She was grounded again.
This time,
@Eljay and
@Maia wouldn’t let Frolic out of their sight. She was barely three months old, they reminded her, and there were many dangers lurking beyond the caldera. The youth inwardly scoffed at it all, though she loved her mama and papa very much and tried very hard to obey them.
It lasted a couple of days before Frolic itched to return to Moonspear and check on
@Seal or even find Moonglow to visit
@Ajei. But every time she peered over her shoulder, her parents were watching her. She began to sulk a bit. It felt like the only time their eyes weren’t on her was when they were all asleep at night.
It took a couple more days for Frolic to hatch a plan to sneak out in the middle of the night. It was hard, fighting off sleep after a long day, though the excitement of her rebellious plan helped. When she was certain her parents,
@Glee and
@Callahan were all fast asleep, she tiptoed out of the den.
She crept several yards away and then glanced backward. This time, there was no one looking back. Frolic faced forward and
zoomed. She was so excited to be free, she paid no attention at all to which direction she was going. She just scampered toward the nearest exit, then ran as fast as her little black legs would carry her.
Eventually, she tripped and went sprawling. Her nose smashed into the brittle, sun-baked grass growing just west of the mesa. It filled with blood and the scents of many wolves.
quietly slides myself in here
Even with half of the palace's wolves and nearly all resources gone, it felt as though the mesa was bustling and bursting at the seams. Inji spent her days with her sisters, friendships between the fellahin that blossomed in the confines of the passages — meals over wine, quiet girlish discussion between tasks. It was primarily just the four of them here, the Queen and her servants; and Inji would have been okay with it if it were like this forever.
Midnight chill nips at her shoulders as she sits vigilant along the swath of drybrush. Sleep had not come to her this night, and so she crept from the bedchambers and out in search of fresh air. Thoughts bounced wildly inside her head in a way that brought her heart to a fervent thrum and her mouth frothing with saliva. Terrified for what the future held would be an understatement, even as she held Eset's comforts close!
And she'd been so wrapped up in it all that she hadn't quite noticed the little visitor at the palace's doorstep.
She sat up with a little groan, one socked forepaw reaching up to rub at her nose. It smarted and Frolic winced, moving her paw away. There was blood smeared on it and she could feel more dripping from her nose into the cleft of her lip. She could taste it.
By some extreme stroke of fortune, a coyote appeared. Frolic immediately thought of
@Meridian tending the wounded after the fight with the hellcat. In her young mind, prairie wolves were synonymous with rendering first aid. She lurched onto all fours and ran toward the small canine.
Hi! Do you have any spiderwebs? I need to stuff ‘em up my nosey!
Frolic exclaimed by way of greeting.
A voice startles her and instantly removes her from the winding maze of her mind. Something squeaky, high-pitched; a voice she most certainly did not recognize.
Blinking once, twice, she scans her surroundings at eye level before blinking once again and then looking toward her feet. And she sees it then, this small child with pearls of blood dribbling down her chin and staring up at her as if she hadn't a care in the world.
Um,
scooting back in surprise before tilting her head down at the little gremlin, her tongue pokes from her lips. Oh, dear, she knew so little about medicine. Why were the sesh unavailable when you needed them? I-I could find you some?
She squirrels up to her feet, tail then pressing to her heel as she nervously skulks to the side of the little one, a subtle check for any further ailments. Who are you? Do you know where you are?
The coyote looked taken aback by her question. Frolic wondered why, then remembered, duh, it was nighttime!
Lowering her voice, she hisspered, Oh, I thought you’d have some,
and then gingerly wiped her nose on her dirtied paw. It’s okay, I think. I usually stop bleedin’ pretty fast!
The stranger swept onto all fours and sniffed toward her. Frolic didn’t mind, doing the same thing even if it made her sniffer ache a bit.
No,
she loudly whispered back. Do you? I’m Frolic. What’s your name?
Inji found herself at a loss of what to do with this child. Clearly, she did not belong here, and there was not an obvious protocol within the palace for what to do when a child appears out of seemingly thin air. Especially not when the mazoi are nowhere nearby, not anymore.
My name is Jendayi, but you can call me Inji,
she entertains with a tiny smile that began to creep up her face. I'm a fellahin, and you're in Akashingo. Muat-riya Isetnofret Toula is our Queen,
and oh, what would she think of this? Her tail swings upward into a slow, tentative wag. c'mon, here, I'll find you... um, something for your nose.
She resolves to gently usher the child in the opposite direction of the mesa, out towards the great Serpent; there, maybe, they could find something. She is careful with her footing as she leads. Where are you from, Frolic? How'd you find this place?
A series of exotic words poured from the woman’s mouth. Frolic’s eyes grew wide.
I don’t know what most of those words mean,
she confessed, still sotto voce.
Inji wanted to find something to help with her bloody nose. Frolic bobbed her head and skipped alongside the coyote. She had never met a stranger and blindly trusted anyone older than her (which was pretty much everyone).
I’m from,
she began, speaking loudly again but quickly catching herself. I’m from Brecheliant. It’s that way.
