There's no North, East, West or South in this is fiction. Instead it's:
-North = direction of the night
-East = direction of the rising sun
-West = direction of the setting sun
-South = direction of sun's peak
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Chapter 4
The sun was high in the sky and brightened it to a light blue. Tall grass swayed to the gentle wind with the only trees in the distant horizon in the direction of the night. Several different sounds resounded in the vast plane; subtle sounds, ones that could be missed if not focused on. A quick rustle ran through the tall grass towards where a group of foxes ran and played. They stopped as the rustle got nearer. They surveyed with their eyes and their furry red ears towards the direction of the sound but didn’t see anything above the tall grass and only the sound of singing bugs came to their ears. Just when they were about to turn around, an arrow cut through the grass and sank into the neck of the nearest fox. A low growl soon followed along with the sound of jaws snapping at broken bones. Panicked at the death of two of their brethren and by the sudden appearance of the wolf, the young foxes ran towards their burrow. As the wolf kept massacring their friends, another figure jumped out from the tall grass blocking their path of escape. With a spear in hand, she charged at the now snarling young foxes spearing the closest one. One of them jumped at her while another charged at her. Without withdrawing her drawn out weapon, she flung it left, hitting the leaping fox with the hilt of the spearhead before pulling her weapon out of the previously pierced fox and piercing the one now at her feet. A satisfactory growl came from her left and when she turned to look, the wolf already killed the fox she had flung to the side. With a light smile, she spoke to the wolf, “Thank you Aatu.” Aatu growled back and then they waited, looking in the direction of the burrow of the young foxes. There was sign of movement in the burrow but nothing came out. Looks like they’re staying away. “Let us leave.” She said giving one last look at the burrow before turning to her partner and smiling. “Help me carry those foxes, will you?”
It’s been two months since Circe left the comfort of her home and began traveling with her soladis Aatu. The various food she brought along with her had finished up in the first several days slowing down their previously fast pace as they had to hunt and forage for food along the way. Sleep was in shifts as one of the two played look out while the other slept but very few approached them what with Aatu being a wolf and all. The rest of the time was spent walking still in the same direction but taking detours many times. They rested whenever either of them felt tired but the weariness hit both of them at almost the same time.
Circe and Aatu walked next to the shadow of the small hills, ones that barely came up to Circe’s knees; the cliff far out of sight. They stopped when they were a fair way from the foxes burrow. Aatu dropped the red-furred animals from his back to the ground as Circe reached around to her small leather pouch attached to her hip and took out a stone knife. She crouched down, laying her spear and bag on the ground and started on the closest fox in front of her, flipping it onto its back. Her knife pierced the fox’s neck making its way down the animal’s stomach with a shearing motion. She pulled out the blood-stained stone knife putting it to the side as she pulled the cut open with her bare hands. She cut out the intestines, the stomach, the liver, the lungs, and the heart and tossed towards Aatu for him to pick through them. Circe took up the knife again now cutting through the fine line between skin and flesh without getting any of the blood on the fur or on herself. She set the fur aside, away from her so as not to get in the way of her work as she went onto cutting the meat around the bones. She threw some of the meat towards Aatu while she covered the rest of it with salt and other spices she’d gotten from her backpack that she had made out of dead branches and ropes before wrapping them in a large clean leaf for drying later. She did the same for the rest of the foxes before starting a fire to cook the last one.
Small smoke fumes rose into the blue sky. Shades of yellow and pink tinted the edge of the sky meeting the forest trees in the distance. Circe watched Aatu chew on the leftover bones while she used the rest to fuel the fire. She ate some of the small fruits she picked up on the way as she watched and smelled the meat roast. A chilling wind blew calling out to the oncoming night. Although she felt no shiver thanks to the fire’s warmth, Aatu stood up and wrapped himself around her. She felt through the warmth on her back the rise and the fall as he breathed. Indigo filled the sky by the time the fox meat was done. Circe cut off part of it and ate slowly as she waited for stars to fill the sky. The slight char on the meat added more flavor to it but the spices hadn’t permeated deep enough and soon a bland taste devoid of any saltiness took over. She frowned slightly but didn’t complain. She knew she didn’t let the marinated meat sit long enough. Hopefully the meat set aside to be sun-dried would have more taste but she also needed to get used to the blandness. She was almost out of spices.
Circe stomped out the fire and stored the rest of the cooked meat for breakfast tomorrow before curling up to the already sleeping Aatu.
