Forest

She ran and ran, focusing on the feel of the road beneath her feet.  Her heart was beating faster than normal, she was aware that she was pushing, farther, unable to stop.  Her legs were growing weak and she could feel a distinct spot of tension in her lower body.  Struggling to regain her cadence and composure, she focused on a spot ahead of her in the forest.  “Become your surroundings, become one with the path you traverse… breathe it, feel it, become it,”

 

He had not broken her, he, had only forged her to be stronger.  She pushed herself even farther, her heart racing now and her mind drifting.  Aria broke away from her body and ran alongside of herself for a moment or two.  She heard the crack of a branch under her feet and awoke to the smell of the earth near her nose, and the faint metallic taste of blood in her mouth.  Returning to her corporeal existence, she sat up slowly and regained her bearing.  Her breathing had returned to normal and she felt her clothes sticking to her body, drenched in sweat.  Everything had a halo about it, she blinked twice and still, it persisted.

 

She stood up and stretched and began walking slowly.  She could feel every step she took as though she was pushing into and springing up from the ground.  She felt a sense of depth that she had not noticed before, shaking her head once more, the fuzziness lingered.