I kept my eyes on the ground, treading carefully through the wheat, then the leaves and branches, uselessly trying to protect my sensitive feet. With any luck, we wouldn't encounter snakes or other unfortunate wildlife in the woods.
Before long, my feet stung and ached with countless scratches and bruises dotting them. Occasionally, I glanced ahead to search for any sign of a path or danger. No path, creek, or river showed itself. Every so often, a colorful bird or lizard made an appearance, and Ani would sprint off to chase it. The first time, I was worried Ani had run off for good, leaving me lost and alone. By the fifth time, I was using the chance to think of a way to protect my pained feet. A particularly sharp rock took a decent jab at my foot.
I yelped, jumping back onto a twig that snapped beneath my foot. The offending objects received a glare for their troubles as I inspected the damage. That sucker had been sharp. The slice on my heel the rock had made was thin and deeper than the surrounding injuries. Figuring it might be useful, I picked it up, careful to avoid the sharp edges.
The next time Ani disappeared, I plopped myself down on a log and took my shirt off. Between my feet and my left hand, I pulled the shirt taunt. My right hand held the rock, and I managed to slice the silk shirt approximately in half. Each half was then twisted around my feet, tied and tucked into knots around the ankles as best I could manage. It was a bad job but looked as though it would protect them decently enough.
They constantly caught on twigs and brush on the forest floor, forcing me to stop countless times to adjust them. I unwound the makeshift 'shoes' less than an hour later and tied the pieces into a makeshift sheath for the rock instead.
After a few hours of walking, the forest became denser and harder to navigate. More thorns were pulled from my feet. Hunger clawed at my belly, and thirst made it hard to think.
Eventually, we heard a faint babbling of a creek up on our left, and the trees began to thin out a little around the creek. It wasn't completely clear, but I was past the point of caring. I used my hands to scoop the water, and we drank our fill.
Stones and boulders lined the creekbed, and I sat down on a larger boulder to rest my feet in the numbingly cold water. Ani took off to hunt again, and I wished him luck. At least one of us would get to eat.
The occasional fish swam by, and I eyed them hungrily. I'd never been fishing before, but I had read and heard about people catching them with their hands or using makeshift spears. Even if I couldn't get a fire going, sushi is raw and still safe to eat, right?
Decision made, I found a long, sturdy stick. My first attempt at spear-making was a failure, the rock sliding down the side of the spear on a test impact. My second attempt was somewhat successful, the notch I'd carved with the rock in the tip of the stick was enough to keep it from sliding through the shirt-ropes keeping it attached.
I rolled up my pant legs and stood in a shallow section of the creek, positioning myself where I'd seen some fish swim past. At first, the fish avoided my legs as if they knew what was coming, but eventually, they started swimming by without a care. A particularly large one swam down the creek, brushing past my legs. I jabbed the spear at it and overbalanced, soaking myself in the creek and barely managing to avoid impaling myself on my own spear.
The fish had been right not to care.
Eventually, I slipped out of the creek to lay on a sun-warmed boulder, letting myself and my clothes dry. The warmth and the bubbling water eventually lulled me into a light sleep, which Ani jolted me out of when he returned and decided to step on my bladder. I shoved him off.
He was calmly cleaning his paws when I returned. If he'd caught anything, the signs were already gone.
When we (okay, I) were dry enough, I took the makeshift spear, and we followed the creek downstream as it twisted and turned through the shaded forest. The going was much slower, but the cool stones worn smooth by water were much less painful. The rocks occasionally shifted underneath us as we walked. I slipped a few times but successfully managed to keep from completely soaking myself again.
Ani followed for a time until a shifting rock displaced by my clumsy feet splashed him, after which he switched to weaving around the edge of the woods, popping in often with a chirp to ensure I hadn't died.
Sometimes we'd run into a dry spot and follow the creek bed until the water flowed again. Other times we stopped to rest my feet in the cold water. Once, we saw a pack of the strangest-looking creatures roaming around. They looked like a demented hybrid between a raccoon and a monkey with green skin and shining red eyes. They had stationed themselves in the brush surrounding the creek, waiting to ambush prey. They'd thrown stones my way, but the spear appeared to be somewhat of a deterrent, and they didn't get any closer than a stone's throw away.
The sun dipped in the sky, dyeing the surrounding landscape golden. Still, no sign of civilization appeared.
The setting of the sun brought a chill evening breeze that tried to snatch any lingering warmth. Bugs that had lain dormant began to stir, and my exposed chest and arms quickly became covered with bites from nasty blood-sucking monsters. Or mosquitoes. I stumbled more often, exhaustion and lack of food weighing me down.
Goosebumps pricked at my arms, and I rubbed them, the friction enough to temporarily make them disappear. Ani was fine with his fur coat, but I would need a fire to stay warm.
Although the sun took much of the color with it, the light cast by rising moons and the dwindling sun was enough to collect the twigs and sticks quickly. As the sun fully set, the shadows took on a strange appearance, the moonlight of the dual moons causing them to overlap like stage lights. It was difficult to focus, and I played it off as a hallucination. If I didn't recognize any constellations either, well, I hadn't known any.
I constructed a small firepit out of creek stones and dumped the bundle of sticks along with a few handfuls of leaves inside. Setting the spear off to the side, I copied what I'd seen in movies, I then grabbed two sticks, sticking the larger one on the ground near the edge of the pit, and firmly solved the other against it, still holding it between my hands. I furiously rolled the stick between them, hoping the friction would bring fire to life. My hands warmed from the movement; no flame appeared, even as I rolled, and rolled, and rolled.
Frustrated, I used all my remaining strength to throw the ticks as hard and far into the woods as I possibly could. They were useless anyway.
There was a rustle from where the sticks had landed, and Ani perked his ears forward at the noise. A faint light shone from the area. Leaves shifted beneath him as Ani geared up to chase the light down.
Ignoring him, I took a step toward the flickering light. It shifted backward, and I froze. After a few seconds, I carefully placed my foot back down in a half step, trying to make as little noise as possible. At the crunch of leaves, the light moved again.
Ani took off, springing after the light and vanishing into the dark, twisted shadows of the forest. The light ahead zigged and zagged. I grabbed the spear and moved towards the commotion as fast as my aching feet would allow, unsure what I would find.
The light started to get closer as Ani herded it in my direction.
Soon, the light was close enough for me to see that it wasn't a light at all but a fiery lizard. Flames licked its body, but It seemed to care more about Ani than it did the flames. It left a tiny trail of sparks as it ran. Miraculously, the forest did not catch fire.
Seeing an opportunity, I joined the game of cat and lizard, shepherding it toward the fire pit, hoping the leaves or twigs would catch.
Eventually, with a few more scrapes, Ani and I were able to push it back into the kindling. The dried leaves shrunk, crinkled, then lit up in a cackling fire. The lizard skirted away, but I had lost interest now that my goal had been realized.
I found the most comfortable grassy area near the fire as I could and lay down, watching the flames leap and run. Howls and strange noises sent goosebumps up my spine, and I rolled over to keep an eye on the dark edges of the forest for any predators, spear clutched tightly in my hands. Ani wiggled himself between my arms, and the combination of his furnace-like warmth and the cackling fire lured me into an uneasy sleep.