Two Worlds

Chapter 13

Kiada's bare feet trudge through the undergrowth on an unseen path to god knows where. Her hand holds the sword at her side as she blindly walks through the thick forest, dodging the tall dark shadows of the trees, stepping over bushes and trying not to trip on the uneven ground. She doesn't know where she is going, but she doesn't care. She just had to get out of that cave.

She steps out into a small clearing in the trees, the canopy above her giving way to a million stars. She continues until she is standing in the centre of the clearing and then she stops. The sword loose in her hand, her bare feet barely feeling the cold damp grass between her toes, her body numb to the chill of the night.

Her sapphire eyes stare forward, her breathing steady, too steady.

The dam walls break, her emotions rise in her throat, drowning her. Her eyes sting with unshed tears, her body starts to shake. Her face slowly contorts, her teeth clench and she closes her eyes as rogue tears escape, rolling down her cheeks.

She falls to her knees, letting the sword fall from her hand, grabbing at her chest she cries out. A cry so loud and explosive that, if this were an ordinary forest, it would have woken every bird and creature around her. The pain in her voice echoes across the forest, bouncing off the trees surrounding her and up into the night sky, but nothing seems to be disturbed.

Kiada doubles over and sobs violently, all of her pent up emotions coming out in a tsunami. She can't breath properly, tears run like waterfalls down her face, her nails dig into her skin through the fabric of her tunic as she tries to stop her heart from pounding to the point of breaking. Kiada has had panic attacks before, but nothing like this, nothing that she truly thought she couldn't recover from. Her body shakes with sobs, her breathing is jagged and she cries out into the night desperately. She tries to talk her way through it, like she would if William were there, like he had been on similar occasions, but the words are just a garbled mess, not making any sense, even to herself. She cries and cries, wailing into the night for answers, for help, some guidance, anything. But nothing comes.

An hour goes by and finally Kiada's breathing is slowing to a steadier breath, every now and then hitching with a half-hearted sob, but otherwise, she is all cried out. Tears no longer fall from her staring eyes, her lip doesn't tremble, her body rocks back and forth out of habit now rather than trying to sooth. She's exhausted. She just wants to lay down and go to sleep in the dirt, hopefully the chill or something else will come along to finish her off, take her away from this life, put an end to the misery, the pain.

"Please..." She breathes, begging the night around her for relief.

The night is silent in response.

Kiada sniffs and closes her eyes.

Small footsteps pad through the damp grass towards her, the sound faint, but after the explosion of sobs and wailing, the night is silent enough for her to hear. She is too numb and exhausted to be afraid, so she opens her eyes slowly, blinking away the blurriness of her tears to see the young wolf cub that stands before her. The cub is calm and more curious than afraid. It fur is thick and grey, with a mask like marking across his face. His head tilts as he regards her, kneeling there in the grass. Kiada's head tilts as well, her breathing calming even more now, the hitches in it fewer and farther in between.

The wolf cub before her steps closer cautiously, it's muzzle twitching at it sniffs the air around her. Without thinking, Kiada reaches out and offers her hand for it to smell. The pup flinches initially, but edges closer, sniffing her hand with it's damp nose. Kiada sniffs and can't help but smile down at the small creature before her. It's cute, it's ears still drooping, it's fur a little scruffy with pup fuzz.