[RoD] Nakoma's Meditation

                Nakoma paced. She was deep within the forest where she’d been tangled in the poachers trap so long ago. Her claws tilled the earth as she turned, her eyes staring down at the path. Although she was looking down, she was not seeing, too lost in thought. Something had been bothering her for the past few days, but she couldn’t pinpoint just what. She’d had a tingling in her chest for three days and it was making her restless. Even Koia, her handler, had noticed, and had let her out to roam for the day to try and calm down. The brown female had wandered for most of the morning until she wound up back in the forest. Something just felt right, as if she was supposed to be here, but nothing had happened. After two hours she was about to give up and go home when a flicker of white caught her attention. She turned and looked up just as the pale white raven settled onto a low hanging branch. She stood straighter and looked up at him, waiting expectantly.

                “We meet again, my furry friend.” The raven turned his head to one side and then the other, clicking his pink beak. “I have something for you, o riddle solver.” He walked sideways down the branch and then spread his wings, flapping softly. “Follow, and quickly, for speed is the key.” The bird took off as soon as he finished speaking, leaving Nakoma to leap to her feet and chase after him. The raven slipped through the forest as quiet as a whisper, Nakomas paws padding quietly across the dirt trail as she ran after him. Trees passed by and still they ran, until they began to climb upward. The brown tokota had to slow, climbing over rocks and struggling through thick scrub, but by the time she managed to catch up to the raven, he had landed on a massive boulder at the top of the mountain. He waited patiently as she approached, panting softly.

                “When last we spoke, a riddle I told, of futures unseen, yet sure to unfold.” He turned his head again, looking her over. For the first time he spoke outside of riddle. “I lied.” The brown tokota frowned. She remembered the last riddle he had told her, and the answer had been tomorrow. He had said that no one had ever seen tomorrow, nor would they ever, but he had lied? She narrowed her eyes untrustingly, slowly stepping forward until she was standing on the rock beside him.

                “Tonight I grant you a vision of sorrow. Tonight you shall see the Tomorrow.” Nakoma did not have time to respond. The raven shot upwards and spread his wings wide, his beak pointed skyward. Suddenly her vision burst into that eerie blue light, as if the aurora itself had bloomed before her. The tingling in her chest returned ten-fold, but she was frozen in place. The rainbow of light slowly calmed, colors twisting and molding into strange, blurry shapes. She was back in the forest, but this time it was in the dead of night. There were sounds all around, shouting and yelling, and before her lay the dirt path, snaking its way through the forest as if she had double vision. A second, shadowy version of every object hovered an inch away from its mother, giving her vision an ethereal feel. A voice suddenly floated through her mind, just as tiny paw prints began to glow at her feet.

                “Behold, true heart, the vision of tomorrow. Follow the path with the sight you borrow.” Nakoma looked down at the tiny pawprints. They looked familiar, but how could they be so small? The voice spoke again, “Deep within lies a life in need, and in your future a very good deed. Seek out your fate, the spirits await, and see the tomorrow that you will create.” A sudden gust of wind seemed to prompt a lightning strike and a roll of thunder above, and Nakoma wasted no time. She took off at a dead run, following the footsteps as they mimicked her pace. Something had been fleeing, undoubtedly from the voices so close by. She ran faster, some sense of desperation driving her to a speed that felt almost unreal. Thunder snarled above her head, and with the illumination of a nearby lightning strike she saw something ahead. A dark body, crumpled in the center of the path, the paw prints fading as they reached it.

                “Save him.” The voice was quiet, but the command was real, and she felt a surge deep in her chest, as if this was the thing she was meant to do. The voices behind were getting louder, and she could hear footsteps now. Without hesitation, she turned and backed up, until the little black body was completely beneath her. She crouched low over it and curled up her lips, saliva gathering along the dark black lines. In the flash of lightning she saw the figures approaching, yelling and waving their weapons. The brown tokota crouched lower, her fur standing on end, and felt her muscles bunch. As the figures stepped into view, she hurtled forward, her jaws open wide and a bestial, protective roar sounding out amid the thunder. Just as her jaws met the shadowy figures, however, everything faded to black. The voice spoke for the last time, fading in her mind as she woke up sprawled on the rock at the top of the mountain.

                “Save him…”


WC 920