Retrace bxbxb

Stand

A wet, rough tongue swiped across his burnt cheek in one long, painful stroke. Harper knew that something was licking his face, as he could hear it breathing and smell its horrible breath. When he managed to open his eyes in the dim light of morning, he was surprised to see Kite leaning over him, tongue lolling out of the side of his mouth and drool dripping from his panting jowls.  

"I never thought that I'd be glad to see you." He said as he slowly pushed himself up on the thick bed of moss he found himself on. 

The horse was nowhere to be seen, but if Kite was there... With nervous excitement, Harper looked around, expecting to see the stoic lord pacing somewhere nearby. When he scanned the swampy area several times, but still saw not a single soul besides Kite, he felt his hope deflating. 

"Arthur's not here. I guess it's just you and me." 

The dog pinned its ears back and growled, making Harper frown. "You can be as mean as you want, there's nothing I can do about you out here." He said calmly as he used a nearby tree to get to his feet. Well, to his foot. His left one was definitely broken, but thankfully there didn't seem to be any bone sticking through his skin, saving him the risk of it getting infected. 

Once he was steady, Harper turned his attention to the sky. He'd hoped that he could at least see smoke from somewhere, but no matter what direction he turned, nothing stood out. Alright, I need to find my way out of here on my own, then. It was a daunting idea, but he knew that he should just be happy that he was alive, and in all honesty, he was worried that the horse might have gotten caught in the flames after dropping him where it did. 

"I guess there's nothing I can do about the horse, at least." He mumbled, watching Kite as he stopped several paces ahead of him, then turned to lick his muzzle. 

"Hey, you better not have eaten him. He was a good horse." 

The beast just huffed, earning one right back from Harper before he continued hopping after him. He wasn't sure why he was even following the evil dog, but Kite didn't seem stressed about their situation, so perhaps he knew where he was... or at least had some idea of how to navigate the muggy landscape. 

They traveled for quite some time, Kite rarely slowing long enough for Harper to rest for more than a minute or two. After half the day had come and gone, the dog finally flopped down beside a huge tree and yawned. 

Harper was just barely able to see Kite from where he stood, leaning against a much smaller tree, trying to catch his breath. After a few moments, he decided to just sit down. He could still see Kite, and it looked like the dog was finally going to rest for a while, so he needed to take the opportunity to relax, too. 

His foot throbbed, but as time had worn on, it had become a dull ache in the back of his mind. 

"Abel! Don't wander too far!" 

The sudden shout had Harper stumbling to his feet and Kite jumping up, his hackles raised and he bared his teeth. They both looked in the direction they'd heard the voice coming from. No. Before Harper could think to try and stop him, or even consider that Kite would even bother listening to him at all, he saw the dog bolt for the two men on horseback several yards away. 

"Whoa!" 

Kite's size and ferocity had the horse nearly bucking as he stopped before it to roar a bark. Abel, the young man Harper had met at the ball, did his best to keep his horse still, but Kite refused to let up on the poor creature. 

"Hey! Get back!" The magistrate shouted as his horse barreled toward Kite with far less fear than the panicked one. It reared up, trying to stomp on the dog, but Kite managed to just-barely dodge, before redirecting his barking, snarling assault to the slightly larger animal.