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The muscles in Kira’s legs were beginning to throb and her feet were going numb. She’d been jogging for what seemed like an eternity. By the warmth of the day and the height of the sun in the sky she could tell it was somewhere near midday. Stopping to catch her breath she examined her surroundings. She had just come out of a grove of trees and was standing at the bottom of a steep, grass covered hill. She knew that she was getting close and suspected that when she got to the top of the hill before her, she would finally be able to see her destination.
Dropping her spear to the ground, she opened her satchel. Pulling out her water skin, she decided that this was as good a place as any to take a break. Nearly collapsing, she threw off her satchel and dropped to the ground exhausted. Unplugging her water skin, she began to frantically gulp down the refreshing liquid. She drank until she started to gasp for air, but not wanting to consume all of the water, she pulled the skin away and let out a long breath. She wanted to drink the rest, but she knew she had to conserve it for the trip back. There was still a long way to go and she would need it before the end. Refitting the plug, she placed the skin back in her satchel. Feeling the pangs of hunter tug at her stomach, she pulled out a large red apple from the bag and began to ravage it. She knew Yamara would have scolded her lack of manners if she could see her now, but she didn’t care. No one would know way out here.
The apple was sweet and ripe. She ate it quickly, barely taking time to breath between bites. Nibbling all the flesh from the center, she tossed the core into a nearby bush and laid back in the grass.
Stretching her legs out and placing her hands behind her head, she stared up at the clouds for a moment. Closing her eyes she steadied her breathing and began to let her mind wander. She could have fallen asleep in the warm sunlight were it another day, but she couldn’t allow herself that luxury, knowing that there was so much to lose. Opening her eyes she looked up at the passing clouds again. The throbbing in her legs began to fade and her heartbeat finally slowed back to normal. She could feel her toes again and although she knew she should get up and start running again, she just couldn’t bring herself to do it. The cool grass felt too good against her back and she knew that she was making good time. A little break couldn’t hurt, she thought. I’ll make it back in plenty of time.
In all the time she’d spent running she hadn’t really thought about her father much. All she had been able to focus on was getting to the Black Wood as fast as she could, but as she laid there she couldn’t help but think of him now. He had looked so pale when she kissed him goodbye. What would Kaya do if she couldn’t get back in time? Assuming of course that she got back at all! The thought of her sister being left all alone was hard to bear. First their mother died, and now maybe their father as well? How would Kaya even handle that? Kira tried to put herself in her sister’s position but she couldn’t. She remembered what it was like when they lost their mother, but would it be the same? It couldn’t be, she thought to herself. Their father had been there for them when their mother died. He had taken care of them, had given them the love and attention that they needed to overcome the hardship.
Closing her eyes again, she thought back to those days. Her father was never the same after the loss of his mate and in the years that followed, he had grown quite protective of Kira and Kaya. They spent almost all of their time together; not that the village was large enough to be apart for long. The only time they would separate was when she went with the hunting parties or when she took Kaya to go foraging for fresh fruit. He would join them when he could, but most of the time there were other, more important matters for him to attend to.
Even though the sisters went foraging often and always returned safely, he always had a peculiar look on his face when they left. One time Kira remembered asking him why he looked so worried. To which he had joked, “I just know how much trouble you and your sister can get into! Rarely is there a day where you two haven’t gotten into some sort of mischief.”
The memory made her smile as she stared up at the blue sky. His accusation, of course, was quite true, but the look in his eyes told her something different. It was as if he was worried he would lose them the same way he’d lost their mother.
The memory of her death still haunted Kira, but she pushed the painful images from her mind and closed her eyes again. She decided it would be better to just lay there and relax; to not think or worry about anything for a few minutes. Again she felt the soft tug of sleep, but this time the warmth of the sun and the cool grass on her back were too much to resist. She tried to stay awake, but the quiet rustling of the tall grass in the cool breeze was too soothing. After a few minutes, she had peacefully drifted off to sleep.