneeze at and while she may have been aware of it, his successful could be contributed largely to her existence.
With a mouth completely full of moss Balsam moseyed back to the tree. A flying leap got him up into the branches and from there it was just a matter of bouncing from branch to branch until he got to the right spot. Had this been his permanent nest he'd have woven a nice little cushion out of branches, moss and grass, and rigged the overhead branches into a canopy, but seeing as this was a one day thing he was going to settle for a little moss and parking his butt in a hollow in the tree. Hopefully it wouldn't rain.
With the claws of three paws digging into the branches surrounding the hollow Balsam used the fourth to stuff moss into it. Not everything he had brought up with him fit neatly into the hollow, so the rest he laid out on the branch in front of it. A little lichen from the branches above topped the whole thing off and added a thin layer of padding to the branch that would be his bed for the night.
Without ceremony he then clamored up onto the branch, backed into the hollow, and flopped down. Almost immediately his eyelids were heavy, but sleep was still some ways off. His thoughts drifted to what was ahead. Balsam had made it this far without a setback. He had not seen hide or hair of any of his family and that alone was a blessing. And being this far all but guaranteed that none but the boldest Songa would keep tracking him. Assuming he was being tracked, of course, but he couldn't afford to think he'd gotten away scot-free. The smallest mistake could cost him his shot at achieving greatness. It could cost him whatever chance he had at getting with Velvette.
Balsam's eyes continued to grow heavy and just as the sun began to peek over the horizon he slipped into sleep.
The real adventure was going to have to wait until tomorrow, though, because the sun was going to rise soon and Balsam had yet to find a good place to sleep. He'd been traveling at night and sleeping during the day for the whole duration of his march north. At some point he might give that up, but not today.
Up ahead was a large promising tree so after checking to make sure the coast was clear Balsam jogged across the creek bed and jumped up the embankment on the other side. He placed his paws on the trunk of the tree and then stared up into its boughs for several seconds. Yes, he decided, this was a good one. Now to find nesting material.
Balsam hopped down and began to look around for soft things. As he did so his mind drifted back to the woman who had started this all. Velvette. Just thinking her name brought a dreamy sigh to his lips. No matter the hardship he faced in the land of giants, she was worth it. Not only was she smart but she was beautiful. She was a delightful cheetah print lady and she was flawless. More than anything else he wanted to be worthy of her time and thinking of who he was now make him ache with embarrassment.
As he gathered moss his thoughts shifted to the moment he had realized he was in love with Velvette. They'd been pups - little more than babies, really - and he'd spied her across a clearing. She'd been playing with her friends or participating in a lesson, maybe. Balsam had heard her laugh and the sound, like music, had immediately emptied his mind of other thoughts. He'd caught himself staring, mouth hanging wide open, and hadn't cared at all. Not even when his friends teased him about it. Why? Because he'd found his soulmate and he couldn't have been happier.
He'd known right then that they were meant to be together and in the coming months had used her for inspiration during his training. His lessons had been grueling, but a mix of love for his oblivious muse and a desire to live up to his father's name had propelled the wannabe Soundless through the lessons with dogged determination. While not the best at what he did, his skills were nothing to sneeze at and while she may have been aware of it, his successful could be contributed largely to her existence.
With a mouth completely full of moss Balsam moseyed back to the tree. A flying leap got him up into the branches and from there it was just a matter of bouncing from branch to branch until he got to the right spot. Had this been his permanent nest he'd have woven a nice little cushion out of branches, moss and grass, and rigged the overhead branches into a canopy, but seeing as this was a one day thing he was going to settle for a little moss and parking his butt in a hollow in the tree. Hopefully it wouldn't rain.
With the claws of three paws digging into the branches surrounding the hollow Balsam used the fourth to stuff moss into it. Not everything he had brought up with him fit neatly into the hollow, so the rest he laid out on the branch in front of it. A little lichen from the branches above topped the whole thing off and added a thin layer of padding to the branch that would be his bed for the night.
Without ceremony he then clamored up onto the branch, backed into the hollow, and flopped down. Almost immediately his eyelids were heavy, but sleep was still some ways off. His thoughts drifted to what was ahead. Balsam had made it this far without a setback. He had not seen hide or hair of any of his family and that alone was a blessing. And being this far all but guaranteed that none but the boldest Songa would keep tracking him. Assuming he was being tracked, of course, but he couldn't afford to think he'd gotten away scot-free. The smallest mistake could cost him his shot at achieving greatness. It could cost him whatever chance he had at getting with Velvette.
Balsam's eyes continued to grow heavy and just as the sun began to peek over the horizon he slipped into sleep.