Quote from Indy on September 26, 2020, 1:38 pm

Okay, confession time.

I wasn’t really trying too hard to loose Tyranny.  I’d done a couple double-backs, maybe misled my scent in a few places to make it look good, but my ultimate goal wasn’t the same as some hardened, escaped criminal.  I wanted to be found.  Me, myself, and I were poor company.

I’d finally settled myself on a nice outcropping.  The earth climbed upwards, exposing tree roots and providing a good vantage.  I had some time, so I started categorizing all of the sights, sounds, and smells: fresh, damp earth from the previous night’s rain, a chickadee and a blackbird competing for airtime, and the gentle movement of green foliage with the passage of the wind.  I subjected each detail to the threshold of my senses, but nothing in them caused concern.

Until I saw the paw prints, preserved in the fresh mud right by the base of the tree

I yelped, a wave of panic washing over me - until I recognized them.  Mine or Robin’s - this part of the woods must have overlapped with our movements last night.  These woods were empty of monsters, except our own.

I leaped down to smear the print with my boot, but I’m sure there’d be plenty more where that came from. Hopefully, Lyra was the kind of girl that believed the “monster bear” stories that had been circulating around town.

Quote from Indy on September 26, 2020, 3:28 pm

It was getting late, and still no dog.

I was getting worried.  I glanced to my watch, but there was still ten minutes to go until I officially needed to hang back.  I inspected my handiwork from a distance - muddy bootprints retreating, smeared, obscured, and on occasion retread in the name of a being a worthy adversary - but I didn’t think it would be anything Tyranny couldn’t handle.  I knew what a dog could and couldn’t track, and I’d seen enough of Tyranny to decide he knew what he was doing even if he didn’t always want to apply himself.

I tried to remember the lay of the land, if there was any ditches somewhere she could have fallen down but nothing came to mind.  I was probably over-reacting.  Tyranny had probably decided he wanted nothing to do with his game, particularly if I was the prize at the end, and had been a real pain in the hide.

I glanced to my watch again, nonetheless unsettled.

I groaned, and then started my way back.  I’d taken a lot of roundabout turns to provide Tyranny some interest, but the way straight-back wouldn’t take me more than ten minutes.

***

There was no dog at our meet-up location.  I gave it ten minutes, assuming Lyra would need time to get back.  But still no dog.

Alright, that did it; ‘unsettled’ was now elevated to ‘concerned’.  Even if there was a perfectly logical explanation, there were plenty of perfectly illogical ones available for consideration.

I looked now not at signs of my passage, but of Tyranny and Lyra’s.  The dirt was too dry so close to the road to provide clear, muddy footprints but I’d tracked enough people in my life to know what to look for.  I managed to find tracks befitting a 4-legged companion and a 2-legged woman and followed.

Quote from Indy on September 26, 2020, 8:52 pm

“Euuggg….”

I was sprawled out on my back.  From the squishiness around me, I’d achieved excellent aim into the nearest mud patch.  I blinked a few times, trying to get the world to behave and stop spinning so fast.

I’d gotten cocky.  That’s what this was all about.  Just because I was master of the forest come nightfall and four legs,  it evidently did not make me master in the daytime and two legs.  Slowly, I eased my way up and inspected myself.  But just because there was no injury apparent on the outside, didn’t mean my teaspoon of dignity hadn’t suffered setback.

Right about when I was contemplating how fortunate I was to have this occur in seclusion, Tyranny whipped around the corner and pulled Lyra forward by his lead.  I bet he’d been out there, watching me, waiting for me to humiliate myself.  I wouldn’t have been surprised if he’d been the one that had kicked that log out for me to trip over to begin with.  

I guess the good news was that it had all been an overreaction on my end.

“You okay?” she replied abruptly, her eyebrows knitting to a level concern that made me uncomfortable.

“Physically, yes,” I tried to slide off some of the mud from my back in a blob.

I took a look over of her, squinting, but I could see no such obvious signs of injury or distress on her face, “Where were you? I got worried when you weren’t back yet”.

Lyra laughed uncomfortably, holding Tyranny back from surging forward so I could at least stand first.  Best to be taken standing on your feet, they always say.

“I er… We were on our way back…” the woman trailed off, looking very fixedly at the black dog.  I frowned, trying to make sense of what it was I saw.

