A Drizzle of Home

5 | A Drizzle of Compassion

Our trek through the woods was painful and plodding, like watching a seedling sprout from the ground. We followed a narrow path winding through the trees, each taunting me with their swaying boughs of evergreen. Strong, standing tall and proud. Unchanging.

Why did things have to change?

But even pines fell eventually, some by the snare of brittle age, while others lost their life before they could live it––shattered in an instant by a single bolt of burning light. My time had come to fall. A mere sapling, I was already broken and rotting along the ground, struck by blinding disaster and torn from my roots.

Each fallen tree paved the way for another; it was a fresh start for a new seed. I hoped this trip would prove that true. All the effort and energy I'd spent so far, I only wanted it to be worthy of a new beginning.

It was hardly just a short walk for a wolf hobbling along on three paws. We were traveling towards the sun's resting grounds, farther into the forest and away from the river. Cloud and Pine used their shoulders to keep me aloft as we walked, until finally, we reached their home. At least, the foot of it.

The trees thinned as we approached a rocky outcrop, and the grass abruptly met stone. An incline rose dauntingly before us, the rugged hillside too steep for any wolf to climb. Thankfully, another trail paved the way: a jagged pathway that cut back on itself sharply and scaled the wall with a series of turns and ledges.

Shrubbery lined the ground around it, peeking out from the darkened soil. Curved thorns formed on the edges of each branch, a sharp reminder that a tumble down the hillside wouldn't be pleasant. Though the distance alone probably wasn't enough to kill me, being impaled by boulders or dry, pointy trees was an even more painful alternative.

Cloud must've noticed the desperation on my muzzle. "We can take a break if you need to."

My legs felt like moss, frail and squishy. Even through the numbness, pain crept up them like a stinging ivy and wrapped around each leg tightly. It didn't pair well with heavy, panting breaths and the newest aches rousing in my sides. They objected to it all, pressing sharp fangs into my flesh as I stretched my bruised and weakened muscles. I definitely needed a break, but we were almost there. I just had to hold on a little while longer.

Filling my lungs with a determined inhale, I shook my head at her question. The faster this was over with, the faster I could rest.

Cloud nodded, and she trudged onward with me in tow. Spruce ran ahead without a word, leaving only floating dust for us to follow. Much slower. Our places shifted as the ground sloped upward, and Pine edged backward. She pressed her shoulder against my rump to keep me from rolling down the hill, while Cloud had double the work in her place at my shoulder, using her head and body to prop me up and help me stay balanced from only one side.

The ascent was uneventful, and eventually we made it to the top. The incline sharply ceased as we left the rocky path, leading to a wide, flat clearing that was nearly level with the needled canopy of pines behind us. Unlike the view from beneath their shaded branches, you could glance up and see each tree's pointed top. On the other side, the sight of stone surrounded me, and a steep mountainside stretched into the hazy light on either side of the plateau.

It formed a vast sort of valley, while this mass of land stretched from a lower wall. The summit wasn't visible from our place on the lowly foothills, but it towered high above us, standing among the clouds. Meanwhile, at its base, a round hollow was formed deep in the rocky surface. Across the clearing where it met the sloping earth, a cave sat within the mountain itself. Jagged, arching stone framed the looming doorway, as wide and tall as several wolves nose-to-tail.