[Askoga]: 89.Snippets.Kiera's Accounts.24Dec08

December 24, 2008

You'd think that Christmas Eve would be a good day, a nice, relaxing day, wouldn't you? But no, not for me. Kiera would never have such luck. I scurried past rows and rows of feet, trying to stay under the chairs as I ran. My paws made only the quietest sounds on the hard, dirty carpet. As I reached the end of the seats and made a mad dash for the front entrance, it occurred to me that an airport was not an ideal place for a cat.

I raced through the doors, between people's legs with my ears twitching at the exclamations as they tried to avoid stepping on either me or someone else. Then I heard my pursuer shout, “catch that cat!” from behind me as he struggled through the crowded entrance. Being a cat did have some advantages after all, I decided. Once outside, I paused only long enough to pick a direction, then bolted away once more. I rounded a corner and darted into the first dark hollow I saw, where I changed shapes.

I stepped out in the shape of an elderly woman, my white hair tucked under a cream-colored shawl, my clothes a little baggy on me. As my pursuer rushed past me, I muttered something to myself about everyone being in such a hurry these days. He barely looked twice at me, and I watched him round the next corner. I moved away before he realized he'd made a wrong turn and came back to look for me. Next time, he wouldn't just pass me by, I knew.

I made my way slowly toward the parking garages, keeping up the charade as an old woman to the best of my abilities. I knew that my survival out here depended entirely on my abilities to act convincingly. I little boy smiled and waved at me as I walked by, and I smiled back. It felt good to be around other people again.

Once I was in the parking garage, I hunted up another dark corner. Nobody would think twice about a dog wandering about out here, I thought as I changed into a large mutt with shaggy fur and floppy ears. I wandered out of the garage, trying not to look too purposeful, pausing to sniff at things along the way. Since I was headed generally away from the airport, I didn't run into anybody on my way, and I wandered down along a country road.

Around nightfall, I still hadn't found a city, and decided that I had wandered off in the wrong direction. I stopped at a barn and curled up in the hay to sleep, staying, of course, in my dog shape, just in case. And even though my stomach growled, and the air was cold, and the straw was poky, I was extraordinarily happy. I had, after all, escaped from Derek again, and I was a free woman once more. Well, a free dog just now, but you know what I mean.