“Are you hurt?”

“No, no…” her expression became distant, her brown eyes reflecting the cool tones of the mud and trees.  And then all at once her expression snapped back to focus.

“I found something,” she said lowly, “I…. I guess I wasn’t sure what it was”.

I felt a sinking feeling in my stomach.  Maybe I had reacted appropriately, just in the wrong direction.

****

“I see what you mean,” I nodded, eyeing the form like a great critic of art.

“You do?” her voice was hopeful as it raised at the ends, relief that at least someone knew what they were looking at.

I was guessing it was probably Robin’s.  The shape was a little broader, and the nails weren’t as dainty.

“Yeah,” I lifted my head, trying to summon the flattest most sincere expression I could, “I’d guess it’s the…. bears”

“Bears,” she flinched at the word, her two eyes fixed on my one.  The wind had caught a little tendril of wavy, dark hair and was making it spin around in dizzying directions.  Her expression was dubious, but still the hope lingered around the edge.  It was cute - and I wish I didn’t have to be the bearer of bad news.

“Yeah, haven’t you heard what they say around town?”

Her eyes pulled from mine harshly, kneeling down to inspect the lines of the print in the mud, “I don’t think this is bears.  The shape is all wrong.  Bears have really broad paws to distribute their weight, but this almost looks like… a dog?  A really big dog?”

“Hm,” I offered without commitment and pretended to look, but I had nothing to add.  I had a sneaking sense she’d done her research, and not just because of one stray pawprint.

“Well,” the woman stood up to her full height, which was somewhere around my shoulder, “I guess there’s only one way to find out”.

I felt my blood go cold.  But I was already covered in mud.  May as well play in it, “Yeah?”

“If you’re up to it… maybe we could do a little tracking of our own”.

Why couldn't she have been one of those girls that believed in the monster bears?

Quote from Indy on September 27, 2020, 9:55 pm

Several hours later

The afternoon had worn thin.  The heat had become low, the humidity never entirely retreated from the previous night's storm.  As the even blues of the sky had started to fade around the edges, Robin's phone started to ring.

Quote from Adriana on September 27, 2020, 10:04 pm

I was back at the house. The day was uneventful, and that was always a good thing in my books. I did manage to accomplish one thing I was rather pleased with.

I was packing a couple of duffel bags when my phone began to ring.

”Mhm?”

Quote from Indy on September 27, 2020, 10:26 pm

“Robin….” I started, falling short.

I starred at my feet a moment, trying to start up the energy, but it was almost as bad as my car stalling out by the side of the road.

“I have to ask you something, and I don’t think it’s an easy question,” I sighed.

Quote from Adriana on September 28, 2020, 1:06 am

I paused, hearing the tone of his voice, and sat down a half folded tshirt.

My blood went a bit stale. You never knew. But I couldn’t let on that I was nervous. I glanced sideways at the clock.. seven forty five. Lunch must have turned into dinner, and after dinner coffee..

”No, sir-I am not your momma, you’re on your own. I will jump in front of a moving train for you but ain’t no way on this good earth am I gonna explain....”

My voice turned an uncomfortable level of high pitched at the end. I swallowed hard and continued packing, secretly hoping it was something simple, like his life being in danger.

Quote from Indy on September 28, 2020, 1:22 pm

“What?! I already… Robin - honestly…” I looked away hard trying and failing to keep the embarrassment off my voice and face.  I think I’d just invented a shade of red.

It took me a few moments to recover my wits, and moreover to return my cheeks to their original color.  I took a steadying breath and ran my fingers over my damp hair.  At least by comparison, my original query didn’t seem so bad.

“She’s going to figure me out eventually,” I said quietly, nervously glancing around the bathroom sink, “So I just need to know… how did Jodecai tell you… you know”.

Quote from Adriana on September 28, 2020, 4:45 pm

“How is she going to just figure you out? You have to be dead sure, Val. There’s a lot at stake. Not just you. Anyway, I already knew-Darius learned me about them when I was fourteen, and I wasn’t about to go yelling it from the rooftops unless I wanted to have my tongue cut out. Unless you trust her with your life or plan on taking her hostage, I’d keep it shut tight.”

I sat on the edge of the bed and exhaled, almost clicking the phone off, but waiting to see if there was a response.