Closed Adding to Misfortune (Hess)

[Faye Shakath]

Summer 512 85

The snow fell all around her like little feathers drifting to the earth. Each one made its way gracefully to the ground as she beheld the mountain rang that stretch out before her. Each mountain rose up as if a wave in a vast sea and she was just a passenger upon a tiny schooner. But, unlike the actually sea that roared not to far away, these waves were silent. The only sound to disturb the peaks was her breathing and the steady pace of her heart. Watching the forever still scene, something itched the back of her mind. There was something here that she was looking for, but couldn’t quite remember what it was. She didn’t know what it looked like, how big it was, or what she would do when she found it. All that was apparent to her was that it needed to be found. It need to be within her hands. If it wasn’t, everything would be lost. Straining her cobalt eyes to scan the fields of white, the young girl looked for this mysterious object.

Suddenly, she had the strong urge to peak over the cliff side. For some reason, she knew it would be there. Setting straight into a run, she bolted for the edge. She had to have it! If she waited a second too long she felt as if the thing would disappear to be never seen again. But as she closed the distance to the cliff, she hit a patch of hidden ice. The Inarta should have known better to have run, especially for the steep edge!

Losing her balance, the girl flailed her arms while she tried to stop. But, with no avail, she lost her footing and started to careen over the edge. Heart fluttering like a bird trying to escape the cage doomed to death, blue orbs searched for a way to escape this fate. Just as she saw the ground rushing up to her. . .

Her door was the sight that blessed her eyes. Soaked in sweat from the recurring dream, the crimson hair girl took a deep breath in. Her heart was only just now starting to calm from the perceived near-death experience. It still fluttered every now and again when she remembered snippets of her plunge.

Shaking the last icicles of her dream off, she flung her covers off her quivering body. It was a relief that dreams had endings. Unfortunately, life’s only reprieve was death. No amount of drinking, sleeping, or forgetting could help anyone escape. She had seen so many people when she was young try those very methods to pass the time as a Dek.

Coming to her dresser, she smiled at the nice clothing that she had now. Her Vinati was made of good leather with sturdy and think straps and little glass beads following the wind design she made upon it. And, though her Bryda was only black cloth with more red wind designs upon it, it was made of comfortable cloth. Even her simple black leather boots and woven belt were much more than she had ever had as a child.

Grabbing her fur lined Katinu as she made her way for the baths, the Endal smiled to how far she had come. Life was now better and she hoped that no fate was going to attempt to take it away.

* * *

Coming into the main hall were all the Endal and hunters gathered, the huntress slowly pushed her dark, blood red hair out of her face. The soft waves cascaded all the way to her mid back and seemed to always find a way into her face. It was bad enough the fur around the rim of her hood was getting into her eyes. She didn’t need strands of hair joining them.

Come now Faye, no need to dawldel, poked her partner that waited beyond her.

Screwing her face up in defiance, she hurried along to him, Well, Shakath King of All, I’ll be sure to be more diligent.

If you become any more diligent, then the rest of us would be demoted to Dek’s for our laziness. huffed the bird.

You over exaggerate. replied Faye as she crossed her arms.

Feeling no need to continue the bickering, the black and dark blue eagle only let a small quip of a sound as a response.

As all the hunters gathered about to get their order for the day, Faye was shocked to hear her named pair with another’s. Starring opened mouth at the Tavina, Faye pushed her hood back as if it had blocked her hearing. Shaking her head, she turned to Shakath for a response. Alas, she did not receive one since all he did was ruffles his feather. Through their bond Faye only felt indifference to their passenger. Well she didn’t share such feelings. She had become suddenly nervous and ran a hand through her hair. She had never had someone ride with her and hoped she wouldn't drop him while they flew.

With nothing left to do but wait for this. . . what was it? Hess? to show up, she made her way to the entrance to leave the crushing crowd behind her.

