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+---- Thread: Sierra Hills Is there a way back? Nobody knows (/showthread.php?tid=19686)
Is there a way back? Nobody knows - Gwendolyn - Apr 21, 2021
@Maugrim I'm so so sorry for this monster of a post, Gwen got away from me. Also, the reference for the innards of the cave is Moqui Cave.
She wasn’t sure exactly why or what was making her stick close was making her stick so closely to these red hills. There was a certain lonely peace in them, a sort of solitude that didn’t grind against her soul like it seemed to ever since coming over the mountain. There was also a certain...beauty to the red dunes she’d found herself overlooking, for a break as she stared up into the cloud scattered sky from beneath some rocky nook she was tucked into. There were still some stars speckled here and there, peering through the clouds as if they were staring back at her.
For some reason, it felt as if they were staring at her as if asking what are you going to do now? What’s the plan?, because the whole ‘plan’ initially, if you could call it that, was to just find out what became of her father. And even that had been a rather loose one, as she figured all she’d find were dead ends and cold trails. Because in even her wildest dreams, there was such a small sliver of hope she’d find anything, it never occurred to her that she would find a damn thing.
....so what were her plans exactly? She felt so lost out in the sands and slowly, the large wolf was feeling restless as thoughts bomandred her as to what to do. It wasn’t like she could go home to anyone or anything to share the news - her mother, the only family she ever had, had been born in some grand grasslands and had died there too. And yet even then, as Gwendolyn grew tall beside her, Gwendolyn couldn’t recall a single time or place they truly called home. Oh she knew the grasslands like the back of her paw and there’d been a few main hides they used, if they survived the weather and other animals. But it stretched on forever and the duo had mostly followed the prey and seasons. So there was nothing she specifically could go back to. Nothing was tying her anywhere.
Growing annoyed with herself and having slowly built up energy as she rested, Gwendolyn kicked a nearby pebble away and watched as it fumbled around in the sandy terrain. Her eyes followed the pebble as it clattered about, eventually merely flumping over into some sand and staring blankly back at her.
Huffing in annoyance, Gwendolyn looked away from it, annoyed that nothing more satisfying happened to said pebble. And her eyes kept trailing towards what looked like a trail she hadn’t noticed before, from the rocky overlook she was resting on to an even higher point, up a fairly rocky hill opposite to where she was resting. And her curiosity was piqued.
There had been some trails to traverse over these hills but this one looked like it actually led somewhere and not just tapered off to nowhere. It did seem to vanish halfway up the rocky hill it was carved into but she could tell it went further up. It HAD to.
So carefully scrambling over loose sand and rocks, her hike commenced. It began somewhat narrow, which made the sensible part of her brain yell at her to be careful for fucks sake after she made the mistake of looking down at one point. And there was no wonder it looked as if it vanished part way up the hill - there was a short period there where the rocky walls slowly enclosed the trail, turning it into more of a tunnel with the odd skylight here and there. But it opened up quickly and the trail began to flatten out and it became clear that it was coming to an end, her ears pricked at the sound of...water? Which made her pick up her pace. Eventually, the trail widened up to a large alcove of sorts, with high craggy walls and an open ceiling that allowed a peek at the sky as Gwen craned her neck to look upwards. There were a few more openings dotted around, as if there were other tunnels to explore.
Yet she could still hear some water trickling from somewhere so as her gaze lowered and her paws plodded against the sandy floor, Gwen realised there was a small natural spring flowing down the wall to her right and onto the ground below, like a mini waterfall. There was even a basin below it and a small brook that clearly carved a place for itself out of the rock, the water obviously taking years upon years to carve out a place for itself. It went along the back wall of the alcove, before seemingly going back to ground. The water tasted cool on her tongue as she lapped some up, grateful to quench the thirst she racked up climbing up here.
Another opening caught her attention and it made her move from the water to this new opening.
Sand covered the floor here mostly as she entered, realising that this cave was quite large as she stepped further in. Her eyes followed to the right again, seeing a sort of corridor that had a few nooks and crannies further along. She wasn’t sure if they opened up to more rooms or not, as her eyes shifted to her left.
And that’s where her jaw dropped as she turned down to her left, her eyes automatically following the curve of the cave. A wall opened up into three large holes, two misshapen pillars of rock framing the open night sky outside. Shuffling over to them, she peered over the edge and winced at the drop. That’d hurt like hell if one made a wrong move too close to the edge.
Not wanting to risk anything yet, Gwendolyn stepped away from the edge, glancing behind her to see a cubby hole that would make a good place to rest, after that long hike up the trail. It even had a view out of one of the wall openings, she realised as her body flopped against the sandy floor, which was nice.
Part of her wondered if anyone else had ever found this place before, or if it belonged to someone. It’d be a hard place to traverse everyday but there looked like there were other tunnels spreading out from the alcove so maybe the trail she found wasn’t the only way up and down. Maybe she’d have a look at them tomorrow? Because there was no way, after that climb, she was hiking much further. Besides, she’d found an appropriate place for the night hadn’t she? She was all alone up here, with a view of the stars and a spring not far away.