I am already almost finished with the next bit, so it won't take as long.
And, yes, I know this isn't the best chapter so far. I think the ending is a bit weak, since I was trying to find a convenient place to break it off.
Thanks for reading/reviewing!
~Lupis
Wild Heart
Chap 2 part 2
The sun shone through the window as Wenonah rolled out of bed. Her limbs were heavy with exhaustion, and as she yawned, she felt the beginnings of a horrible headache. Ignoring the throb in her skull, she began to pull on her clothes. The sun was still sparkling down on her un-made bed, and somehow it made the events of the night before seem faraway, and less disconcerting. She groaned as her head throbbed again, and she swayed dizzily on the spot. Not bothering to brush through her hair, she wandered downstairs, finding Chessie’s milk bottle on the counter. The screen-door creaked and wobbled as she opened it. The spring air, heavy with birdsong, lifted her spirits and helped her headache.
The barn doors were open, and inside her family was probably doing the chores without her. Wenonah clomped up the wooden ramp, glowering. Even after experiencing the warm spring morning, her mood had sunk again as she imagined the taunts of her siblings for being late to the chores.
Kai was up in the loft, hefting a bale of hay while simultaneously trying to keep an eye on Lenmana, who was toddling about on the wooden floor below. As Wenonah entered the barn, her mother smiled down at her.
“Look who’s finally up!”
Wenonah grunted testily but then managed a weak smile. Kai looked down at the bottom of the ladder to make sure Lenmana was out of the way before lobbing her hay bale down out of the loft. Small particles of dust and straw fluttered through the air, and Wenonah sneezed. She set down Chessie’s milk bottle and exchanged it for a small pair of metal scissors, which she used to cut the twine binding the hay bale together, sneezing again.
“Thanks! Can you watch Lenmana for me? I’ll take care of the stock.”
Her mother had come down the loft ladder while Wenonah had been cutting the twine, and was already picking up a flake of hay for the first stall. Wenonah nodded, and then found Lenmana, who was sitting by the sheep pen, making faces at the ram, and chortling happily. Smiling, Wenonah knelt in front of Chessie’s pen. The fawn’s soft brown eyes stared back at her, and then a large head butted the wire. Wenonah glanced over her lightly spotted back, to see that a handful of grain had already been sprinkled in her pen, probably by Kai or Kele. Chessie ignored the food, waiting instead for Wenonah to come with her bottle of milk.
Standing up, Wenonah opened the pen and stepped inside, careful not to make any sudden movements. Chessie was used to her, but was still wild. Wenonah sat down on the straw, and offered the bottle to the baby deer. Snuffling quietly and extending her neck towards her, Chessie hobbled forward. Wenonah whispered encouragingly. She was walking much better now. Her broken leg had almost completely healed over, though perhaps there would always be a lump on her foreleg. The fawn made it to her hand, grabbing the bottle almost out of Wenonah’s hand. Wenonah laughed and gripped it tighter and the fawn devoured her meal.
After she had helped them finish the last of the chores, and played with Chessie, who had taken her first steps the day before. Running out of the barn, she called “Race you!” to her brother and took off down the side of the garden. They raced often, and had worn a little track round the edge of the garden. She sprinted as fast as she could, flying over small mounds in the earth. She sighed as her brother passed her, but then a strange electricity flowed through her limbs. She staggered, faltering. Her pace slowed to a jolting halt. Her breath suddenly slowed, and she could feel her heartbeat slowing down along with it. Her feet were rooted to the ground, as a terrifying strength and clarity reached her brain. She began to run, going faster than ever before. By the time she was running down the last stretch, Wenonah has already flashed past her brother, who was winded and slowing, hand holding his side. She ended up finishing several yards ahead of him, and was just about to skip back and tease him about it, when she saw how his face looked. He had gone pale, and was looking at her intently.
“What?”
He shook his head and looked back towards the barn. Their father and mother had already gone inside, leaving them alone.
“You just ran on all fours around the end of the track!”
Wenonah did not know what he was talking about; she hadn’t realized she was running in any way but the way she would normally run.
“What are you talking about?”
She asked, still bewildered. The last traces of that wonderful energy were fading fast, and she put her hands on her knees, panting slightly. Then she tried to remember the last stretch of the race. Rounding the corner, she had touched her arms to the ground, and she might have been running on all fours the entire back stretch.
Kele was still frowning at her, but after a moment he just shrugged off another of his sister’s quirks and walked off to the house. Wenonah stayed for a moment, staring off into the woods. What was happening to her?