[Hess]

Hess had been lounging towards the side of the large, high ceilinged room where most of the available hunters of the city had been told to gather. Fall was fast approaching, and with it, the opportunity for taking the larger game animals that had been left to breed and raise their young during the Spring and Summer. Now that those offspring were weaned and able to fend for themselves, the Avora and the Endals and eagles could focus on the parents who had fattened over the summer months. The word had been put about that this morning would see some coordinated efforts of those who hunted on the ground and those who flew through the skies. With his arms crossed over his chest, Hess had waited patiently to hear who was going to be teamed up with who, and finally his name sounded in partnership with two others – Shakath, and his rider, Faye. He didn’t quite sigh, or grimace, even though he much preferred to keep his feet on solid earth. Flying second seat on the back of an eagle was definitely not his preferred style of hunting, but he wasn’t really bothered. Unlike the Endals, who might reasonably be expected to be ignorant of their lower caste cousins who hunted on the ground, Hess knew Shakath, at least by name and reputation. The beautiful dark dire eagle was a young one, but Hess had heard others speak highly of him. On the other hand, the only thing he had heard about Shakath’s bonded partner were terms like, driven, quiet, focused – something of an unknown at this point. He’d heard she was the type of girl that seemed to put work before everything – or maybe – work was everything. As he looked about the room for them, Hess thought that wasn’t such a bad thing, in itself. He just hoped she wasn’t going to be all bitchy about what they had to do today, and pull the she who must be obeyed card on him. He had found in the past that the most successful hunts that he had been on with an eagle rider were those where the Endal didn’t think that, just because they were Endal, they knew everything and he knew nothing, like some stupid Dek. Any hunt went better when there was cooperative partnership. Some Endals though just didn’t see it quite that way. Scanning the room, he spotted Shakath easily, and looked beyond him to see a slim young woman just exiting the hall. What? She couldn’t even wait for him? Hess snorted and thought that was not a good sign. Without any undue haste, he sauntered in her wake, leaving the hall behind with the other hunters, passing a smile and a word of greeting to many, and finally finding his way to the flight decks a short way above the meeting hall. Once again spotting the blue-black eagle, he walked over to the bird, glad that he had his warmer katinu with him. Flying, he knew, was a cold business. Addressing the dire eagle, he greeted him amicably and politely. “Shakath, I am Hess. I’m honored to be partnered up with you in today’s hunt.” Hess was already pulling his coat on. His gaze went to the young woman and he nodded affably. “You are Faye Shakath, I take it? I’m Hess.” He looked at her speculatively, and nodded curtly. “Pleased to meet you.”

[Faye Shakath]

((I'm sorry if it wasn't that good and contains many mistakes. I quickly wrote this right before work. I'll work on when I get back. If you need me to add anything else, don't be afraid to give me a shout!))

Fiddling with one of the glass beads on her Vinati, Faye tried not to look like she was panicking. That was would be just the best way to start this off! To have this man come up and to see and terror stricken face would be such a embarrassment! She needed to be calm and cool. She needed to be an fearless Endal! How would it look like if she as an Endal shrank and the sight of a hunter? Even after all these years she still did see the authority she was supposed to wield. The young girl still saw herself as the Dek that crawled below everyone’s feet. Only once has she ever been called Endal and only twice had anyone moved out of her way. Most of time she kept to herself and didn’t throw her weight around. What was she suppose to do when addressing someone of a lower rank? When she was a Dek, it was easy. Keep your eyes down and always say sorry. But since she had been raised above those dirt pits, she had been with other Endals mostly. She was the newbie so she kept doing was she was used to doing; keeping her eyes down.

Peeking from behind the waves of red, she saw a man stride over to her. Her heart beat savagely against her rib cage, enraged that it could run away from this situation. The sound pounded in her ears and outrageously thought that he could hear her nervous heart. Swallowing against these traitorous thoughts, for they did nothing to calm her, she raised her head to watch him approach. At first, she had a sour look on her face. As she felt herself frowning in his direction, she quickly forced a smile on her face.

Shakath ruffled his feathers and touched his mind to her, What in the world is your problem? You act as if you’ve never seen another man! Let alone another person. Relax!

I can’t! I have no idea what to do when he gets here!

