The World Walkers: Taithmarin: Astrid: Arriving in Little Hill (part 5)

[k_a_webb]

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4

“Yes, that sounds much easier.” Astrid wagged her tail, just a couple of thumps on the floor, to show her appreciation of Nerys’ plan. “Having to describe something is never a simple thing to do and it’s so much harder when they’re things that someone else would never have seen before. I can’t imagine what it must be like to try to describe our world to someone who hadn’t been there, as this one is so very different.” Astrid glanced around the large room. “This is something I could never have imagined, not in my wildest dreams, and I have to admit there were times when I did dream of leaving our world behind.”

“I think we all did, Astrid, so it’s not something anyone would blame you for. There were times when I thought about what life would be like if we didn’t have to deal with the hunters, but I never once believed that it would happen, and travelling to another world…” Nerys shook her head. “When I first arrived it took me a long time to accept that I really was on Taithmarin. One moment I was there, patrolling, and the next I was standing in a hallway much like the one I met you in, trying to work out where I was and what might happen next. Being me I automatically assumed that whatever was happening was going to be bad, but then another Nox walked in, telling me that she was my going to be my guide for the next two weeks.”

“How did you take that?”

“Not well, to be honest.” Nerys sounded amused. “I kept telling her to take me back, even though I didn’t really want to go back, because I’d only just started my patrol, so no one would realise I was gone for at least another hour. When she told me it was impossible… I was angry. Being dragged to Taithmarin meant I was leaving my pack in danger and I hated that, even though I’d never felt a part of the group. They’d all been together for years and they wouldn’t have taken me in if it wasn’t for the fact I was nearly dead when I found them.” She shook her head. “Mother told me there were groups like that, groups who didn’t want any new arrivals, but I didn’t believe they really existed until I met one. By staying with them I was paying them for all the work they’d done to keep me alive and I knew I’d never be out of debt with them, because I needed to eat to stay strong in order to patrol, which then meant I had to do more to pay for the food that I’d eaten. It was horrible and when I finally accepted that I couldn’t possibly go back all I could do was thank Taithmarin for choosing me, for getting me out of that horrible situation, because I would have been trapped there for the rest of my life.”

Mirrored from K. A. Webb Writing.