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The first rays of sun stirred her sleep. Unwilling to wake up, she nuzzled Aatu and buried her face into his grey fur falling back into a light sleep. The rays kept spreading across the land heating up the cold air. This time it was Aatu who stirred awake. Feeling the gentle weight of his partner on his back, he turned to face her and licked the side of her temple. She groaned but turned towards his muzzle and opened her against the ray of the sun.
“Good morning Aatu.”
He growled.
Circe stretched herself before shifting towards her handmade bag getting off of Aatu at the same time. She got out one of the furs from yesterday and threw it in Aatu’s direction before reaching for a leather canteen. She licked the water droplet on the entrance and tilted the canteen brought from home to let through a few gulps of water down her throat, washing the morning grime in her mouth without wasting the little water she had left. She cupped her right hand and poured some of the water there as soon as Aatu finished eating his breakfast. He came up to her and lapped the water in her hand down to the last drop.
“We really should find a source of water by the end of today.” Her hands stoked his neck. He raised his head to let her stoke him, closing his eyes and letting out a low comfortable growl. She then finished the leftover from last night before moving on.
Morning dew wetted the tip of her pants as Circe and Aatu walked through low grasses. Grass slowly became sparse as more rocks appeared in between. Animals appeared and fled at the sight of Aatu. Small in size; rodents, ground hogs, prairie dogs; larger animals seemed to disappear with the fading greenery. Circe wondered if they should try heading the direction of the night where the sight of distant trees was still visible. Maybe they would have a better time finding water there. At the thought, a dark shadow appeared in her mind following by a chill down her spine and a sense of dread. She shook it off. A dream had nothing to do with their situation. She took a deep breath to calm her nerve. “Where do you think we should go Aatu?”
Aatu didn’t say anything. Wondering what was wrong, she looked towards the wolf only to find him staring in front of him, at something in the distance. That something gleamed in the sun, grey in color but not exactly. It wasn’t something Circe ever saw anything like it near Gannet’s Roost and it seemed to stretch for a fair amount of distance from what she can see. From behind it, smoke rose like dense cloud into the sky. There weren’t any forest in that direction so forest fire seemed unlikely to be the cause for the smoke. Must be man-made…she assumed. This time it was Aatu’s turn to call out to Circe. She placed her hand on top of his head as she stared at the unknown in front of them before turning to the wolf.
“Do you want to check it out?”
Aatu let out a low growl.
“Yes, but I’m curious about the shiny rock-like thing.” She said while looking off into the distance.
Aatu tugged the hem of her shirt with his teeth. She turned her attention back to him. “We’ll approach until we get a better view and slow down when we’re closer to gauge the danger.” Aatu stared at her. “I promise I’ll be careful.” Giving up on his partner’s persistence, Aatu moved forward with Circe following closely behind. “Thank you Aatu.”
As they walked, Circe wondered if the people behind the fire were also responsible for the shiny rock. The smoke kept on rising, never stopping making her frown with curiosity and suspicion. The two companions were taking their time to reach the area as they scouted their surrounding but never once did the smoke stop. Back at Gannet’s Roost, fires were lit for short amount of time; either to cook food or burn bones, the latter taking the most time. But the one in front of them just kept burning. Could there be another settlement up front? Several questions passed through her mind but before she could process any of them, they were steps away from their destination. A tall wall made of flattened grey and earthen-colored rocks gleamed in the sun. The wall seemed to surround something large as the edge of the wall bent towards the back. Sounds could be heard from beyond, a variety of sounds, none she recognized. And the smoke, it did not smell of cooking meat, nor of burning bone. It didn’t even smell of burning wood. Without knowing it, Circe stopped in her steps and just stared at whatever it was in front of her. Aatu, standing a couple steps ahead, watched his partner’s stunned silence, awaiting her decision.
Before either the young woman or the wolf could make heads or tail of the situation, a loud creaking resounded through the air. Aatu immediately stepped back to stand beside his partner and Circe immediately brought up her spear. The tall wall separated into two, vibrating the air with a screech. The door opened wider and wider and soon, the screech stopped along with the changing wall. From the gap, mice, rats, moles and ground hogs scurried out followed by strangers walking on their two feet and chatting amongst themselves. Someone shouted something and pointed to the front. The crowd followed the direction and looked in front to find a wolf and a single woman with a dumbfounded look on her face.