Jeeze! You just say hello.

That’s it?

No! Ga, you obviously need to ask how he is. You know, make small talk?

I’m terrible at that! I can’t focus enough to connect my sentences together!

Breathe! Breathe Faye! You’re starting to hyperventilate!

Doing as told, she took a deep breath in and relaxed her expression. Now her smile flowed from her naturally and her beautiful cobalt eyes shined. She figured as long as Shakath was here, she could do this. At least she wouldn’t be left alone with him.

When he came within ear shot, he actually called to Shakath first. It was a relief that she didn’t have to talk right away and took the time to actually look at him. Now that she could concentrate, she saw that his features were easy on the eyes and he seemed like a well humored man. At least he didn’t look like a stupid brute. He had an intelligence in his eyes and a precision to his movements.

After Shakath inclined his head, he replied back to the hunter, The honor is my fellow hunter. May we catch a sizable kill today! The giant bird ruffled his feather with the excitement of taking down a seal or walrus.

Now nudging her mind to reminder her to be loose, her bonded partner gave her a small feel of confidence.

Now it was her turn to speak. When he asked if she was Faye, she simply nodded her head than try and test her voice right away. With only a small blush forming on her cheeks, she placed a hand on her run away heart, “The pleasure is mine, as well Hunter Hess.”

She then quickly turned her eyes away to the snowfalls behind her. Keeping eye contact for a very long time was hard for her. She felt like people were peering into her very soul when she locked eyes with someone. For some reason, she felt ashamed of the fact she was a Dek made Endal as much as she was proud of it. Faye would hate for someone to see as. . . dirty. . .

Looking to the winds that frolicked with the snow in their hair, she squinted at the thought of flying through it. It was turning out to be a turbulent day and she would need all her wits about her. Pulling up her hood to look back at the hunter, she concentrated on something on her hand while she spoke, “It looks like it’s going to be quite the day for flying. The winds are in a tizzy and we’ll be hard pressed to not be jostled.”

With a deeper blush crossing across her face, she made sure to let some hair fall in front of her face. “And while we are not hovering in one spot, be sure to be holding on tight. I’ve seen other hunters fall off their hunting partner’s Eagle.”

Without even bothering to look at him, she turned to Shakath. Feeling his displeasure for her lack of pleasant conversation, he huffed as she climbed onto his back. The feathers between her fingers settled her jitters just a bit as she finally raised her face to look at the man. Smiling to reassure him, she held out a hand, “Go ahead and climb on! We’re burning sunlight.”

Shakath turned one golden eye to the man as well and made sure to point out politely, Oh and be sure to side in the dip in front of my wings. Any father back on my shoulders and it hurts something awful.”

Once he climbed aboard, the eagle adjusted to the extra weight as he turned to take off. Before them spilled the beautiful canvas that was her homeland. Smiling at the sight, she braced for the eagles powerful legs to leap off into the sky. It was another familiar thing that calmed her bloods. The adrenaline explosion she always felt before flight kicked in and she narrowed her eyes in anticipation.

And with one last adjustment, the eagle bunched his legs and pushed of the ground. After that his powerful shoulders curled and she could just feel the effort behind every stroke of his gigantic wings against her legs. Each beat raised them higher and higher and before long the entire landscape could be seen from where they hovered.

There were those silent waves raging all around her.

[Hess]

