Wild Berry Meadow landslide

she wakes with crusted vomit in her muzzle, her chest, a burning in her gut and a persistent tremble in her forelimb. her flank twitches now and again, but her heart no longer seeks to leave her chest. like a zombie, she simply stands, falters, and moves in a straight line to the west, head low and step interrupted by her weakened fore. she wants to stop, and the looming mountains seem impenetrable now, but she keeps her staggered walk and moves ever onward. the poison has been expelled; but not quickly enough for it to begin to be metabolized. time will tell how quickly it will leave her body. for now, she feels and looks like death.

they'd lost track of each other, somewhere along the way. but as he turned back inland, finding himself too close to the calls of gulls. . .well, magnets always found their way back together, right? and so, it seemed, did old lovers.

dawn, he called out nonchalantly from a distance, but as he approached, he began to realize that something was quite wrong. she was trembling, staggering, and there was a look to her that suggested nothing good. he increased his pace, saying her name again, but louder, more insistent.

only until he was within striking distance did he really understand the gravity of the situation. you're sick, he assessed, or hurt. you need a medic. dawn, you need to rest. he cut himself off after that, fearing that he'd babble her to death if he didn't stop this instant.

his initial words had no effect save to increase her attempts to move faster, memories of shadowy women and clipped words fogging her mind. then, again and louder.  "adi." came her voice, but she didn't turn to look at him.  "adi."  and it was insistent, firm. she stopped but only because her stomach was convulsing in an attempt to rid itself of the poison she was currently struggling to metabolize, but nothing came out her open maw. 

she was glad he was here, and relief was sharp like a blade, but the mountains loomed like she who blotted-out-the-sun. "we've got to go. she could come back. she did it."  she had no face to pin to the shadow, no name and no reason, but the sickness had been accompanied by her presence.

she. she. who's 'she'? he asked, demanded, coming toward her with his brows knit tight together. who tried to hurt you? dawn—

dawn was right, though. if there was a murderess around, they needed to head for the hills. he swallowed, heart hammering against his chest, and his golden eyes darted around like a deer, just now cognizant that it was being hunted. where to go, where to go. . .

the mountains, he said decisively, jerking his chin toward the far-off shadows against the sky. let's go. dawn, you're right—let's go. he took off at a trot, though glancing back to make sure she followed. in any other case, he would have insisted she stay put, to be treated.

someone had hurt her. someone had hurt her.

and he would not stand for it.

nor would he stay and allow it to happen again.

run. run. run.

she stumbled blindly between clear thought and a poison-induced haze, and somewhere she dimly acknowledged the surprise of finding Aditya after they'd wandered apart. "I don't know." but then her mind swung back into the hazy mire of her spinning thoughts, and whatever she'd been about to say faded from the tip of her tongue. they were going somewhere, which was good, because she was right. she started to move in their new direction before realizing what he'd said, at which time the clear portion of her mind deemed it a good idea. "the mountains," she murmured in agreement, and then they were moving towards those great monoliths, blotting out the sun just as she had, and the realization set grim dread swirling in the pit of her stomach.