Mencari
In the end, it took the feathered stallion an embarrassingly long amount of time for the feathered stallion to descend from the tree tops. Even when he felt it may be safe, he jumped back and forth between a few neighbouring trees a few times to try and gauge if the walker had left yet, or if she was still stalking, waiting for her chance. There was no telling whether or not she would come charging out of the bushes when his feet hit the ground. But there was no path of trees leading away from this cursed place.
He had done wrong, and the longer he waited until after she'd left, the more regretful he felt about the whole thing. He had panicked. That excused nothing. Maybe it would be best if she was lurking in the shadows. A grisly and slow death at the paws of such a fearful creature was fitting punishment for the betrayal he was guilty of.
If he did make it out alive, no one would ever hear anything of this. He would carry the secret and the shame to the grave by any means necessary.
Finally, after long hours, he worked up the courage to jump down. He hit the ground running but it did not seem as though it mattered at all. Nothing pursued him. He was safe and free. The love of his life may very well be dead. He could not even bear it to turn around and run back. He had waited too long, and the option to save him had surely run out.
Time had run out and... I am a coward. He thought.
Not knowing would be yet another self inflicted punishment. Maybe, he would never know of the danger set upon him by Mencari. Maybe... but probably not.
He ran long and hard despite the lack of pursuer. The scenery blended together through his tear filled eyes. It did not matter though. If he was not going back then it did not matter where he was going. No part of this journey needed to be remembered. Part of him wanted to run so hard and so far that by the time he collapsed, exhausted, he would sleep until he forgot about the run and the whole terrible day that had led up to it. No, not part of him, he wanted that with his whole being.
The run continued as long as he could keep it up, but far sooner than he would have liked he found himself slowing to a walk. He had expended too much energy scavenging that morning, not enough hunting for his own food. He was hungry, but he did not feel like hunting, or eating, so he kept walking. Really, even if something had been unfortunate enough to cross his path he would not have had the energy right then to give chase. Already ready to fall to the ground, he clenched his teeth together, mouth dry, and kept on walking.
