Ank had been chasing a rabbit when, like a fool, she chased it straight through a thorn bush. The rabbit had escaped unscathed but Ank was left stumbling and limping to a place where she could be alone to tend to her wounds. Damn rabbits! She should have known better. It seemed far too obvious a trick to play. I was far too obvious... she'd fallen for the exact same set up before. She collapsed under a tree and bent to lick at a thorn sticking out of her rump. None of this would have happened if she'd just gone and picked on something a little easier. Like... a mouse. Mice where fine prey. Easy too.Now though. Now she would have to sit here on her own and pull out these damn thorns all by herself. She knew from experience that a little bit of pain now was worth it to avoid the larger amount of pain that would come later if she put off the inevitable. Not to mention the discomfort from the thorns...
Soon she was working on the last one, sticking out of a leg, and once that was free she was able to lick at her wounds until the bleeding subsided. That took a while, but when it finally did stop she lay back and looked out toward the grassy fields around the tree. There was food out there, but now she smelled like blood. Any sensible prey would be hiding long before she got close enough to catch it. That was a sorry state for a lone jackal to find herself in. If only she'd scored herself a good meal before this entire mess had come about.
There was only one real solution she could think of right then, and unfortunately that would require a bit of walking on her part. Recently, she'd gotten back in touch with her sister and she was certain that if she could make it back to her sister's home that she would be able to rest there for a while and recover. Should their situations be reversed she knew that she would take Niddy in.
With a groan she pulled herself up to her feet and started forward. She would have to get her bearing, but there was a rock nearby where she could get a good look at her surroundings and make sure she wasted no energy wandering about aimlessly. It was a painful climb but it was worth it. Within only a few minutes she was headed off in the direction that would bring her to her sister's burrow. A bit sooner then they had planned, perhaps, but not an entirely negative twist of fate. Besides, the more often she visited now the better she would be able to find her way back again in the future. And she'd made oh so many promises to visit if and when she found other members of their extended family.
The walk to the forest was a fair bit longer, and, still cautious of snakes, she paused for a break before heading in to find her sister.
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