[The Pilgrimage] (Half Truth)

[Scaramouche Fandango]

She couldn't tell you if she tried why she chose to go back. She didn't know, but she'd felt compelled. She'd heard tales of the Ache- the feeling of relentless longing and pain that came from trying to leave the swamp- and maybe this compulsion was a diluted echo of that. It was more than a pull- it was a calling, and she had no idea what it really meant.

It was dark when she left. Moonless. Were the stars dimmer than normal? Perhaps.

Her journey was silent and introspective. She traveled by night, mostly, and slept fitfully by day, trying to avoid her dreams. A pit of dread formed in her belly; rough and slimy, like the stone of an plum. She didn't want to continue- but she didn't want to ignore it, either. She felt sundered. She still felt the obelisk had evil intentions, which was ridiculous, because it was a rock. That's all it was when you broke it down, just a tall rock. Rocks couldn't be evil, even if they were shaped by something out of time.

The trip was both longer and shorter than she would have liked. Before she knew it, her solitary journey was joined by stragglers. She spoke to none of them- she was lost in her own head and the low din of the swamp's background noises. Just because she wasn't speaking didn't mean the cicadas weren't screaming and the birds weren't singing. She was actually somewhat dismayed at the amount of kin present at the obelisk- seems word of the thing had traveled. She'd hoped to be alone with it so that she could...

She'd planned something, but she found herself forgetting it. Throwing rocks at it, maybe? Screaming at it? Begging it to get out of her head and leave her alone? Whatever it was, it wouldn't have worked. There was no changing it. The obelisk was immutable. Even if they had gotten it to light the heavens, no kin's hooves could shape this thing. So she simply sat and stared for a while, then touched it with her nose. She grazed the stone that represented a crane with her hoof, and then walked away, feeling no different than she had when she'd arrived. She'd come back to see it, but nothing was resolved. How could she have expected a resolution?

That night, she dreamed.  

[Scaramouche Fandango]

She awoke in the shadow of the obelisk. Groaning, she rose to her feet. "How long was I out?" she yawned, stretching. She didn't remember falling asleep so close to the thing, but she'd not been getting good sleep for several days. She shook her head and listened, but the other pilgrims had gone. Smart, probably. They knew better than to stick around. The cicadas still screamed and the birds still sang, but the kin had all gone home, back to the safety and comfort of their dens and loved ones. The obelisk was, of course, silent. Tall, silent, and mocking her every thought and feeling. At least it seemed that way. She reminded herself that a stone can't have an intention- for all she knew, this was some big part of a scheme hatched out by the Motherfather that would bring soft spring rains and gentle winters.

Didn't mean she trusted it. Half Truth had to go with her gut on this- she was nothing if not suspicious. She walked around the obelisk, eyes narrowed, looking for the other pilgrims. Had they really all left? She sniffed the air, but the heavy scent of honeysuckle and sticky summer growth drowned out everything. There were no hoofprints on the ground, either- though this wasn't surprising, as everything was covered with a tangle of green she didn't quite remember. Granted, she hadn't been paying attention to the ground so much when she came in- she was more concerned with the obelisk itself. But to have no sign of anybody was... disquieting.

"It's my imagination," she murmured. "I'm letting myself get the better of me. I should just... head home. Yeah. That's right."

Turning, she looked around to get her bearings. She remembered touching the stone that represented a crane, so she looked for it- but it was nowhere to be found. The sand dog, the cheetah, the eagle, the bat- all gone.

It was here she began to panic. Stones that large couldn't just get up and walk away. There were no kin. There were no stones. Was it her imagination, or were the cicadas screaming a different tune? Bile rose in her throat and bubbled out her mouth as a stream of of expletives as she tripped over her own hooves, trying to flee.

What had Longstride said? Eleven more?

This must be one of them.  

[Scaramouche Fandango]

She woke up screaming.

She was back at the obelisk with the etched stones, mysteriously transported there from its distant twin. She knew objectively that she'd been dreaming, but it was hard to reconcile that reality with the knowledge of doom she'd just obtained.

She'd one day see another obelisk.

And on that day, she'd face it alone.

Nobody would be with her. Not Rose, not Changes, not Motes, not anybody.

Rising to her feet, she began the long walk home. Alone. She shouldn't have come back- but she had, and now she had to live with the prediction of that dream.

She was not looking forward to it coming true.