Painted Flowers

Chapter 5 - Lost

This was the very first time in her life that Layali had traveled alone, and she endured every lonely moment of it with a pang in her heart. Putting the day's tragic events out of her mind, she was painfully aware of her inexperience towards the world outside her safety and security within the Pack of Bright Meadows, and knew deep down that she would not be able to feed herself. She barely knew how to scavenge for morsels...she had never expected her father to let her go hungry.

Mosi was supposed to train her that day. He was supposed to finally show her a few hunting tricks, so she could grow in the skill and be prepared for the day she led her pack. Why, oh why was she so behind? Imani and Mahiri had at least some knowledge on the subject, but Layali? All she knew how to do was act entitled and bossy, letting others do the work for her. Every moment Layali would spend wandering alone made her curse herself and her father's upbringing of her for her ignorance.

Wandering...wasn't wanderer the word used for dogs without a pack? Layali was certainly living up to this title. After crossing the field of violets that Layali had once weaved into her crown, she reached the waterfall, now clear of fog, with right beside it being the place Mosi had been slain. Layali sat there for a moment, staring solemnly at her reflection in the trickling water. Never again would her father press his fur against hers. Never would he show her the source of the water, take her on a journey upstream and beyond, just the two of them, like he had promised.

Layali crossed the river, ignoring the discomfort of her sodden pelt, officially exiting Meadow territory and leaving it behind her for good. She truly was wandering at this point. She had no idea where she was or where she was heading. She had no idea what lay beyond the scent line of the territory.

I'm not sure how I'll do it... Layali thought to herself, looking up at the sky, finally noticing that the moon had made itself visible to the world. Rage swelled up in her belly. But I have no choice. I'll find that disgusting animal that killed my father...and ruined my whole life. She dug her claws at the unfamiliar grass and sat down as fatigue caught up to her.

I will never stop searching, she vowed. I will return to my home and prove my mother wrong. And when I find the true killer-

"You will what?" Dreamwalker sneered in the back of her head. "Kill them? Sink to their own dirty level?" The forested surroundings engulfing Layali seemed to fade away into an eerie, yet familiar, nightmarish blackness. The spirit made itself seen, sitting comfortably beside its host and wrapping its tail neatly around its paws. "Wouldn't your father be proud of you..."

Fury prickled Layali, making her fur stand on end. In her frustration she raised her voice at her Dreamwalker, despite the latter's uncanny ability to hear and interfere with her thoughts, but it didn't exactly matter when there was nobody around to hear her. "You! You're the cause of all this! If my mother hadn't known about you, she would have had no excuse to banish me at all! Duna would never have believed her otherwise!"

Layali took a deep breath before continuing, her emotions in turmoil as she looked down at her paws. "Why did she want me out so badly? Does she want me to die out here? Her only heir?"

Unfazed by Layali's outburst, Dreamwalker rolled its glowing white eyes. "Oh sure, blame everything on me, the friend who has been there for you thick and thin since you were a pup."

"Friend" was at the bottom of a list Layali would use to describe her Dreamwalker.

The phantom grinned again. "Who knows...maybe Zola's Dreamwalker messed with her head, and made you out as some sort of demon?"

Layali snapped her head up from the dark abyss that made up the ground, unsure if she had heard that correctly.

"It's pretty fun you know, messing with heads," Dreamwalker went on. "Oh, don't get me wrong though, I have been very gracious to you...I would never do such a thing to my little buddy."