Edited: May, 21, 2020

Note: Above art, by me.

===========

It was only when the forest gave way to open field that she slowed her pace. Cold fresh air filled her lungs making her shiver. Pinti flung herself on the ground and lay there, gasping for breath.

Here, the sky was turning from day to dusk, but the colors weren't horizontal like a normal sky. Right above her head was an azure circle that melted into lilac at the rims. Pink rose, orange, and a hint of yellow leftover from the sun followed after like rings. She sat up. The taller grasses of the field tickled her nose, but all was still.

No birdsong, no breeze blowing through or over the field, and no animals or insects made a sound. The grasses went from beige behind her to yellow where she sat and the further away, they turned to a deep forest green. Something blue and white lay behind that. Curious, she stood and took a step forward when the ground tipped.

Startled she jumped back, but it was too late. The whole world flipped, and the sky came below her with the ground above her head. Frantically, she tried to grab something so she wouldn't fall, but then she landed with a splash in water and was submerged.

Panic caught in her throat and she flailed her arms and legs, trying to resurface when she realized she was breathing. With a tentative sniff, she found the scent of fish, but there were none around her. It was too murky to see anything in this blue and green water. With nothing to stop herself, she could only let the current push her along.

Slowly, the murky water cleared, and she spotted little orange specks darting around. Some came close to her enough that she could see their little black eyes, six skinny legs, and elongated body. They looked like shrimp.

A boulder appeared before her then. Now she could stop floating. In haste, Pinti caught the edge in her paws, anchoring herself. At that moment, the water drained, disappearing below her and she found herself, yet again, in a new part of the Forest Crup and not even a droplet of water sat upon her fur.

Grateful convenience. She patted herself down, just making sure, but Pinti was completely dry as if she hadn't just been floating in fishy water. She didn't even smell fishy.

She breathed in the fresh scent of soil, dry leaves, and tree bark floated. There was another scent she caught with the scent gland on the roof of her mouth—fresh water!

Just what I need! A smile played across her lips. Maybe it's a river or a pond? Maybe I can catch something to eat, too.

Quivering her tail in excitement, she let out a trill. Jumping off the boulder she then raced through the forest, following the scent, but soon she was following the sound, too.

A rushing, rumbling sound shook her chest. It most definitely was not a pond, and she knew it was too loud to be a river. It had to be a waterfall. The first time she saw one was a Human-made one in the First Ring and it blew her away with its magnificence. But this was a real one!

Leaping and bounding over uneven terrain, she dashed through the forest completely focused on her sense of hearing and smell. Wind roared above her head and blew into her face sending shivers throughout her body. Trees swayed and bushes trembled. Pinti glimpsed rushing water through dark branches and sprang out into the open, barely catching herself at the edge of a cliff.

When she saw the waterfall, she decided against jumping in. It was upside down. Frothy white water rushed upwards to a pool surrounded by clouds. Below the cliff was a hole filled with soft yellow light, slightly warm.

That can't be the sun. Pinti shuddered at the thought of jumping in there and burning to death. Or I could fall up into the pool and then what? A new part of the Forest Crup?

Not wanting to risk a jump, she decided to follow a stream of water that flowed from the pool above her head. It soon came to a tree branch and trickled along down the bark, connecting to the ground. Although it disappeared below the roots, she could still smell and hear it.

Invisible water? What next? She sighed and wondered where all this aimless wandering would lead her. She hoped to civilization, but now it seemed very unlikely she would find anyone. With a short hiss, she cursed herself for running off. Maybe Deel was mocking her struggles, but at least they could consult where to go even if he didn't make any good decisions.

Something flit by her face just then. It was a strange orange butterfly-like creature with five wings. Distracted by its yellow and orange, almost flame-like wings, Pinti lost focus and tripped. A silly little squeaky voice came out of her mouth when she splashed through water. Although no one was around, she licked her shoulder in embarrassment.

"What was that voice!" She scowled at herself. Feeling the water with her feet made it obvious—her feet were wet. Unlike previous times of wading in water or being submerged, this water was actual water that actually soaked her.

If that is even a good thing. She shook her head.

Before her stretched a marshy field. Green grasses grew in clumps here and there. The further out she went, the less grass there was until finally all around was still blue water.

A light breeze flew passed her, ruffling her fur sending a hint of salt into her nose. But that couldn't be right. Salt only existed in water if it were Human-made 'salt pools'. Humans had these salt pools they created to remind themselves of the planet they came from, which, apparently, had many large salt pools all around the lands.

