The Collaring of Chloe

Chapter 33: A Step Back To Go Forward

From outside the plane's small window, Chloe watched the patchwork landscape below drifting past her view. From so far up, it appeared almost like an old quilt, composed of a multitude of scraps of different things, held together by thick dark green seams. Towns and cities seemed like worn places in the fabric, roads like runs in the weave. It was a beautiful image, in its way, making the world look less real and more like the creation of some artist.

In some ways, it felt strange to be on an airplane again, her last time being when she'd flown in to meet her new owner and Master for the first time, a few months ago. It seemed both like only yesterday and long in the past, surprising to her that so much time had already gone by since meeting him and his amazing 'pet cat'. In some ways, it felt like she'd already shared so much time with them, which also felt at odds with the truth that she'd really only been with them for a short time.

In many ways it also felt completely wrong to be on this plane now, despite how certain she was that this was the right course of action for her. Even when it had first struck her just what she needed to do, before she could even fully explain why it was right, she had simply known it was the right choice. However, not fully being able to articulate it, at first, had proven a bit of a challenge to a thoroughly shocked Holly.

"Wait! What?!" Holly had said after a moment to absorb the initial profession of her intentions.

"I have to go back...well, it's not 'home' anymore, I guess, but I need to see Master Heron." Chloe tried to explain, still struggling to fully understand her own epiphany. "Ford is his real name, but I knew him as Master Heron. He was my mentor and protector back in my old community."

"Why?" Holly asked, guiding them to a small picnic table beside the convenience store where they'd been heading. "Are you leaving Rachel and James?"

Chloe started to reply with a quick 'no', that she only meant she needed to see Master Heron, not that she was moving back there. However, it struck her that, with Mistress's plans in motion, she might very well be leaving them. The thought renewed her tears and she fought to keep from breaking back into sobs. Swallowing the surge of emotion, she struggled to make a proper reply.

"I..." She started, had to pause, then tried again. "I just need to see Master Heron. To talk to him. I..." Again, she faltered, though not due to welling emotion. She realized she wasn't fully sure why it was that she needed to speak to him. The basic idea was there, that she needed his advice on her current situation, but just what it was that she wanted to ask him hadn't fully managed to form in her mind yet. It was rather maddening to be so sure of what she needed to do, but so confused on what it was that she would actually be doing or why it was so important to do it in the first place.

"Can't you just, you know, call him?" Holly asked. "Or are you not allowed to?"

Chloe blinked a moment, realizing that the thought of calling him hadn't even crossed her mind as an option. "I suppose... If I can't go see him in person, that might do, but..." She took a deep breath, finally getting herself mastered with a resolve that she still didn't fully understand. "It really needs to be in person. I think it is the only way I'll know just what it is that I have to ask him."

Again, Holly looked utterly confused. "Wait, you don't know why you need to talk to him?"

"Yes...and no." Chloe admitted. "I need his council on something that's going on. I'm just not fully sure yet what the exact question I want him to answer is. I just know that, with everything that is going on around me, it's important that I talk with him."