Hess wasn’t sure that he had ever seen an Endal that looked as nervous and unsure of herself as this girl who stood beside Shakath. This made him wonder if perhaps somehow he did have the wrong person. Maybe this Faye was elsewhere, seeing to some last minute detail of preparing for the day of hunting. But then who was . . . The eagle, however, made no attempt to correct him, and merely returned a polite greeting. Hess didn’t fail to see the little nudge the bird gave the young woman standing beside him, and then she too gave him a reply that screamed of some underlying dismay – at his presence possibly – and was underscored by her quickly turning away from him. So, she was his rider. By this time, there was something pricking at the back of his mind, just as there was something pricking his ego a bit as well. Hess didn’t see himself as a wildly popular hunter, but surely, he wasn’t that bad, was he? What was it, though, that he was trying to recall . . . about Faye Shakath? What had he heard about her? Outwardly, he was fastening his coat and then arranging his bow across his back and shoulder. He had lost it once before, and had no intentions of letting it fall from thousands of feet in the air. His quiver was already in place, the assumption being that the eagle would navigate and the riders would both be trying to shoot whatever they happened upon. With that forgotten tidbit still nagging at him, the girl had turned to speak to him again, though she wound up addressing the back of her hand actually. Gods, he had never seen an Endal so damn self-conscious, so . . . Ah, wait. That was it. This was that girl who had been a Dek. Hess’ gaze sharpened as he gave her the once over, turning that realization over in his mind. Very – interesting . . . But in reply to her observation about the weather and wind, he said only, “Turbulence? Wonderful.” Honestly, this day was not shaping up to be a good one. Well, maybe she would lose her fidgets once they got going and could concentrate on their task. He only hoped Shakath was as skilled a flyer as he had heard. This Faye had no need to tell him to hang on tight – Hess had no intention of falling off. The Endal was mounting her bondmate with a practiced and easy agility and Hess felt better. Maybe her demeanor was prompted by . . . shyness? Were Endals ever shy? But then she called for him to climb aboard, and Shakath was addressing him too, reminding him to sit before the wings and not behind. Hess actually got a smile from Faye, one that looked less strained than the one she had greeted him with. Taking the outstretched hand she offered him, he hopped on with almost as much dexterity as she had displayed. To the eagle he said, “Believe me, Shakath, I want to do all I can to make your flight as easy and comfortable as possible.” Hess grinned. “My life depends on it.” Without any hesitation, Hess placed his hands on Faye’s waist. He’d have no reservations about grabbing her about the waist and hanging on tight if needs be. Just part of the joy of riding double. With his face somewhat close to her ear, covered as it was by her hood, he said distinctly, “I’m ready when you are.” To Shakath, he quipped, “Be gentle with me. I’m far more comfortable with the ground only six feet below the top of my head.” He chuckled as the eagle prepared to launch himself, and them, skyward. No matter how often Hess had done this, and it hadn’t really been so very often, the lurch of his stomach as they left the flight platform was never a pleasant or familiar one. His hands tightened instinctively around Faye’s waist, and though he wasn’t exactly afraid of heights, still, as the ground dropped away beneath them, Hess swallowed down the lump in his throat. Within two seconds, his stomach settled and he was able to relax more, and actually enjoy the wind rushing into his face. Higher and higher they rose, and Hess was content to let Shakath and his rider figure out where they were headed. But out of curiosity, he asked above the whine of the wind, “Are we headed out to sea? Or over the mountains?” He pointed towards the already snow capped peaks.

[Faye Shakath]

There was something about seeing the mountains stretch out before her like a carpet. With the peaks rising up to meet her feet if she so wish to walk was a fantasy she always daydreamed about. When she saw this sight for the first time, she cried. After so much hard work to the point of her hands to bleeding, this was the beautiful sight that was her reward. Though, the greatest reward of all was having Shakath as her friend. She had never had a friend before the bond those two felt was like a gold string tying talon to finger.

Feeling the wind tugging at the tendrils of hair pouring out from her hood, she scanned her blue eyes across the horizon for a few moments before replying back. Feeling the thin, cold air dance within her lungs was her elixir. After her deep breath, she turned her head to meet Hess’s not too far from hers. Had she not be in her element, she would have jumped right off her eagle. As it were, she had to clench her teeth to not squirm under his hands. It was odd. Even though she couldn’t quite feel his hands, she could feel their weight. It was a foreign feeling that kept popping up in the back of her mind.

“To the mountains. There are a herd of elk that have grown quite well this season. “

Turning her now glowing face back to look at the back of Shakath’s head, she felt him quiver with a bird’s equivalent to a laugh.

You know, this is where you kiss him.

A huge gasp managed escape her mouth as the Eagle turned to glide to the west of their position. As he beat his wings to navigate the many winds that tumbled past him, her glowing face only grew reder.

