For ParasolHyena

Though it was all over, it felt like it continued.

The fire licking at her heels, the ash in her throat, seeping under her fur, every wail and moan and plea for help falling on deaf ears— it was fresh in her mind. It had been years. She found a better life, a lover, a new home where fire was never present. But Zoella would never escape it, not really. The memory would stick in her mind like meat stuck behind a tooth, bitter. 

She had her paws resting on a cool rock, trying to steady herself. She was hiking. More often than not, she pushed herself a little too hard. Especially now, when she was alone. When she didn’t have Hearth to talk to her, her mind kept wandering, and eventually, it would always go back in time over 10 years. This is what happened when she wasn’t focusing on something else. Her shoulders drew in tight as she tried to suppress the memory.

Just keep walking. Just keep trekking. Just keep climbing.

Foothold and handhold found their places on her body, and she pulled herself up a slightly steep incline. The dirt on her knees was nice. It brought her back to reality, anchoring her. Zoella instead recognized the green of the trees, the songbirds, the blue of the sky, no longer filled with plumes of smoke.

The dirt wasn’t mixed with blood.

Groaning, she sat, balling her fists and rubbing at her eyes with such a vigor she might blind herself. No. It was over. She had saved them. They were free now. They were free, and she was with Hearth. But... some weren’t free. Some would be gone forever.

Memories of the king, the chains clanking on her wrists, the freezing cold after the burning hot. It was nearly too much to bear. Biting back tears, she stood up again, thumping her boots to the ground and digging her walking stick deep into the dirt trail. She was so close. She almost reached the summit. Just a few more steps.

“Zoella?”

She whipped around with a yell, shocked. It was only Hearth. Her face was filled with concern.

“Everything okay, Zoe?” She cocked her head, her large paws interlaced. “You’ve been out for awhile. I wanted to check up on you.”

“...yeah. Yeah.” Zoella found her voice and her shoulders sagged. All of a sudden,she was so tired. “No, yeah... just having a hike.”

“I know. I followed your prints.” Hearth pointed behind her at the imprints in the dirt, boot prints and a small, deep hole every couple steps. The walking stick, dug so deeply into the ground, it was as if it were a nail being hammered into a board.

Zoella swallowed at this symbol of her stress.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” Hearth repeated, turning back.

“Yes—“

“No. No, you’re not.”

“Hearth, I—“

She squat down so she could look eye-to-eye with her. “Zoe.” Her booming voice was now a low drawl, soft. “I know something’s wrong. This has been happening more recently.“

Zoella wilted.

“I’m just,” the smaller one sniffled. Where were these tears coming from. “I’m just so tried, all of a sudden.”

Hearth understood. She understood too well. ‘I get it.” She mumbled.

Zoella fell into her girlfriends gigantic arms. They swaddled her, and for the first time in hours, she felt safe. She felt herself being lifted, and lightly jostled as Hearth took big, thundering steps home.