Angelis gave a hesitant look back to her adoptive parents, the canine figures giving her a supportive smile as she readjusted her pack and made her way towards the closest main road. Anticipation filled her, unsure of what she might discover on her travels yet equally eager to spread her proverbial wings and find her own place in the world.
Her parents had warned her that the Kimeer were not common in the world and that she might attract attention, but Angelis had never imagined that those outside of the tribes could be so… rude. Within the tribe, beyond a certain age, you knew it was not generally accepted to fondle the appendages of others. It was an intimate gesture meant to show familiarity and fondness. But out in the “real world”, things were quite different.
A few weeks into her travels, Angel had stumbled across a caravan of traveling musicians, the group welcoming her before they realized what she was. One night, when she had taken the scarf off her head, revealing not just luscious red locks but also two rather visible cat ears, the camp had gathered around to stare at the foreign appendages. After a flurry of questions and explanations, Angel found herself less a traveling companion and more a side-show attraction as numerous members of the caravan would randomly approach her simply to pull her tail or flick at her ears. While she was only too happy to entertain the children in this manner, the older members of the group touching her simply felt abrasive. It did not take too much longer for her to part ways with the caravan and continue her trip alone, far from the main road. She remained parallel to the road to keep from getting lost, but tended to remain in the brush when available to avoid unwanted attention.
Her first view of a real town had given her pause. She was not unused to incredibly tall structures, the main capitol of the Kimeer people hosting a variety of housing styles, including ones high in the trees, the town she encountered was far from secluded and lacked the subtle forest sounds. Before entering the town, she had been careful to tie a scarf back over her hair, she desperately wanted to avoid the attention of a Kimeer right now.
The bustle of the town was quite loud to her sensitive ears and it took all her effort to keep the fuzzy appendages under the scarf from twitching about and drawing attention. Her human ears were quite sensitive to sounds, but the feline ears hidden under the scarf served another purpose. While they had almost no functionality for actual hearing, they picked up something far more useful in the forest – vibrations. Even if she could not necessarily hear small prey scampering through the underbrush, she would certain still sense its presence as it disturbed the air, creating vibrations that would irritate the ultra-sensitive hairs in the feline ears. Her tail was much easier to hide under her long skirt, twining around her leg to keep from bouncing and twitching around as she moved through the crowds.
She entered a building marked as an Inn, a symbol the Alpha had taught her to look for, and she approached the desk, asking about a bed. The Innkeeper had a gentle smile and told her the price, prompting her to pull a few of the precious coins the Alpha had granted her. A few moments later, she was directed to a small room fitted with a straw bed and a small table with an oil lamp on it, casting a dim light across the room. She gave a smile of thanks to the woman who had showed her the room before moving inside. Her face remained neutral but inside she was filled with awe, the room she was granted without any expectation of sharing was almost as big as the den she and her family shared back home. As part of a canine tribe of the Kimeer, shared sleeping accommodations were the norm and Angel had grown very used to sleeping in a pile of twitching limbs and wagging tails as she was snuggled by her adopted siblings and her parents.
She flopped back on the bed, a smile creeping over her face before the grumble of her stomach reminded her that she needed sustenance. She briefly considered searching out the tavern the Innkeeper had mentioned but she knew she needed to save what few precious coins she had on her. With a sigh of resignation, she dug into some dried meat from her pack and vowed to hunt down some fresh meat the next day. Argellon was still nearly two weeks’ travel, and she did not wish to continue gnawing her way through jerky the entire time. Her belly satisfied, she sprawled across the bed, enjoying the softness for only a few brief moments before a frown fluttered across her lips. She twisted onto her side and then to her belly, unable to get comfortable. She missed the warmth of other bodies surrounding her. While out on the road, out in nature, she was accustomed to sleeping alone, typically high in a tree, but in a structure, it felt unnatural not to have her siblings around. She sighed and shoved her lithe body into the corner, where the bed met the wall, rearranging the blankets and the single pillow until she had fashioned a nest of sorts before exhaustion took over, dragging her into a fitful sleep.
Flames tore across the grass line, devouring the grass her parents were hunting in. Her tiny frame remained curled into the small divot in the ground her parents had placed her in, afraid to move in case they came looking for her. She was huddled for hours, falling asleep at one point. When she awoke, the fire had died down, the field was utterly destroyed and the smell of singed fur lingered in the air. Soot covered her body but she appeared unharmed, the fire not having the power to sear her skin. It was not until she saw her parents, devoid of life on the ground, that she began to cry loudly, the pathetic mews echoing across the now-barren plain.
Angelis woke with a start, the nightmarish memory beginning to fog over in the light of dawn. Groaning loudly, the feline moved from the bed, running fingers through her fiery hair to tame the waves a bit. She made sure the scarf over her ears was secure before finally leaving the room, her pack slung over her shoulder. At the front desk, she paused for a moment to talk to the person there, confirming which direction she should be heading and gathering directions to the town well so she could refill her water pouch. By the time she had stocked up on fresh water and headed for the road again, the morning was in full bloom though the sun had been swallowed by clouds.
‘Great, rain…’
Subject: Journey of One 
Wed May 24, 2017 10:21 am
