Life was looking brighter than it had in weeks. Alexey was back. Her mother and father would not be returning, of course, and she greatly grieved for their father, but she could not dwell on that too long. Adelaida had known that their father’s end was near, and when she had left them she had thought to herself she probably wouldn’t see their mother again, at least not for a long time. That was okay, she had accepted that. Perhaps one day, Alexey and her would return to visit Katanka. For now, Alexey was back. Alexey was home. And that was enough. Adelaida was no longer a stranger in her own lands, she had family here once again. And Alexey’s courage rubbed off on the sister, and Adelaida walked with a bit more authority, as if she belonged in her own birth lands.
And so, it was with this second wind of courage that the masked female found herself wandering the lands again. She still stepped lightly, after her encounter with the shape shifter she really did not want to encounter any more, but she also was tired of hiding from them. And perhaps, perhaps they were so bad. It was hard to tell if the encounter had been worse because of the female’s hostilities or because of Adelaida’s terror. Reflecting on the incident with the coyote Adelaida knew that encounter had gone poorly because of her. However just because that coyote was not outright hostile (he was indeed crazy and that was not good either) didn’t mean the rest of them weren’t. She wouldn’t be changing her opinion on them.
It was in this fashion that Adelaida stumbled upon another of them. She was still traveling in the brush, but it ended abruptly in a field that had a lot of human buildings and posts and workings that she did not understand. That was not what interested her, she had never had any use for anything the humans had left behind. It was the fact that the shape shifter was so interested in them. And also that Adelaida had stumbled upon the shape shifter without being discovered this time. Crouching in the brush the brilliant blue eyes stared out at the female. The two legged freak stood there investigating every pole and wire, but why? Adelaida lay hiding, trying to work the mystery out in her mind when an itch began to form in her nose. And then, she sneezed.
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