Celestyn padded quietly and deliberately. His movements in the darkness were silent, his dark color blended into the shadows and his lighter spots made him look like the moonlight falling through the leaves of the trees. His many trips hunting really helped with this, he was a successful hunter and his practice had payed off. He paused in the midnight gloom for a moment. Where was this leading him? Even with his long day, he wasn't tired. He looked up from his spot, and moved forward again, close to the ground and silent as the clouds that passed above him.
They were far from anywhere he had ever been. The terrain was different and the smells were different. He didn't travel on any kind of beaten path, by herds or any other animals. The grass grew wild and sprung up straight, untouched by hooves or paws alike. He kept her in his vision, he didn't want to get lost at this point in his journey.
As he jumped over a fallen tree, he realized Aadia had stopped moving forward so he stopped too. He stood completely motionless where he landed, barely breathing, and eyes fixed on her. She was also hard to see in the dark, but he made sure to keep her visible. As he watched silently, she walked over to a boulder with an overhang and, after looking around quickly, she payed down in the safety beneath the rock, moonlight hitting her spine and tail as it flicked against the ground. Celestyn figured she must have been choosing this spot as her resting spot for the evening. He looked around, trying to find a spot for himself too, settling on an area behind the remaining branches of the trunk. He would be able to keep a watchful eye on her the rest of this sleepless night.
As he laid there, eyes locked on her position, he began to wonder what he was doing. Why was he following this girl on a whim? He became nervous as he pondered these things, eyes flicking to any type of movement in his peripherals. He stretched his paws, trying to ease his tension. Where was this girl taking him, he wondered. What kind of creatures would he find at her home, was she even going home? He had so many questions that he couldn't ask her. She couldn't know he was behind her.
He had watched her leave that morning after their first encounter, slightly huffy at him and definitely hungry. He watched her walk away and he couldn't help himself; he had to follow her. He had to go with her, wherever it was she was going. She couldn't even hunt for herself, she couldn't be going far. He had now been following her all day, far back so she was just a dark smudge near the horizon at first, but he got closer as it got darker, his longer legs carrying him faster than hers did. His travel beaten paws going over the sharp rocks more easier than hers. He stayed far enough away, even now, that she wouldn't know he was there. Her senses weren't keen enough and his color helped him blend in nicely.
Now, he sat beside a dead tree, contemplating what the hell he was doing. He was confused. Why had he done this? He felt the need to turn around but couldn't bring his feet to go, they were planted firmly against the ground and his side against the log. He felt so weird, like a voyeur or a stalker watching a victim. Was that what he had become? A stalker? No, no. He shook these thoughts from his head. He wasn't that. It wasn't that serious, he could leave her be if he needed, if he wanted. He pressed his head under his paws and against the ground. He felt like a hunter going after his prey; creeping up on it slowly, letting it think it was safe and free, before BAM! The leap and the kill take place. He didn't want to kill her though, not at all, he didn't even want to scare her. He wanted to know about her. He had this strange desire to learn her secrets and her likes and dislikes...
And following her for miles upon miles in the dark was how he decided to do that.
He ached to go say something to her, to look upon her and see what she looks like now after traveling all day. He actually enjoyed their strange interaction earlier, even if he did suspect she was a spy or trapping him at some points. He hadn't spoken to anyone and felt that way in a very long time. He yearned for it again and currently felt like an abandoned dog, following her about like this, not close enough for interaction and, not to mention, completely lost. This was so unlike him, the silence and creepy traveling about. He wished he could ask her where she was taking him... But she wasn't taking him anywhere. She was going somewhere and he was following behind, a shadow, a spy.
He looked up to the stars, hoping to find some sort of guidance, some sign that he was either doing something that was okay or that he should turn around and run back, try and get home. Never look upon her again. But the sky was cloudy and he couldn't see the stars. Even they didn't know what he was doing and didn't like it either.
He let out a deep breath and put his head on the ground. Then he caught it. He could smell her scent from here, remnants from when she passed by the rotting log earlier. It was intoxicating and sent him rushing back to the morning, when she appeared below him while he lazed in the tree, when she was attacked by all the birds. A smile crept over his face and he shut his eyes, the memories replaying in his lids like a movie. He found a renewed initiative to follow her from this, he recalled his reasoning. He wanted to know her. He wanted to save her from being attacked by birds. He wanted to bring her a gazelle for dinner every day. He felt a purpose when it came to her, it was refreshing. It made him excited for the future, which he hadn't been in a long time of traveling.
He looked back to her spot, as she still laid there silently, tail no longer moving rhythmically. He figured she must be asleep already. It must be nice. He wondered what she was dreaming about, perhaps the home she was leading him to. Maybe a beautiful grove of flowers.
It was going to be a long night contemplating what would happen next.
((113 cool )
