(no subject)
The jet landed at the airport in Herat Province. Sooraya was wide awake by then, staring out the window.
She'd never seen Afghanistan from this point of view before; when she left,
with Jean Grey and the others, she'd been too confused(and petrified) to
want to be looking back.
Yet, she'd enjoyed it this time. Practice, and being able to look down at clouds, forest, or ocean, became what some of her friends would call a "rush."
She'd lived here for almost twelve years, but everything seemed new. She resisted the urge to stare, as she got through Customs and check-in lines.
She picked up Najla's carrier, first of all, then went to get her baggage.
A discreet bribe took care of an officious handler who raised concerns about pet quarantine. She gave silent thanks to the teammates who'd suggested it, having been through this sort of thing before now.
She didn't expect to find Mira here. News stories had mentioned repatriation of a number of Afghan refugees from Pakistan, yes, but when had anything ever been that simple for them? She only hoped that the Kingmaker wasn't still interfering with Mira's(or Sooraya's) attempts to reunite with family members. It was hard to say how much of a grudge the man might have carried.
She gave up speculation as a bad job, and headed for the nearest exit. They'd traveled light. Buses and taxis competed for passengers on a long strip of road outside the main terminal.
Sooraya read the timetables, and found a bus destined for the northern districts.
Her family's house might not still be there; probably, it wasn't. But
it was a place to start.
She was unaware, as she walked toward the indicated waiting are, of anything unusual. However, Najla stopped, abruptly, bristling, and barked. Sooraya glanced down at the pup. Najla was staring back in the direction they'd come, hackles raised, almost growling.
Sooraya frowned. She couldn't see anything, but she'd never known the little pup to react that way. Something wasn't right, clearly.
She picked the dog up, trying to soothe her.
The bus arrived. Sooraya took a firm grip on her baggage, one-handed, and began to climb the steps...