Warmth hit Kat's face as she slowly opened her eyes. The rains had stopped, at least, that's what she thought, in her haze. There was no pitter patter, and she could feel the sun's rays creeping beneath the bridge. She sighed, and sat up, rubbing her eyes. She didn't hear much. Some birds chirped, the creek babbling below her, but no cars on the bridge overhead. Good, she thought. The less people who saw a slave alone, the better. Especially cops.

She stretched and yawned, enjoying the warmth for a moment before everything hit her. Then, it all came at once. The previous night. How she'd run away out of fear and hurt. The lies her Mistress had told. Her Master. His face, it was burned into her mind. She sat back against the wall and leaned her head back, fighting back the first tears of the day.

Her fucking Master was there. The last time she'd seen him, he'd been dragged away by armed officers, just before she was taken into a Shelter for the rehabilitation of slaves. There, she'd been fed well and received some light therapy, but it hadn't helped much. She thought he'd be at least punished for what he did, even if it was light. But there he was. Free and tidy, smiling even. Her Mistress had lied about that too, then. She sighed sadly, but found she had neither the will nor the energy to let the tears loose. She'd been here before. On the run, fleeing the consequences of her actions. Was it her fault? She supposed it was, but that didn't make the repercussions any easier to take.

She slumped down into herself. She supposed she could stay here for a bit longer. After all, if she hadn't been caught by now, then she had good odds of not being caught at all, especially since she was underneath the road. Curling up and putting her head between her knees, she took a shaky breath.

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Mistress Alexa had been... nice. Good, even. She felt she'd bonded with the woman, in a weird way. Every time she'd seen her Mistress, that feeling would well up within her. Something she'd almost never felt before. The closest thing she felt to it was toward Aria, but that was so long ago that she'd almost forgotten the feeling. But lately, seeing her Mistress smile, hearing her laugh, feeling her hands through Kat's hair, it came back to her. That forgotten feeling.

It felt like love.

Perhaps that was why running away hurt so much this time. Perhaps that was the reason she'd taken the ring with her. A reminder of the good times, relatively speaking. The times of treats and smiles and head pats. The times of a warm bed and good food. The times of what almost felt like real kinship. Times that reminded her of the old times.

Eventually, she turned her head up and looked to the ever more blue sky. It was funny, she thought, how things could seem so dark on such a clear day. Where were the rains? The sad atmosphere? Only in her head, apparently. The world didn't care about her feelings, her thoughts. It never did.

But her Mistress had.

She shook the thought from her mind to stave off a tear from forming, and stood up. She needed to get to the city today. A hunger was starting to set in, her belly rumbling. Clutching it, she stepped away from the tree and headed out along the road. The ring on her finger felt heavier now, weightier. She thumbed at it, images of Mistress Alexa floating through her mind. The treats, the head pats, all of it gone. Her smile, Her voice. Gone.

But Kat had to do it. Right?

Sighing and wiping her eyes, she looked toward the city. The outskirts weren't too far away. She could make it in a few hours, if she hurried.

So she walked on.