Magicians and Fools

Caspa Al-Fateh · 11-24-2011, 07:53 PM

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Word Count :: 5+ Kind of a weird post sorry. Lemme know if you want anything changed!

There was no doubt Terra would do her level best to uphold her title of sneaky. Expecting to wait for some time for her, Caspa figured she may as well change, although she sighed as she did to feel all her hard work on her cornrows pulling out as her fur shortened. In Lupus, she had just flopped to her stomach with nose pressed to the ground when Terra announced her part complete. She was in secui now, which threw Caspa. Why would Terra shift? Perhaps the necklace was hidden somewhere that required strength to retrieve it. Perhaps that was what the red wolf - or possibly coyote - wanted her to think. She narrowed her eyes, trying not to look flummoxed. "OK, here I come. Ready or not," she added deadpan and headed for the undergrowth. It took less than a matter of seconds to realise that following the scent trail was not going to be straightforward, or even possible. Caspa knew most of the garden, having aspirations of botany, but she could tell the Terra had doubled back several times and there was no way to know which trail was freshest, with the speed she'd been moving at. She came back out from the undergrowth, shaking leaves off her head. She had a feeling it was a red herring, but why? Taking a closer look at the other woman's dark-booted legs, she gave a small and embarrassingly doggish 'woof' of triumph. There was a covering of pale dirt there that hadn't been before, discolouring the fur slightly. And that must mean...

Caspa approached, again coming rather closer than would be normal and inhaled at great proximity to her opponent. She tasted dust - hotel dust. Her lip lifted again, a smile more hopeful than celebratory, then she whirled and pelted towards the front of the hotel, slowing as she went inside in case someone else was coming out, but the place was as empty as ever. Caspa was heartened to find a Terra-track on the staircase that hadn't been there before, but dismayed yet again when she reached the top of the ascent to find myriad trails going what seemed like everywhere. Her feathery tail drooped and she started to pad glumly from room to room, finding many pawpads in the dust and not a single area seemingly ignored. She knew she was on the right track, but there seemed to be no easy answer as to what to do next. She couldn't scour every room - she could be there days.

She figured she might as well use this opportunity to visit some of the rooms she hadn't so far, so chose those to be the first to investigate. Most were empty, or uninteresting. None had obvious hiding places, or more than a cursory amount of Terra-spoor. Then after a whole shoal more of red herrings she came to a door which was quite the opposite - the ember-furred lady was all over this place. It must be her private room, her den. Surely that was too obvious a place, but after a small hesitation Caspa went in anyway, curious to see what the wolf's quarters were like. The first thing that struck her was her necklace, in plain view. The stealthy Terra must not have expected her to get this far - Caspa would still be outside, after all, if she hadn't noticed the dust. She seized the chain triumphantly and tossed it up so that it fell and slipped over her head. Then she turned her attention to the rest of the room - after all, by using it as her hiding place, Terra had all but given her permission to check the place out.

Image courtesy of ®DS @ flickr; Table by the Mentors!

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