Kaj knew the way by heart, her body moved the familiar path without much conscious thought. Tears threatened again, but a quick pinch to her thigh held them back. She would NOT cry again, there wasn't time, and she hadn't the patience for any mewling, even from herself. She was there before she knew it.
The skeleton of her village made her cry out in pain. It was worse than the last time she'd been here. Though how it could be worse without bodies littering the ground, she couldn't say. A scream built in her chest. Why it lodged there, she couldn't say. It wasn't like she hadn't always known how unfair life was. What did it matter?
She bit down on the inside of her cheek until she tasted blood.
She picked her way through rotting wood supports and hide that had faded to paper thinness. It was a ghost of its former self, much like the sole survivor. She walked down the central lane to the her master's yurt. The colors had faded to a shocking degree. Two years was longer than one would think, it seemed.
She held out a cautious hand to the bright fabric door. To her horror, it disintegrated beneath her fingers. The scream that lodged in her chest choked out as a sob. Maybe she had more tears after all.
Kaj dropped to her knees, unable to stand the internal pain any more.
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