What in the world is that suppose to mean!?

Well with this many cherry cheeks I would think that you were getting flustered for a reason.

You know I would be the same if were a women!

If you want to kiss women. . .

I am going to be kissing NO ONE.

Not even me?

I’m ignoring you.

And thus, she ignored him.

It was a few minutes before she could breathe evenly. When she finally gained composure, she turned her head again to face Hess. “Would you rather hunt from Shakath of find –“

Without any real warning, she felt Shakath veer to the right. Normally she could feel through their bond when he would do something so sudden. Banking to the right, Shakath let out a shriek of frustration as he made a hard turn to the left now.

What is going on!?

Storm coming in from the sea! You know how fast those bastards come in, especially at our altitude.

Get out of the storm Shakath!

I can’t! There happens to be a mountain in the way.

Turning to look at the mountain side beside her, she growled her frustration as her partner tried to power through the winds that forced them closer and closer to the mountain. As the storm’s clouds started to transform from sheep to wolves, the billowy forms start to reach their claws out to them. The wind picked up the point of deafening as her hood got blown off her head.

“Go down!” shouted Faye.

If we are lower to the ground, we’ll live if things go from bad to -

A scream of terror left her lungs as Shakath dove. It was her dream all over again but this time she could feel the sharp pinpricks of cold air hitting her face. It was all too real as she saw the ground rush up to grab her with its stony hands. Right when she thought she was about to die, the dire eagle unfurled his wings with a snap and caught an up draft. They were now a 20 feet from the ground and trying to find a patch to land in. These winds were vicious and were tugging at the eagle’s wings. The gusts would have thrown any practiced rider; it was amazing they were still aloft. But almost thinking that too soon, the wind current was unstable and pitched all three to the side.

Unable to hold on any longer, Faye slipped from the eagles back and fell through the air. She clawed at the air as if trying to find a hold. It was hopeless. Flailing her arms, she didn’t even have time to cry out in fear as she tried to right herself for the fall.

Finally the ground made it’s finally approach. Pine trees grasped her in their loving embrace as she entered their branches and painfully slowed her decent. Though they had knocked the wind out of her, she was going to be alive once she hit the ground. She almost felt like a mouse being pawed between a cats paws. Covering her face with her arms from the needles and shark sticks, she hit one last branch before she hit the ground with a resounding thud.

Air! She needed air! Her mouth gaped open to receive the precious air, but none entered her lungs. Gasping, she turned to her side and made chocking sounds. It didn’t matter that her ankle was now sprung or that a cut was across her cheek now. All she needed was that air!

Slowly, but surely, it started to trickle into her. Like invisible gold, it slid into her system. Grabbing at it like a rope to safety, she yanked on the air. She pleaded for it to come to her. Gasp after gasp she managed to scoop more into lungs. After what seemed like an eternity, she had returned to a satisfying pace of breathing.

Now sitting, up, she examined her other wounds. Well, she had bruises. That was obvious. Her shin ribs, shins, and upper back hurt. From the stinging on her cheek, she knew she was bleeding. Actually that was about the extent of the damage other than her ankle. He coat was so thick it actually fought of most of the pine trees.

She managed to smile through the pain. Well something had worked out right there. Still clutching her side, Faye tenderly tried to stand. The girl took extra care to not put wait on her ankles as she righted herself. Where was Hess? She didn’t know where he had fallen to. Had he been killed by the fall?

Worry now creasing her face, she scanned the trees. But cobalt came upon nothing.

“Hess!” she called out. Hopefully he was alive. That would be the best thing in the world if she had killed her first tag along riding partner. But it would haunt her if she had killed someone.

