He had been waiting for her to come out for weeks.
He watched Sun-Cursed and Smoldering Ember as they left their den together to head for the nearest obelisk. Though he never went into them before himself, he knew that they made for quick travel from one point of the kin territories to another. He had no idea why she wanted to do it, but she looked determined to do so.
He also knew that she would not go far. She would definitely exit through the obelisk at the edge of the swamp. With her delicate condition, she would not risk going further. Not when she had a home waiting for her with her warmth. He gritted his teeth at the thought. The time she'd spent with Smoldering Ember over the winter had been the happiest he had ever seen her. That he was not the one to make her that happy only stoked the fire of his jealousy--
his rage.
Yet it had been weeks. Travel through the obelisk should have been momentary. He had run at full speed to the closest obelisk, using his knowledge of the subterranean tunnels under the swamp to traverse the distance faster than any normal kin could. Every once in a while, he would pop back out to the surface to make sure he didn't miss her walking back. He knew she would come out before him, and it was his best guess that she would be walking back to the mangroves while he would still be running.
But when he arrived at the obelisk, there was no sign of her. He had tracked her for long enough to know the shape of her hoof prints intimately--to be familiar with the type of spore that she would unconsciously leave in her wake. But there was nothing in the area to tell him that she even exited this way. Did he read her intentions wrong? Was she going to visit someone else? Would she have gone out to travel to the desert and stay with Steals Kisses for a while?
It didn't matter. If any of that was true, he would still lay in wait. She had to come back eventually. And when she did, he would be there for her. He had waited this long, another few days is nothing. He made a habit over the next two weeks of walking to a from the two obelisks in the swamp--once in the day, and once at night. She would be prudent enough to time her exit in the nighttime when she could travel safely, but he could not discount some sort of malfunction of the obelisks which would cause her to exit them while the sun was out.
It was as he dreaded--mid afternoon when he saw her emerge from out of the ominous structure. Before he could react, she was already running--her hide giving off smoke as though she was on fire. It took him but a moment to decide to abandon the shadows he was comfortable hiding and walking in so that he could follow her mad dash. The was the first time he ever saw her run so fast. With every gallop, she let out a yelp. He saw her collapse onto the ground, just a stone's throw away from the shade of the tree line.
He made it to her just a few breaths later; saying a quick, quiet apology to her before biting the nape of her neck and dragging her into shade. Her eyes were swollen shut, her beautiful hide and markings marred by blisters, and she was writhing and shivering in pain. He scrambled to find a large leaf to cover her completely. Thankfully, they were still close enough to the swamp to find something of that sort. He knew he needed to move her while she was covered to get her to the nearest tunnel entrance.
Making sure every part of her was covered from the afternoon sun, he would leave her where she was for a little while to find a specific tree deeper into the tree line. He worked quickly and carefully; scoring, slashing, and pulling away a large sheet of bark from the trunk. These trees were known to have very flexible and sturdy bark. This large sheet of it would be perfect for his purposes. After taking the time to flatten it out as much as he could, he carried the bark back to where Sun-Cursed still laid.
She was unconscious, her breathing shallow. She whimpered softly, and every pained sound she made broke his heart. He will bring her to the tunnels--to his home. There she will be safe. He will keep her safe. He will cover her wounds with salve he's stolen from healers in the swamp. He will bring her back to perfect health. He will never let the sun hurt her again.
Once again saying a quick, quiet apology to her, he laid the flattened bark beside her and pulled her onto it. He made sure to do so quickly, but not so quick as to disturb the leaves that protected her from the sun. When she was laid centered on the bark, he layered more large leaves on top of her to make sure that even while he was moving her, she would be perfectly protected. Satisfied that she would be absolutely covered, he bit onto the edge of the bark and started the task of bringing Sun-Cursed into the tunnels and taking her home.
HuniPi wrote:
The journey had to come to an end, right? All this darkness, it wasn't the comforting refuge from the sun. This darkness was too deep, too stifling, as if all it wanted was to keep her here, in the in-between. She just had to stay on the path and she'll soon be out. She'll be back home in the swamp, in the mangroves with Smoldering Ember. With her Warmth. The end of the path soon came into view and Sun-Cursed surged forward. Her thoughts was to return home to her Warmth. 