Follow the sound of a river.
Gently flowing water from somewhere to the … west was it? Or was that north? Daniel was unsteady on her feet but didn’t need to focus all that hard to follow that sound to its source. Just over a hundred meters away, concealed by the thick trees and brush, was a two inch deep river cutting through the land and very likely emptying in the lake somewhere.
It had curves and bends making it hard to see where it began, and harder to see where it ends, but the grass held lines of dirt up and the mud slicked walls appeared to be a few feet high. Worn low through several years of erosion.
She looks to the left, then to the right, making doubly sure that none one could have spotted her in that moment. The river was wide enough to walk through, but there wasn’t really a bank on the edges she could use to avoid wetting her feet again. A splash down into the center, the experience somehow feeling more claustrophobic than just the trees as this wide, burbling river was about the right size for a path.
And here felt like she was crawling through it on her hands and knees, complete with greenery sprouting up higher than her head. But this was a better way to hide footprints as long as no one was close enough to see the mud she kicks up or the rocks she disturbs. The waters were clear, pristine and untouched, very likely spilling down from some snowcapped mountain she didn’t care to notice.
Downstream was obviously toward the lake, so Daniel walked upstream. The rocks were smooth, her feet were soothed. Her wings ached at both the base and somewhere in the center, but Daniel had no reprieve other than to keep them held against her back. She wasn’t going to be able to reach back and pull the needles out after all, for a catlike body it was not infinitely flexible.
She noticed that along the river’s curves and bends, it dipped in areas to get as much as three feet deep. Just enough to reach above her ankles. But it never stayed level, or strait, or clean, the entire way through.
A few minutes into the hike, just as she was relenting to another yawn, she spots bright reds and yellows of wild flowers in bloom. Dandelions mixed intermittently, and the general brush wasn’t as thick here. The sun was warm and the wind was slight, but the waters were cool and refreshing on the sphinx’s aching joints.
She thought about flying overhead to get another glimpse of the land. A part of her worried that someone would see it, and she’d be back to running but in worse condition. Another part of her worried that someone already knew exactly where she was, it wouldn’t be hard to guess she’d follow the river if there were no tracks anywhere else. Obviously use the waters to cover a trail and then take flight, only to circle back around to the river and take flight again.
With her speed it shouldn’t be too hard to avoid humans, just a matter of keeping out of range of whatever guns. Oh, and hoping they don’t bring helicopters. Because that would be bad.
Rationalize all she wanted, her wings hurt too much to move, and her everything revolted at the idea of going through the strain of flight. Have a splinter jabbing through every joint in your body and parts of you thigh and belly, then try to skydive while drunk and wearing boxing gloves. Or, maybe it was closer to Olympic swimming. Or jumping jacks.
Flight was so hilariously involved and requiring almost every muscle that just one ache would have been a constant aggravation. But ten of them?
Daniel shakes her head, hoping to find a resting spot somewhere and then just rub against a tree until all the needles come out. Hope the toxins they injected weren’t serious, or if they were then something about this sphinx body would protect her.
“Aaahhaaooohhhaawwwooohhh.”
But then she heard … singing?
It was coming from further up river. A feminine melody, the voice alone enough to be captivating without instruments. Playing to a backdrop of splashing water and wind rustling between leaves.
Rounding a corner Daniel noted a delightful clearing with a fresh pool of water, and a whimpering little waterfall some ten or fifteen feet tall. The upstream waters splash down over that short hill and filter into a wide, five or so foot deep wading pool with flowers on every side and trees that seem to grow around it. The area looked to be the most wonderful place for a nap.
While the downstream portion flowed out down that River a sphinx has just traveled, refreshing the pool constantly and leaving the area clear and flat without being stagnant. Smooth rocks lined the bottom, lily pads kissed over a rippling surface. If Daniel wanted to sit in the pool it would just about cover most of her belly, and she’d have enough room in the water to sprawl out.
But a wading pool honestly was the best way to describe it, both in general and for someone her size.
More to the point, someone was already wading in it. The source of that caressing music, a strange and petite creature Daniel has never before laid eyes on, nor suspected she would ever see. Her tail twitched with apprehension, and all of a sudden every stinging wound felt fresh as if she’d just been hit all over again.
Written by Arbon on 12 April 2017