[Hess]

Petch! Petch! Petch! Petch! That was about all he had time for, before his body was crashing through the canopy of the pine forest. Instinctively, he managed to cover his face and head with his arms, but that did nothing for his legs and feet, which were in serious danger of being broken. Not to mention his back, and neck. Damn! Every limb that caught at him felt like a club swung by a giant. Every fork that clutched at his arms and legs and feet felt like the one that would rip a limb from its socket. This was definitely no soft fall, no way, and he unfortunately experienced every gut wrenching blow full on. The last twelve feet or so were freefall completely and though the many, many branches had slowed him some, he could have easily broken half the bones in his body, if it had been hard ground upon which he landed. But, he was lucky. Well, so to speak. The patch of ground he fell onto was in the sheltering lee of an outcropping of rock, thrusting up from the mountain’s shoulder. With the set of the wind, the snow that had fallen had accumulated here and there was a mound several feet deep, they were that high up. And it was the fall of only the night before and had not yet melted and refrozen to icy hardness. Another few feet to the left and he would have cracked his head open on the rocky shelf. As it was, he lay on his side, curled into a ball, bruised and battered over every inch of his body, it seemed. But, intact. What the hell had happened? He was no eagle rider, and the sudden lurch of the bird had taken him even more by surprise than it had Faye. Struggling to rise into a sitting position, Hess scanned quickly the sky above, but he saw . . . nothing. No Shakath, only leaden clouds that promised more snow, and wind that was already blowing sharp and keen, biting into his exposed skin. This was summer? Hess had rarely been on top of the mountains and the cold was startling. But no matter. He could deal with that. The first priority was to see if he could find Faye, and then hope that Shakath could find them. Though the thought of riding back to Wind Reach was not appealing. Still, as he rose and saw just how many thousands of feet up they were on the mountainside, he figured if the eagle showed up, he wouldn’t hesitate to hop on his back. Standing, he mentally checked himself for any serious, life threatening injuries. There were none apparent, so gingerly he moved each of his four limbs. All appeared to be in working order. Brushing the snow off his clothes, he looked about, but saw nothing. Frowning, his head swiveled about, as he tried to think how best to begin a systematic and ordered search for her, when he heard her voice. It came from a slight distance down the slope, and he called back, “Here! Faye, I’m here! Stop moving and keep calling. I’ll come to you!” Moving in the direction of her voice, he half walked, half slithered down the steep pitch of the high altitude patch of pines. Within a minute he spotted her and his pace quickened, only to see him falling, sliding and then having to pull himself upright by a tree root. Damn, the ground was slick and steep. But he was now close enough to call to her. “How are you? Are you hurt badly? Anything busted?” Cautiously, he made his way over to her, finding that she was on a patch with a more gentle slope. “Petch! What the hell happened up there?” he asked, squinting up at the sky, hoping to see a huge black eagle circling overhead.

[Faye Shakath]

The second that she heard Hess’s voice echo from out of the trees, Faye rested herself against the tree for support. It was such a relief that he wasn’t dead. While she relaxed she could feel the rough bark scratching the back of her head as she rested it against the tree. When she closed her eyes, she could almost swear that she was lying down after a long days work with all the other Deks. She hadn’t had a day this rough in a long time. Granted, she was constantly hunting, training, or working on something. The key difference here was she chose to do those things. She went to bed at night feeling like she accomplished something for herself, not just for others. Not to mention she was sore from exertion, not beatings. Whether from trees or fists, the girl could hardly tell the difference.

Taking a second to revel in the softer breeze below the trees, she listened for the hunter come. He had apparently fallen not too far up the hill from her and was making his way down now. It was obvious that he was not hurt enough to hinder his travel and thus she felt blessed. As much as she hated needing assistance, two people injured into immobility was probably a death sentence. The situation stood that Shakath couldn’t reach them where they were even if he could find them. The trees were too close together for a dire Eagle to navigate a place to land and there was no way he was going to walk through the trees on the ground. It was up to them to find a clearing big enough for him to come to their rescue.

Sighing, she picked her head off the tree to look at her ankle. Well this was defiantly going to slow them down. They had two options: rest until she was healed and quickly get out of the forest or crawl slowly through the trees with her injured ankle. Luckily it was just a sprang and would heal in 5 days if she stayed off of it. Unfortunately, these trees went on for a couple of miles. The trees weren’t going to become spares until the next peak. As it was they were the very bottom of the valley.