Frolic paused to point, then admitted, I kinda ran away from home. Not forever! Just for a little bit, while my family’s sleepin’.
She gazed ahead, unable to see much in the dark. It belatedly dawned on her that she’d trespassed. Frolic gulped and glanced at Inji, though she didn’t seem particularly upset. She would take that as a cue that she wasn’t in trouble… with this lady, at least.
Frolic totally intended to scamper back home before sunrise, to avoid being caught. She hadn’t realized that was her plan until this very moment, which necessitated announcing it.
I’m gonna go home before the sun comes up!
she cheerfully declared. Then, Do you know when the sun comes up?
And it was now that Inji had begun to realize: she had not a single goddamn clue what she was meant to be searching for. She snuffles rather aimlessly at the ground, tail anxiously flailing behind her. She knew absolutely nothing about how to find spiderwebs, or... much of anything else. Gods, she should usher this poor helpless rascal into the palace— no, no, that was a horrible idea. Toula would be cross, maybe, and she could not imagine the sesh would enjoy returning to find a shortage in their supplies.
You ran away?
her eyes briefly flicker over to the girl named Frolic from... Breek-el-ee-ant. At that, eyes bugged wide, eyebrows lifted. That's awfully brave of you, isn't it?
And she supposed it was. But then she thought about herself at this girl's age, and whether or not her parents would have cared. In fact, they may not have ever noticed. She brushes away the thought of such as she shoves her nose in a swath of sagebrush. No spiderwebs.
And then, a low hanging branch of a tree is investigated; no spiderwebs!
Her saving grace happened to be the space between two mesquites. Uh, I think the sun should be up in a few--
and she had not gotten to finish that sentence before she had begun to frantically blink and blow pearls of spit from her mouth.
There were the spiderwebs.
Inji started to answer her, only to cut off and blow a raspberry instead. Frolic couldn’t help but snort, which made her nose throb. But Inji had just farted out of her face!
Only belatedly did it occur to the pup to hissper, What happened? Are you okay?
Yeah, yep, all good,
she sputters, reaching to collect what remained of the cobwebs with a paw. that spider isn't, though. I think I just destroyed his home.
She looks down to little Frolic. What in Ra's name was she supposed to do now? Uh,
her ears split down into a splay. c'mere, lemme try something.
Awkwardly, she reaches for the chubby little face and attempts to gingerly shove a gob of sticky web up her tiny nostril. Her eyebrows furrow in concentration. Is this helping? I-I don't really, um, know anything about healing.
It’s called a spooder,
Frolic jested playfully, though before she could say anything else, Inji indicated she wanted to try something.
The next thing she knew, the coyote was jamming a wad of sticky gossamer up her nostril. It actually hurt, as the tissue there was quite tender, but beyond a brief wince, Frolic kept up a brave face. She held as still as she could.
When Inji confessed she didn’t know much of anything about healing, Frolic wriggled her nose—well, the ball of webbing felt secure, at least—and insisted, You’re doing great, sweetie,
the pet name her parents sometimes employed slipping mindlessly off her tongue.
Does it, um, hurt at all?
Inji asks, lips scrunching. Maybe I could find you something for pain.
She takes a few disjointed steps backward. The wad of cobweb is hanging very messily from her nostril, and admittedly, it looks a bit like snot. She hopes whatever spider lived there does not climb up into this poor child's brain.
You didn't, like, lose a tooth or anything, did you? Or hurt your head somehow?
Not really,
Frolic fibbed, never one to let a little pain hold her back.
Inji stepped back to regard her handiwork. Frolic tried very hard to resist the urge to scrunch her nose again. It helped that the coyote distracted her with a question. She couldn’t have any idea what such a query would evoke.
No!
she said, getting a little too loud again but not catching it this time. I wish! I want to plant more tooth trees!
she lamented, sounding a little plugged up on account of the spiderweb stuffed up her nose.
That made her think of Ceridwen, of course, and home. She didn’t think she’d been out here long—and the sky remained dark—but Frolic knew that every minute spent out here risked her being found out. This encounter with Inji had momentarily satisfied her appetite for adventure, now she really ought to get back before she got caught.
I need to go home, Inji,
Frolic said sadly. Thank you for helpin’ me, though!
She offered a grin, wondering if they might ever cross paths again. Frolic then turned and sprinted in the direction of the caldera, stopping after a dozen yards to look over her shoulder. Frolic enthusiastically waved a paw at Inji, then noticed a sliver of sunlight along the eastern horizon behind her, and promptly scurried toward home.
Apparently, her job here was done. Okay, good,
her lips crease into a gentle smile, one of relief and a wash of pride. Look at that, she did something to help someone! Although the tooth trees comment made her think there might be some brain damage after all.
She follows Frolic's eyes toward the horizon, the first soft hue of Ra's light peeking from between the mesquites. You really should if you don't wanna get found out,
she turns again to the child, an impish glimmer to her eyes. I promise I won't tell anyone.
She, too, then stalks in direction of her mesa before her head swivels to look back; Frolic now disappearing into a cloud of harsh sand. Be safe, Frolic!