Through the course of the morning his fatigue wore off like a thick ground fog burns away under the sun’s warm rays of light. He was able to think clearer and move more freely than he could when he first started moving this morning. That was good he felt like this speed he was running with could be sustained. With his physical requirements taking care of themselves he found himself thinking back to everything that happened since he had entered this strange odorless forest.
They ran through the morning and into the late afternoon. Aceso was guiding him through the forest directly north. The valley they were in was a lot bigger than his valley was and he was certain that they would have to stop here and sleep in these woods at least one more time before they broke out back into the mountains.
As the sun dipped lower in the afternoon sky, he noticed that he wasn’t hungry. Over the last week he had gone as long as two days without food, but he wasn’t hungry at all. That was unusual even for him and it troubled him. Was he getting sick? The only time he didn’t have an appetite was when he had been sick. He didn’t feel sick. The idea troubled him and continued to gnaw at his subconscious through the fading light of the day.
The sun had set, and they were still inside the odorless forest of the brotherless. It was dark and even Aceso didn’t seem too driven to continue in the darkness. They found a nice little thicket of trees and underbrush and made camp there. His body was so exhausted as soon as he stopped moving and lay down, he drifted off to sleep.
When he opened his eyes, the sun was already in the sky. The warm yellow rays of light filtered down through the branches of the forest canopy. He scrubbed his face with his hands trying to wake up and wondering why Aceso hadn’t woke him up earlier. He looked around for his alpha but she was nowhere to be found. He stood up and stretched. His body felt a little sore, but his mind was much more alert than it had been yesterday. He would have to find some clean water at some point. He hadn’t had anything to drink for a while and he was in need of some.
He walked aimlessly for a while enjoying the forest. The lack of smell here was disconcerting, but it wasn’t too troubling and he was at peace. A lot had happened to him over the past few days. He wondered where Aceso had gotten off to. If he knew her at all she was probably looking for food or water like she had done countless times before.
As he walked through the forest, he heard a slight gurgling sound. His eyes widened slightly. It was moving water. He broke into a run toward the sound. He walked through some bushes and there was a tiny stream running along its course through the forest. He dropped to his knees and bent over the stream and drank. The cold water seared his hot throat, but he continued to drink. It felt wonderful. The cold water filled his stomach and when he had had his fill, he raised himself to see Aceso standing over him on the opposite side of the stream.
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She looked disappointed about something, and her eyes were downcast. He didn’t know what was bothering her. She didn’t motion for him to move so he took the opportunity to relieve himself in the forest a little way from the stream. When he was finished, he grabbed a branch from a nearby tree. He pulled it loose from the tree and plucked all the pine needles off it. When the branch was prepared, he strode back to stream and dipped one end in the cold water. After a few moments he took the wet end and scrubbed his teeth with it. Not for the first time he wished he had some salt or baking soda but that couldn’t really be helped.
When he was finished, he threw the stick back off into the woods. He stood up and looked at Aceso who was sitting down amongst the trees looking off to the north. He hopped over the stream and joined his alpha. She sat there for a moment looking northward. She didn’t seem to acknowledge he was there. He stood next to her looking from her to the north.
He noticed that it was cool this morning, even though it was late, and the sun was well on his way up his track in the sky. William looked north and couldn’t help but wonder what was waiting for him at the mountain.
Aceso stood up and began walking north. He followed her and soon they were running again. Aceso seemed troubled by something, but he couldn’t figure out what that was. She was not running at the speeds that they were capable of running, even though they were holding a pace that was much faster than any normal human could match for long distances. He began to wonder if she felt guilty about the whole ‘accepting his oath of fealty’ thing. He wondered if she was troubled by what consequences might be waiting for her at the mountain as well.
His body found its rhythm and he was running through the forest following Aceso. He noticed that as they ran, he began to pick out faint smells. Just Aceso at first, but he began to be able to smell the dirt he was running on. He inhaled through his nose and he smelled cedar pine somewhere. This return of his senses was a welcome relief, but he knew that with the return of smells they would soon be out of this forest and the protection it offered.
No sooner had he though this they burst through the trees, and they were outside of the forest of the brotherless. They were facing a steep rock incline. It wasn’t so steep that they would have to free climb straight up. The narrow winding path that Aceso started up without hesitation was steep and it looked dangerous. He hesitated for a moment, looking up the massive rock face. He was no donkey and he supposed if his alpha could do it, he could do it too. Besides how could he challenge his alpha seriously one day if he was too scared to climb up a steep little path?