Eyeseffendee

20

Tee hee I'm so funny. I found this while looking for coyote references. Enjoy.

We looked at each other in disbelief. I was really there to rescue Sego. She was really there to rescue me.

We ran to each other and embraced. Golden dust stirred around us, catching in the light. I began to sob, and Sego silently weeped.

She was so fragile . . . her once strong and lean body felt weak and broken next to mine. I was afraid she would crack with every breath she took. I was so happy to be there with her. My tail wagged gently and I licked her face and ears, cleaning off layers of blood and dust.

"Astor . . . I'm so sorry." She said once she caught her breath. "I missed you so much, and I was so scared and I—" her voice cut off, and she started crying again.

Besides as a pup, this was the first time I had seen her cry. She was a strong girl and would rather be caught dead than seen crying. Everything was just too much for her to comprehend.

I just held her, not saying or asking anything. Her heart beat was all I needed to hear.

She sniffled, and I stepped back to look at her face. She looked back up at me. "I'm sorry I doubted you. I was wrong . . . I shouldn't have trusted that Shifter. Not for a heartbeat. I was a fool. I thought you had left us to die . . . why are you here? We exiled you."

"To save you guys. And I guess everyone else here." I grumbled, and she smiled. "And did you really have so little faith in me?"

She hesitated, stumbling over her words. "Well, uhm, I really thought so—because you're like antisocial—or because you hate us—I know you hate my mom—but now you're here, and I feel so stupid—"

"Hey, hey, you're not stupid. Don't say that ever again." I interpreted her.

She tried to give an excuse, but I put a paw over her mouth. "I'm the stupid one, I can't even help the Guerro come up with a proper
battle plan."

She pulled my paw from her mouth. "Wait, like the Guerro? The great warriors from the south?"

"The bed-time story guys? Yeah, that's them. I found them, but they weren't doing so hot. I was only able to recruit Verde, Sky, Mountain, Rabbit and my mom." I said.

"Your mom?!" She barked.

"Uhm, yeah. I think I better get you caught up, a lot has happened in the last few days."

We lied down on the cold sandstone and told each other about the worst four days of our lives. I told her about Sarah and her crazy flock, about the dryads and the wendigo, about the flash floods and those creepy things in the slot canyons . . .

"Those must have been skin walkers." She commented when I got to that part.

"Skin whats?" I said.

"Skin walkers, they imitate voices. But not many creatures have seen them, because they get ripped limb from limb before they can get a good look." She replied.

"Well, they tried to do that to me." I grumbled. "It hurt. After that, I passed out . . . I think I had a vision."

"You think?" She asked.

"I can't tell exactly what it was. It could have been something I made up, but I don't know. It felt so real." I said.

She licked my face. "Was I in your vision?"

"Uhh, not . . . particularly. It was by Eyeseffendee, and your dad was there. He told me that you guys were in trouble, and I needed to protect the tribe. He also said . . ."