But there was a third option: Hess could leave, get Shakath, and then come back with help.

That would mean about a week of solitude for her. It would be a day of travel for him. By the time he got back they would have to wait for the next day. After that someone else would have to find her, and then help her out of the trees to safety. Before she could dread the last option, a rustle then came from up the hill. If her luck was good, it would be Hess. If it was bad, it would be a bear. Now scrutinizing the trees before her, she watched to see what the dice would give her.

His red hair was what she spotted first. Giving a sigh of relief now, she continued to watch him until he came within hearing distance. As he came closer he asked what had happened up there. Making a grumbling sound, she lowered her head and pinched the bridge of her nose. Not feeling up to looking at him, she explained to the pine-needles at her feet, “Storms move faster at high elevations and especially when coming right off the sea. To our great luck, the sea had decided to spit one right at us and it had taken us by surprise. There would have been no way for us to predicted or notice its presence. Even if we had, it would have caught us as we fled.”

Now done with the explanation, she raised her head just enough so she could look through her eyelashes at him. She wanted to see if he would be angry, desolate, or contained at hearing this. She figured the most likely response from anybody would be to yell at her and to call her the most incompetent Endal of all time. She wouldn’t blame him either. Sapphire eyes met golden ones and suddenly she ached for Shakath. She hoped he was alright now that he lost the extra weight. Looking into this man’s honey hued eyes only reminded her that she was without her companion. At least she was with someone competent; better a hunter like him than some merchant. Not to mention he had seem kind. Maybe he would rip her head off right away.

Running a nervous hand through her hand, she stood up more on her good foot with the tree as a support, “The tree line is a couple of miles up the mountain and that will be where Shakath can grab us.”

Shifting her gaze in that direction, she squinted in embarrassment and continued, “My ankle is twisted from the fall and I will hinder your travel.” From there she explained the three options that came to mind. On the last one, she hesitated a moment before telling him. She wouldn’t blame also him for taking this option.

Folding her arms over her racing heart, she waited. Somewhere in the back of her mind she wondered if her heart would fail for all the pounding it had been doing in the past couple of hours. Alas, the thought didn’t yank a smile from the young girl as she faced the man.

[Hess]

