She steeled her mind and decided to live for the sake of her species. But if she wanted to do that she would need to fine a place where she wouldn't be recognized as a demon.
She knew from her geography classes that there were many species that looked similar to demons along the northern border.
But which way was north???
Where was she????
Cautiously she exited the tree and began to asess her surroundings . She had never been more than a kilometer away from the city even the school trips out into the wilderness had always been within the view of the gate.
She tried her best to remember what she could from those trips but the only thing that came into mind were the faces of her fellow classmates. More tears began to fall from her eyes but she couldn't cry now . She would cry when she got to the border and was safe.
Wiping the tears trying to escape her eyes she noticed the footprints of the guards shoes on the soil.
She quickly looked around for her own and was relieved that her tiny bare feet had not made any indentations in the dirt .
This would make it easier to hide her trail as she headed to the border.
She started moving in a random direction trying to get her bearings. She needed to find breakfast too as her mother had only been able to add one sandwich to the bag .
Breakfast or rather lunch came in the form of fish that she cought in a shallow stream a few hours later. She had trouble lighting a fire since she had never lit a match before. Her mother always told her that she would learn these things when she was old enough. It seemed that she was old enough now.
After eating and resting a bit she refilled her canteen and followed the stream upward.
She had once been forced to learn all the major landmarks surrounding the city for some school project. It was a project that she had procrastinated until the last minute.
Now she was regretting not putting in more effort on the project.
Eventually she remembered that all streams in this forest originate from the same point. This helped her locate herself.
Now all she needed to know was where north was.
She racked her brains trying to recall anything useful from the project but all she remembered was useless things like how the mountain just north of the city was called Nagasaki because emperor Nagasaki had created the city as a sanctuary for the demons. The lake at the top of the mountain was called renai lake.
It has the best view of the city and all streams in the region start at renai lake.
She then came to the realization that she knew where north was . She just had to climb a mountain .
With a newfound determination she picked up her pace as much as she could while avoiding small rocks that could hurt her bare feet .
She reached the base of the mountain just as night began to fall. Her tiny form shivered in her thin torn nightgown. She did not stop for the night.
She claimed up the mountain or at least tried to. Being only eight years old meant that she could not reach high enough to grab most handholds . Her tail was her only useful appendage during her ascent.
As the sun rose over the horizon she reached a path that went up the mountain that made her journey much easier. When she looked down she noticed that the path was only about a hundred feet from where she started climbing.
Her tail ached when she saw this scene even as her body made it's way up the mountain.
She had the most productive journey here as she managed to reach the lake before dark and even caught a rabbit along the way.