June 03, 2016, 08:37 PM
Making a wide circle of the hinterlands over the next two days brought Saena through countless stretches of forest, but no matter how hard she looked, there was no prey to be found. Green was beginning to burst from every woody surface, and fungi were beginning to creep up among the soil and locust litter, but the herds weren't forthcoming. Resplendent be the season and warm be the air, but for Saena, there was nothing but hopelessness in each of those woods. Her stomach had ceased growling and now gnawed itself, and every step jolted down to her marrow with the weakness she felt.
Saena intended to return home first, but as she emerged from yet another wood to find herself on the edge of a cliff overlooking the weir and the forest below, she decided to explore just a little further. Deep in King Elk Forest there was a sheer stone wall, and Saena assumed she'd found her way to the top of it. She carried herself along the precarious edge. Her inhibitions were foggy from hunger and weakness and she was assured of her surefootedness. She had nothing to fear from the cliff, having grown up in Blacktail Deer Plateau.
But even as she thought that, she lifted her head to glance out over the glittering rivers to the west and her paw fell into empty space. Her heart leaped into her throat as she lost her balanced and wobbled, only to pitch headfirst toward the forest below. The cliff wasn't as high as she thought from down there, but the fall was still substantial enough that on the way down, she collided with the canopy of the forest and the side of her head connected sickeningly with a tree branch. She was unconscious before she hit the ground, and it was likely that that prevented her from sustaining any serious injuries.
Hours later, when she awoke to a throbbing in her skull, bruises all over her body, and dozens of hallucinations of all animal forms watching her, her mind was wiped blank but for two words: Saena, her name, and Leader, her title.
Saena intended to return home first, but as she emerged from yet another wood to find herself on the edge of a cliff overlooking the weir and the forest below, she decided to explore just a little further. Deep in King Elk Forest there was a sheer stone wall, and Saena assumed she'd found her way to the top of it. She carried herself along the precarious edge. Her inhibitions were foggy from hunger and weakness and she was assured of her surefootedness. She had nothing to fear from the cliff, having grown up in Blacktail Deer Plateau.
But even as she thought that, she lifted her head to glance out over the glittering rivers to the west and her paw fell into empty space. Her heart leaped into her throat as she lost her balanced and wobbled, only to pitch headfirst toward the forest below. The cliff wasn't as high as she thought from down there, but the fall was still substantial enough that on the way down, she collided with the canopy of the forest and the side of her head connected sickeningly with a tree branch. She was unconscious before she hit the ground, and it was likely that that prevented her from sustaining any serious injuries.
Hours later, when she awoke to a throbbing in her skull, bruises all over her body, and dozens of hallucinations of all animal forms watching her, her mind was wiped blank but for two words: Saena, her name, and Leader, her title.