Spins around once everyday
Children dance, proud (wise) men sway
It's not a cruel world where I stay
--The Choir Car, etc.
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The morning dawned- one of the most glorious mornings Erin had ever seen. The dew had already gone away when she first lifted her nose to the sky and thanked Ni-Elat for the day. The sky above was flawless blue, lighter around the edges and deeper near the center. The sun was already warming the ground and breathing fresh life into the grass. Birds flitted through the air, rousing the world with their songs. Many land-dwelling creatures were already up and about, their sounds and smells making the day seem somehow more real.
Though the hospitable dogs invited them to stay for another day of festivities, something in the atmosphere of the day made a creature restless and ready for travel.
Whitepaws an a few other dogs agreed to see the party to the border of their land, so, after warm and cheerful goodbyes, they started out.
In the valley, the smell of sheep and dogs and cooking fires had pretty much pervaded everything but once they topped out on the next ridge, which ran parallel to their course, the true glory of the day hit them head on.
Like any fox, Erin had a keen nose, and here, more than anywhere else, the winds brought her messages in the form of smells.
When a breeze ruffled her fur, she first caught the scent of things nearby; grass, soil, other creatures, the air itself. But then it spoke of other things, farther away. Trees and water, myriads of flowers. Wild Ones hiding in the forests.
Though her eyesight wasn't as good as her sense of smell, Erin could see the countryside stretching away for miles in any direction from up here. Looking behind, the city was already long out of sight.
Erin let her senses submerge in the world around her. Danger and trouble seemed like distant abstract words, and she shoved them into the farthest corner of her mind. Right now she was living for the moment! Life surged through her, and suddenly, she didn't care what anyone else thought of her. She capered ahead of the group, prancing carelessly through patches of windswept sunny dandelions. She kicked up her paws. She danced in circles.
She thought, how good it is to be silly and free!
She trotted back to the others, marching alongside Apollo, her tongue lolling in a genuinely canine grin. "It's a perfect day!" She yipped exuberantly.
Surprisingly, even Apollo's spirits seemed brighter today. "Yeah, it is." He said, the faint hint of a smile playing about his mouth.
Reshat turned his head to look at her. "The weather is nice," he said, "but it is a little too bright for my liking."
"Tch! If you had your way about it we'd be traveling at night!" Scolded Tikkcik, grinning wickedly. "It is a perfect day. Well, except that there aren't any trees around here. Then it'd be perfect."
Evvey had been hopping beside them in silence all this time in a somewhat constrained manner. It seemed that it was all he could do to keep from bounding far ahead and running forever.
"Ah, you goiys, alwaiyse complainin'. Just taike wot ya git, I saiy. An' roight now the gettin's good! So quit whoinin' an' enjoiy it!"
* * * *
Shortly before noon they descended at last from the ridge into a lusciously shaded valley, filled nearly to overflowing with flowering trees. A brook bubbled merrily along, weaving among the trunks to complete the scene.
It was here that Whitepaws and his dogs said their goodbyes.
"This stream marks the boundary of out territory." Said the dog.
He said, "So it's here that we pert our ways and leave you with our blessing and that of Ni-Elat." He bobbed his head to all assembled. "Farewell! And may your journey be a kind one!"
With that, the canines turned and trotted back up the hill.
It was decided that this pleasant spot would make a good place to rest and have lunch, so cloaks were spread out on the grass among the trees and generous rations distributed.
After the meal the was, by general consensus, a lull in which most everyone took a short nap. The day, after all, was warm a pleasant, and the flowers and grass so fragrant. The water sang them to sleep as it flowed.
One creature, however, didn't feel like sleeping. She was far too alive.
Erin decided to take a stroll by the stream and inhale the life breathed out by this glorious scenery.
As she walked, she didn't let her mind wander anywhere near those problems in the back of her mind. She wasn't going to let this serene moment be spoiled.
This, she felt, was her true habitat. Trees and grass and water. Fresh air, endless sky above. Sunlight filtered through leaves, casting a kind of magical green filter over everything.
The world was fresh and new.
Erin's mind wandered along with her paws, and she pondered what was around her. Suddenly, for no apparent reason, she found herself thinking that this world was a little too perfect. A little too fresh and clean.
For that moment, the world seemed to occupy the space of a dream. Was this a side effect of her late madness? Things didn't seem to have that right quality they had had when she was a little kit in the forest. She suddenly found herself looking around at a strange world, infinitely large, and the space she occupied was infinitely small. Yet somehow, it all revolved around her thoughts. All this huge world seemed like one big tessellation stretching out on all sides. And she was the only thing that was separate. And then again, she was now the tessellation of a dream, and the world around her was real and different.
And then things came back together, as though drawn by magnetism. She was part of it, a creature in the grass.
It was somewhat comforting, but then there was that orderliness again. For a moment, she rebelled, and started walking in random, zig-zagging patterns. But even there her steps took on orderliness. All the pieces fit together. Every leaf and stalk was made in mathematical perfection.
She lay down where water from the stream had gathered in a quiet pool. The water was clear, yet she could still see her reflection in it quite clearly. She pushed a pebble in, and it broke the image apart. Yet even there- circular ripples flowing outward. There was something significant in that, but she couldn't think what.
Above her, the trees waved their flower-laden branches dreamily. Sweetness wafted down.
Then, everything was peaceful. The perfect order of the world made sense. She embraced it. Everything slipped back into normality.
The vixen rolled onto her back in the soft, cool grass. Sunlight filtering through the branches made golden dappled patterns all over her. For a moment, she considered taking of the ridiculous, constricting clothes she was wearing and really soaking up some of that sunlight, but decided it was too much trouble. An insect buzzed lazily by. With a smile, Erin dozed off. For once, everything was right with her world.