King Elk Forest girls just want to have fun

@Vex Cruor

Striding through the darkness with her head held high, like a queen! Long-legged, broad-shouldered, dancing, floating even! A creature of Amazonian proportions; men want her, women want to be her! She was stunning.

Or so thought the leggy, too-tall teenager as she moved through the forest. Her steps weren't perfect; she stumbled more often than not, but recovered with a wild look over her shoulder, or to the trees, as if someone might see it and laugh. Envisioning herself as some kind of fey goddess was one thing — but hiding her deeper truths, such as her fear of the dark, was a whole other story.

It was dark. And her mother and father were not here. That second part, that wasn't new. They probably didn't even notice that Whit was missing! But they'd clue in eventually. Maybe they'd send a vanguard to hunt her down; this wasn't the first time and wouldn't be the last. This was the furthest she'd managed, however.

The forest spiraled. Some of the trees were giant, others only saplings. From time to time Whit thought, I saw this one an hour ago! And she'd try to re-trace her steps. It became so dark beneath the canopy that she had to stop, and would then lean against a tree trunk while trying to catch her breath. 

It didn't occur to Whit to, maybe, call out. To ask for help. She didn't want the wrong person to find her — that person being someone from home, of course. She came across the scent of wolves a few times as she journeyed, and each time she turned back, which forced her to travel in circles, as if she bounced off the invisible boundary of the Dominion.

On one last pass, she practically collapsed in the dirt - and a few wolf lengths ahead of her was the claim's edge, which meant she'd gotten turned around for the upteenth time.

Damn it! She finally called out, flustered.