Secrets - book two

Between a Mansion and a Hard Place

Saying that it was dark, was the biggest understatement anyone could make in the history of understatements. We had slowed down to a gentle pace as we passed what looked like bushes but who knew in this dim light? (Not me).

The sun had set mere minutes ago and we lost visibility for our perimeter surroundings so we could only see a small part of our area surroundings."

"With the clouds covering the moon it'll make it almost impossible to see properly," Blue groaned, and after not receiving a sarcastic remark or just to growl in agreement, but no reply. "Ripper?"

"Huh, ugh what?" I said lazily, looking at what surroundings I could see. (Wasn't much). I heard an impatient sigh coming from my left? No one could tell in this blanket of inky blackness.

"I was saying that we can't see properly because the clouds are covering the moon," she explained. I looked up to try and see the moon, but couldn't. How did something as weak as clouds hide something as big as the moon? They're just clumps of air, for crying out loud! I found what happened next half funny and half irritating. As I continued making a path through the darkness, I wasn't watching where I was going, too busy staring at the moon that wasn't there.

I suddenly was stopped, not by Blue, but by a, I'm going to guess tree, and fell back, hitting my head on a rough piece of ground. I groaned in pain, and curled my tail into my chest. Not now, pain, I groaned. I heard grass rustle next to me, and saw the short, bristly grass flatten down before Blue's claws. I saw her extend her talon as a gesture of helping me up.

It still confused me that she actually wanted to help me but I wasn't complaining, (that much).

"Come on, Ripper," she helped me up. "You can rest when we find shelter for the night." I groaned in pain and exhaustion. We had been wandering the forest for so many hours I had lost count, and my legs (and probably hers) were aching like crazy. I felt my eyes, legs, and pretty much the entirety of my body was on the brink of shut down.

"There!" Blue exclaimed, pointing to a, well, a darker spot in front of us. She looked at me, well, where she thought I was. I was actually falling behind because of this stupid fatigue. I stared back at her with drowsy, half opened eyes. She walked over to me with a hint of caution while approaching me. Did she think I was aggressive- more aggressive when I was tired? I mentally chuckled. Well, she was probably right.

As I began to approach her, closing the gap between us, I felt my body begin to shut down slowly. By the time we got close, my body was just about ready to give up for the night, and suddenly, shades of black started to cloud around my eyes, cutting off my line of sight.

Just before I collapsed, I felt something grab me by the arm, and lifted me back to my feet. I was too tired to identify who had helped me, but I assumed it was Blue considering there was no one else around.

When my eyes opened, my surroundings had changed. They were no more trees around me, now it was a dimly lit cave that, if I'm honest was only big enough for a small Raptor like Blue, or maybe she was a normal sized Raptor and I was an abnormally sized Raptor. Whatever the case, it was cramped. And I'm not saying it was so cramped that me and Blue were literary side by side, it was more like the ceiling of the cave was a metre away from our heads. It's not great, I thought, but it's better than being hunted day in day out.

"Hey, Ripper," a soft? A soft voice called. I groaned, and craned my neck up to see Blue. Well, even if this space is smaller than my patience with humanity, it's still a good home, if only temporary.

"Y-yeah?" I mumbled. She then did something most unexpected. She overlapped her tail onto mine and leaned in closer, so our snouts were almost touching. "I-I'm glad y-you're ok," she whispered. I looked at her with a confused expression. She's glad I'm ok? First off she actually cares which is a bit weird. And second of all why wouldn't I be ok?