Nowhere, as far as she knew, were there salt pools in the Six-Ringed World. They didn't have large bodies of water like the Humans' planet did. But here she was standing in a large body of water that smelled of salt. She had not heard much about Humans' salt pools, so naturally this place intrigued her.

Up ahead azure sky melted into equally blue water. It looked like there was no horizon. Her heart began to pound with fear and excitement. She carried on as something drew her forward. Faster and faster she went until she began to run, spraying up mists of water behind her.

Where's the end? Where's the edge? Pinti became determined to find out. She pushed herself deeper into the water, feeling it go up to her ankles until it reached her knees. Breathing in the salty smell, her eyes focused on what she thought was the edge—a thin white line sitting atop the water, barely separating two nearly identical shades of azure.

I got you now water and sky edge. I see you. She grinned, feeling light around her shoulders for the first time in two years. She ran faster now, kicking up her legs, feeling the water splash around her while sending ripples across the surface. It was cool, but not cold. She lost herself in the moment. A giggle bubbled up from her chest and Pinti let out a squeak of a laugh. It felt awkward but good to laugh after two years of dullness.

When her feet slipped under her, she yelped in surprise and landed in the water with a loud splash. Her smile faded. Bitter-tasting water filled her mouth and she spat it out. The salt lingered on her tongue making her mouth go dry. The water was almost sticky on her fur, matting it and making it all clumpy. As she tried to stand, the current suddenly grabbed hold of her and pulled.

She scrambled to get up. Now facing her back to the supposed edge, it was suddenly terrifying making her heart pound hard against her chest. In haste she searched for the land which should now stretch before her eyes, but she could only gape at the sight.

Only a thin green line rested on blue water, barely visible. Dread made her nauseous and pitted in her stomach like a rock. Had she run that far?

Instincts made her dig her claws into the mud, but it was too smooth and there were no rocks embedded in the soil. Her legs began to slip over an edge. Panic rushed through her like lightning zipping across the sky.

"Heizak." She heard her own fear and scrambled to push herself forward, trying to grab anything she could, but she was almost halfway off now. Water rushed under her stomach, drenched her in sticky salt water. Frothy water misted below. Behind her was the sky but something about it was sinister now. It would watch her fall and do nothing to save her.

"No, no, no!" She yowled, clawing at the mud as some unseen force pulled her. Now the waterfall curtain was under her chest and the edge of the water lay before her eyes—it was like the edge of a table, perfectly angled and a vertical drop.

Her mind raced with any possible way to get herself out of this. Had she learned anything from her old mentor Kalis or the other Kathula survivors? Could she smell anything besides salt?

Her claws were slipping, and her feet only splashed through the waterfall, unable to find anything to push herself up.

"There has to be something, there has to," she wailed and stretched her senses as far as they would go but all she could smell was salty water. The muscles in her arms trembled and her paws hurt from putting all her wet weight onto her claws. Gritting her teeth, she tried to pull herself up, but it was no use.

Tears touched her eyes in defeat, but she shoved those thoughts away. She couldn't just lose everything here! She would fail her clan and her father.

"Stupid," she mewled, "Not just...Deel," she said through gasps, "but me, too."

She shouldn't have left Deel in anger. She shouldn't have run amok through the Forest Crup and most of all, she shouldn't have let curiosity take over and end up in this irreversible mess. The Human saying 'Curiosity kills the cat anthro' could now officially apply to her. She gritted her teeth. How had she been that thoughtless?

The cold, almost sticky water splashed her face and stung her eyes. Now only the tips of her claws saved her from the plunge, but she could feel them slipping. There was no way out and no one to save her.

It was instant. Pinti fell as wind gusted in her face. She reached up to the edge. The waterfall flung its droplets at her and she tasted the bitter salt over and over in her mouth. Her mind filled with memories of Makiista Clan and her father's heavy head in her paws as he died. She failed them all. Maybe she wasn't the right Kathula for the task?

Mist obscured her vision. The waterfall roared. Water splayed around her. Her body was flipped over, and she could see a red and orange sun, burning below. Warmth engulfed her and quickly the temperatures rose. The sun made the water look like flames.

Of course, what's my death without punishment for this failure?

That was the last thought she had before a fiery orange light touched the corners of her vision. Drowned in burning heat, her eyes began to flutter closed. She glimpsed azure light dancing around a blurry indigo figure. A paw reached out to her as she descended into unconsciousness.

T H E  E N D

===========

Note: Thank you for reading the first part of "The Choice of Aurvandil"! :D I hope you enjoyed and will continue reading on to the second part :)

Comment below one of your most memorable moments :D