Mortalized

His Name (13)

*goes ahead and sets book to "mature"*
======================================

     The shrubs pushed against me as I followed the mutt, as if pleading with me not to go any further. My face was set cold as I limped forward. Why had I felt that way back in the field, when those animals had left me? Surely I didn't need them. They weren't providing any sort of protection. Why did I feel that bitter hollow feeling when suddenly both the dog and cows were gone..?... Must have been a result of having little power or something.

     I was haulted when the dog ahead of me stopped to sniff again. We had been walking only about an hour and this was his eleventh time doing so! What could he be sniffing out anyways? After the dog had pondered, he continued straight through the shrubs. I couldn't help but feel a little anxiousness rising, as if I knew enough to sense we were close to wherever this dog had been leading me.. Perhaps he hadn't been running from him, earlier, but instead leading me to.. wherever.

Bork!

     The dog suddenly barked, making my unprepared self jump in anticipation. And, before I knew it, the mutt had dashed forwards into the thick of the forest. I stood silently for a moment. My eyes unable to leave the plants the dog had pushed away in his bolt. Perhaps.. I should follow? I did after hearing yet another bark in the distance. I wasn't the fastest, for I had forgotten my fear of the woods, and my wobbily ankle only let me go at its own pace. Surely it wasn't going to be anything too big.... or a trap..

     I haulted before a giant boulder could have the pleasure of ramming into my forehead. Right in front of me, I looked up at this massive object not even visible from a foot away. Above my head vines and the roots of trees hugged the massive rock, spreading out over its surface. The trees above it were a little shorter, hiding the rock's location from even sky-view.

     My hand was suddenly brushed up against some course hair, and it quickly flicked away from the dog who had successfully grabbed my attention.

     "Uhg, don't startle me like that.." I murmured to him beneath my breath. The dog simply stuck out his tongue for leisure as his tail wagged calmly behind him. "...What?" After I spoke, he quickly turned and pranced away, to the other side of the boulder. I followed behind the mutt, dragging my fingers along the corse stone. When I had turned around a couple corners, I saw a dark patch in the wall where it gave in to a small cave. What I could only presume was an entrance was too small to enter through on foot. I had to crouch down in order to have a look inside. Past the darkness I could see a little light trickle into what appeared to be a larger pocket in the stone, just the perfect amount to see the mutt race from one side of the den to the other in a brown blur. Oh.. this must be his den. "Is this is?... A hole?" I asked from outside, not wanting to go in through the cramped space. Answering me, the dog stopped for a brief moment to bark in my general direction, before running around in the small space yet again. I groaned slightly. I was never one for small spaces. Something about them just seemed rather off-putting. Aside from that, I had no real reason to ignore the dog and stubbornly sit outside. So, I brightened my eyes just a little more and crawled in through the small entrance.

     As I made it through, the dog was quick to tackle me in excitement, shoving some stuffed toy in my face. Out of annoyance I grabbed the slobbery object and tossed it away from me, which was greatly appreciated by the mutt. He continued to chew on the toy for a while, allowing me to grab hold of a small ledge to help pull me up. My head just barely scraped against the uneven sceiling, so I had to duck a little. Once up I could actually get a better look at the cave as a whole. It didn't take me long to realize this was no ordinary cave either. A small, natural looking window let in some yellow light, allowed in by several large rocks with no smaller ones filling the large gap between them. Other than that, though, nothing about the cave appeared to be natural. First of all, a couple of the walls, and even the scieling, were all shredded, an obvious sign of a hand-held tool having been used for carving. To the right of the entrance the carvings allowed a portion of the original stone to stay, creating a couter-top. Atop it were even some crudely crafted pottery and such, all empty. Beyond the counter rested a bed made from bamboo and a single stretched out cloth over it. The bamboo itself appeared old and warn now, one leg already gnawed away by time, and the only blanket on top of it looked more like an abandoned nest by this point. To the right of the "bed" was a long dead lamp sitting atop a bamboo mini table, which was also dry and slowly wearing away. And, to the right of that, in the other corner...