Morning comes once again with the sun peeking through the one window in the whole cabin. Whoever built this knew what they were doing. It was to bring in the sun where the bed sat to wake them for a morning of hunting at the earliest light. As for us, that means it's time for us to get moving.
We made a lot of good progress yesterday and I would like to continue that pace. I know I'm pushing us hard but I feel we're in the home stretch. As long as we continue on this path, we'll make it. Madam Odette is right behind me in getting out of here. Both of us are looking rather grungy. The first thing I'm looking forward to is taking a hot shower and getting all this crud out from under my nails and off my fur.
Sleeping in a proper bed is also enticing. Just imagining being back in my little cabin is enough to keep me moving. Throughout the day we traverse this trail leading to who knows where. I can feel the air shift the further we travel. The hills become less intense until it begins to flatten out. This is good. We'll be able to travel further but there will be less chance of shelter as we go.
The hours pass. I keep our spirits up as I start to just talk about what we've done over the past few days. "Do you know how awesome it's going to be to say that you fought a whole wolf pack in the dead of night? That's not something a lot of people get to share." Madam Odette rolls her eyes, "Red, you fought a pack of wolves. I stayed back."
"But you were there! You were involved. So you get the credit for it too."
She just seems to be in disbelief that I'm trying to get our achievements straight so we both get credit with an awesome story to tell. "We traversed the savage mountains, and survived raging streams!"
"We crossed a trickle of a river."
"Not if we don't say it like that. This is how legends are born."
A breeze kicks up with a brush of fresh air. It's chilled yet not cold. With us constantly moving we're producing enough heat that we're keeping well regulated. The breeze only helped keep us moving. With it being so late in the season we shouldn't have to worry about any storms. We'll just have to find something to cover ourselves for the night.
The sun begins to set. We have a lot more daylight than we did in the mountains but we'll still have to find something. We may end up really roughing it this evening. When the sky turns to fire orange, that's when I know we'll have to stop. "Well... shit." That's all I've got for right now. I can only mutter a swear as I try to collect the information around me to find shelter. There are a few trees but they're starting to spread out more. Nothing really stands out that could be used. I let out a single pulse to quite a distance and it's all just trail, woods, and wildlife.
A few steps off the trail I find a sturdy tree that has some branches that hang low. It'll provide enough for tonight assuming nothing comes our way. I tap the ground with the heel of my paw feeling what's underneath. I can feel some of the tree roots, and some rocks, but the dirt is still pretty soft. I take one deep breath and slam my whole foot down. With enough air pressure from what's around me I can push a small hole we can sit in. The ground is compacted so it'll be solid. It's dry so we won't be sitting in anything wet either. All I need to do is make a small fire and we'll have heat and light for the night.
It's become pretty simple for me to find branches and find some dead trees that I can use for kindling. I'm not sure if it's just me but I don't really feel that hungry. Might be that we've been moving all day and working. My body always seems to lose its feeling of hunger when I exert myself. Even so, I know I still need to eat and provide for Madam Odette.
Madam Odette stays behind while I head out. I ping the area looking for something to hunt. I can tell now that I'm starting to feel a little of the fatigue. My ping isn't as accurate as it could be. I keep losing spots of my vision as I go. I'll just have to settle for some squirrel this evening. Nothing larger is around and birds are not my forte.
YOU ARE READING
The Fox, Red
FantasíaMeet The Fox, Red; destined for greatness by the hand of fate to become a beast of legend. But how he uses his power is up to him. Follow Red as he's thrust into a world he never knew existed and learns the ins and outs of his destiny.
