03-05-2009, 09:48 AM
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She held her breath all the way, although she knew the path she was taking like the back of her hand. It was strange to imagine that mere days had gone by, when she felt more like several lifetimes had passed since she had retraced the steps, as if she had forgotten. The first breath of spring was in the air as she began the trek from Phoenix Valley back to Crimson Dreams. It was a journey she hadn't been too keen on taking, but she had swallowed her fears and had risen to the task.
So much had changed in what seemed the span of breaths. She felt as though she was several heartbeats behind her head, or perhaps it was vice-versa. Perhaps she hadn't been thinking at all, and had been running from the thundering of her heart ever since...Ever since...
That night had changed everything. The world reversed on its axis and gravity had disappeared, at least for her. And a glimpse of how the world could be for her, for them, had been so astoundingly clear. And it had scared her more than anything, how close the realization of that truth had come. Geneva had slammed on the brakes, and turned tail, and ran as fast as her legs could carry her.
She had done and said things, sacrificed things to buy herself time. It had hurt, burned in ways she did not want to admit. Looking back through memory, she had wondered if it really had been her talking so forcefully from behind that snarl, her face a mask of anger. Searching herself now, she couldn't find any anger within. There was a sense of loss, an emptiness. The sounds of an almost broken heart that had been too worn thin, too damaged to be fit to give in the first place.
She looked up now, the sun bright in her eyes as she let the sights wash over her. The ring of trees, and in the distance, the valley and finally, her eyes came to rest upon the Manor. She had mixed feelings as she mounted the steps of the porch. She paused, wondering if she should knock on the door or just push it open. Savina had told her that she was always welcome, and she stood arrested with her fingers shaping the handle. After a moment of debate, the door swung open.
Her heart thudded as her lime green eyes scanned the entry way, and found it thankfully empty. She supposed that she should tell someone that she was here, because she was a visitor now, no longer a member of this pack. But she held her tongue. She could make this quick, up the stairs, and three doors to the left. She had come to retrieve her belongings, having left in such haste that she had left everything behind her.
Her ears pricked at sounds in the kitchen. And she turned her body toward the sound, debating her course of action. Finally, she decided to go to the kitchen. She wondered if it would be Savina inside, poking around in search of food. The thought brought a thin smile to her face. The decision made, she rounded the corner, feet falling soundlessly as she pushed open the door.
She opened her mouth to say something, to greet whoever was there. But lime green eyes met blue, and her voice died in her throat. She caught herself at the door, catching it as it swung toward her with her hand. She clutched it in her fingers, still framed within the door frame. "Anu..."
So much had changed in what seemed the span of breaths. She felt as though she was several heartbeats behind her head, or perhaps it was vice-versa. Perhaps she hadn't been thinking at all, and had been running from the thundering of her heart ever since...Ever since...
That night had changed everything. The world reversed on its axis and gravity had disappeared, at least for her. And a glimpse of how the world could be for her, for them, had been so astoundingly clear. And it had scared her more than anything, how close the realization of that truth had come. Geneva had slammed on the brakes, and turned tail, and ran as fast as her legs could carry her.
She had done and said things, sacrificed things to buy herself time. It had hurt, burned in ways she did not want to admit. Looking back through memory, she had wondered if it really had been her talking so forcefully from behind that snarl, her face a mask of anger. Searching herself now, she couldn't find any anger within. There was a sense of loss, an emptiness. The sounds of an almost broken heart that had been too worn thin, too damaged to be fit to give in the first place.
She looked up now, the sun bright in her eyes as she let the sights wash over her. The ring of trees, and in the distance, the valley and finally, her eyes came to rest upon the Manor. She had mixed feelings as she mounted the steps of the porch. She paused, wondering if she should knock on the door or just push it open. Savina had told her that she was always welcome, and she stood arrested with her fingers shaping the handle. After a moment of debate, the door swung open.
Her heart thudded as her lime green eyes scanned the entry way, and found it thankfully empty. She supposed that she should tell someone that she was here, because she was a visitor now, no longer a member of this pack. But she held her tongue. She could make this quick, up the stairs, and three doors to the left. She had come to retrieve her belongings, having left in such haste that she had left everything behind her.
Her ears pricked at sounds in the kitchen. And she turned her body toward the sound, debating her course of action. Finally, she decided to go to the kitchen. She wondered if it would be Savina inside, poking around in search of food. The thought brought a thin smile to her face. The decision made, she rounded the corner, feet falling soundlessly as she pushed open the door.
She opened her mouth to say something, to greet whoever was there. But lime green eyes met blue, and her voice died in her throat. She caught herself at the door, catching it as it swung toward her with her hand. She clutched it in her fingers, still framed within the door frame. "Anu..."