Ahadi padded along a well worn savannah trail deep in thought. Father had not been getting better lately and while he still continued to hold out hope that mother would return soon he was certainly affecting his health greatly. She hated seeing him waste away to nothing just because he loved Usiku so much he refused to leave the place they had called home. But it also wore on her greatly to constantly be taking care of him, well at least she had her brother Ataro to help out as well. Between the two of them they could hunt enough to keep them well fed, that was if father chose to eat, but there was so much more than she wanted to do with her life than watch over her ailing father. Yes she loved him very much and was grateful for him raising her and her brothers after their mother abandoned them, but she was getting to that age where she wanted a life of her own and perhaps even a family of her own.
This was why her and Ataro had came to the decision that they would take turns watching father for a few days at a time. It would give her brother a chance to wander while she looked after Subu and when it was Ataro’s turn to watch their father it would give Ahadi a chance to seek out whatever adventures she could find. Today was the start of her turn to have a chance of freedom. There was so much she wanted to see and do and with only three days to do it in. Best milk it for all it’s worth she told herself as she padded along in a hurry. What adventures would lie just beyond that rock or that tree? What interesting creatures would she run into? And more importantly how many times would she have to run away from danger because she had pushed her limits a bit too far.
It’s not that she deliberately sought out danger, no it was quite the opposite it seemed to follow her like a plague. Even when she was trying to do something simple, like get a drink at a watering hole something would wander along and put her in danger. Like that time she had been minding her own business getting a drink when a bull elephant came along and decided that she was not welcome at the watering hole. Stupid beast, she shook her head as she relived that memory. The thing had been on the opposite side of the watering hole and without warning charged around it chasing Ahadi off. Now she tended to steer clear of elephants, and rhinos and warthogs for that matter as well. Really anything with tusks or horns that was large enough to do a large amount of damage if she got too close were avoided as best as possible.
Today however she let her paws taken her where they wished, while she wanted adventure Ahadi also had to think about what she was to do if she did decide to settle down. Clearly if she had a family she would not be able to keep going on these crazy adventures where danger lurked around every corner. And wandering would be out of the question as well, that could only potentially lead to what had happened with their mother. Mother had been a wanderer and the idea of staying in one spot and raising a family had driven her away. She may come back one day, perhaps but Ahadi didn’t hold her breath for such a thing to happen.
Bursting into a run Ahadi tried to cover as much distance as possible. She needed to get it all out of her system before she returned to the den to take her turn in caring for father. Perhaps she could find something along the way that would temporarily cheer him up, though she knew deep down that the only thing that would snap him out of his constant depression was the return of Usiku. Well she had three days and nothing but the open savannah ahead of her, perhaps with some luck she could find her mother, or maybe even a creature who had seen the female wild dog to give her some clue as to where she was, or to even acknowledge that her mother was still alive. Wouldn’t that be the most wonderful thing to return to father with, news of her mother well in the world and that would certainly not only give him renewed reason to keep going but perhaps ease the tension that her and Ataro felt on a daily basis.
She wondered just what Ataro had done on his time off recently. Yes, she knew he would have wandered off, it was in his blood passed down from their mother though he would never admit to that. But where would he have gone and who did he meet along the way? Ataro wasn’t the most social of creatures but he had to have come across someone else during his days away. Well she would just need to question him about it whenever she herself got home. Right now she lived in the moment, eyes and ears alert to anything of interest.
Her paws carried her quickly across the savannah until after several hours of running she came to a small watering hole. Taking a quick look around to make sure there would be no elephant or other large beast interrupting her drink Ahadi lowered herself down and began lapping up the refreshing water. It would be dark soon and she would need to find a temporary shelter to sleep in for the night. After getting her fill of water she rose to her paws once more and set off in search of a temporary den. It did not take too long to find, and while it wasn’t perfect it was certainly better than nothing. She did a quick double check making sure it wasn’t actually some of animals den before slipping inside. The den was small but there was enough room for her to lay relatively comfortable within it. Sleep came relatively quickly to the wild dog as the thoughts of what adventures awaited her in the morning danced about her head.
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