She knew what she had done that day, but it helped the Takekuro woman to never believe in the rules of reality until they slapped her in the face. It had been a smart move when she was wandering the wilderness to stop at the Court when she realized she had miscalculated her cycle; better be there in friendly territory than in unclaimed lands drawing every sleazy lone wolf her way. What she hadn’t counted on, though, was that she would find anybody in the court except her brother. Reasonably, she thought she could shack up in the hotel for a few days, or lurk within the safety of their borders but stay away from the pack members until her cycle had passed and she could make her way home. Never in her wildest dreams did she think she would just happen upon one of her dearest friends while she was there.
Now weeks had passed, and short of strolling through fond memories of that day she hadn’t bothered to think of the consequences of her time with Mars. Home now, she had been pretending that she had not done anything at all. That there was no reason to think that she was…
Plop! Water splashed at the bottom of the well as she dropped a river pebble into the dark tunnel. She loved the sound it made, echoing up to meet her. The square was strangely silent. Sarian was now old enough to be by herself… a little bit, anyway… and Orin let her play in the edge of the woods that encircled Thornbury, so for now she enjoyed a rare moment of silence. It was peaceful, here, in the center of Thornbury’s shopping district.
Orin straightened. Standing and turning around, she wriggled onto the edge of the well, her eyes cast over the empty town. Someone would come along, someone always did, but for now it was her peace. At least, until golden eyes wandered the buildings, first skimming the place Mars Russo once lived, and then landing upon the book store that she once called home.
Was there some sort of sign here? She wondered as she swallowed the lump that suddenly settled in her throat. All of a sudden that feeling of peace turned into loneliness.
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