Hess listened to the Endal’s explanation of how they had come to be spilled from Shakath’s back with a fair bit of skepticism. He knew little of eagle riding, and the thought did occur to him that perhaps neither did she. After all, she had been a Dek. Perhaps she really wasn’t meant to be a rider, though it had certainly happened before. Still, he had his race’s inbred belief that the relatively rigid caste system existed as proof that one rose and fell according to one’s talents. Maybe this day was proof that Faye had no business being on the back of an eagle. He looked at her, careful to keep his thought to himself, though he had to admit, it would have been quite odd for the eagle himself to have been so mistaken in choosing a bondmate. With an internal shrug, he left off pondering how their misfortune had come about, and moving back to concentrating on how best to deal with the situation they now found themselves in. Faye’s gaze had been averted as she had spoken, almost as if she herself was reflecting internally upon what Hess was thinking. But then she raised her eyes to his, and he kept his expression open, if neutral. Divisiveness now could spell death for both of them. They’d have to work together to get out of this as quickly and as safely as possible. He followed her gaze as she spoke, indicating that it would be quite a climb until they could hope to reach a place where Shakath could land. If he could land, Hess thought to himself, wondering how the eagle himself was faring with this incoming storm. Gods, if Shakath was injured . . . No, it wouldn’t do to start dropping into negativity. They just had to get up there and then . . . As she went on to explain that her ankle was injured, Hess looked back at her, unable to keep the look of disappointment from his face. His eyes dropped to her ankle and he forced that look to become one of concern. Of course, he was concerned, and it was a shame that she was hurt – in oh so many ways was it a shame. But as Faye went on to outline three options available to them, Hess again pushed aside whatever emotional response he felt to this complication, and tried to focus on the choices to be made. The trees were thick enough here, where they stood, to obscure much of what lay below them. But from what he could recall of the terrain that he had been scanning right before they got dumped, he thought they were fairly low down on the saddle that lay between two peaks. Certainly, looking upwards, it looked to be a stiff climb of several thousand feet, perhaps as much as a mile or more, over extremely rugged ground. It would require quite a bit of climbing to ascend through the alpine forest. It was even more of a climb down, though. They had been quite high up in the mountains. In either case, as he glanced at her problematic limb once more, it was highly unlikely that she could negotiate the topography. Damn! The choice really was no choice at all. Travel at such a slow pace, and with so much inherent hardship, would necessitate multiple camps on multiple nights - and with a storm moving in that would last, how long? And the chance of a compounded injury would be high. And if he left her, to go seek help, and met with some disaster himself, well, that would hardly be helpful at all, would it? There was, really, only the one option. “We’ll make camp then. I can’t carry you out and I’m not going to leave you. Not unless there simply isn’t any other option, and we haven’t gotten there – yet.” He left that last thought at that, unwilling to start conjuring up the hundred and one possible scenarios that might see him being forced to leave her behind. Hopefully, it wouldn’t come to that. “You might as well just rest, for a bit. I’ll have a quick look around and find us some shelter. We might get lucky and find a cave, or least a good, sheltered overhang.” He thought a moment, about bears in particular. They were about the only large predator that might be around in these parts, and he had a very healthy respect for them, after what had happened to him last Fall. But they were so high up, the bears at this time of the year were usually to be found further down, eating berries, fishing and trying for summer fawns and moose calves. He doubted any would be this far up in the mountains. Well, he hoped so anyway. It might have been a good thing that he had strapped his bow so securely to his back – he hadn’t lost it in the fall - and it hadn't snagged him in a tree or broken. But unfortunately, the same could not be said of his arrows, his quiver was empty, but perhaps scouring about he might run across a few of them. In any case, he had no weapon to hand to her other than his knife, and this he pulled from his belt sheath and held it out towards Faye. “Take this. Not sure it will save your life or anything but here’s hoping you won’t need it. Maybe you could start trying to scrape off some of the underbark of that tree. With this snow we’re going to have to hunt some, for dry fuel.” He tossed her his pack which also had stuck with him. “Stick it in here. Keep it dry.” Hess paused, looking at her, and he stepped towards her, coming close enough to reach out and put his hand lightly on her arm. “Don’t worry. It’ll be OK. I’ve been through worse.” He held her eyes with his own for a moment, trying to look much more confident than he felt. Giving her a smile, he nodded and then turned to climb back up the slope. “Hopefully I’ll find some of my arrows,” he said as a departing observation. “I’ll be back as quick as I can, Faye.”

[Faye Shakath]

“Be careful,” was all Faye mumbled.

As Hess walked off, Faye couldn’t help but scowl. She hated being in the vulnerable state. For no matter how much Hess meant to be comforting, Faye couldn’t help but feeling like she was being protected like a small child. She had gone through hardship and struggled her way through not only a childhood of depravity, but going on four years of Endal training. They were the top for a reason. If she was not shooting her bow she was riding with Shakath. Why else would someone like her have no social skills? She reserved time for training that others would spend on socializing. The stupid and the weak did not last long Inarta society. Just because you could speak with pretty words didn’t mean you got pretty things. Physical and mental disability received no allowanced and only pure achievement was currency. No toll road in the hierarchy opened for sob stories.

Being reduced to sitting around and waiting for someone to do the work for her was hard. It almost physically hurt to not do any work other shave off tender from the trunks. Alas, it was better than nothing. She had no Shakath to give her company and her hunter partner was now searching for shelter. While she carved away at the trunks skin, she thought about how long she was going to be with this man. Him touching her arm had been unsettling. That kind of intimacy within comfort was something she had only experience with Shakath preening her. In fact, she would have felt more at home if he had picked through her hair rather than touch her arm. Alas, it was about time she learned the customs of humans. Even though her people were of the birds and sky, they were still human at heart. It was about time she acted like her own species.

So this might actually be good for her. Now crouching to gather more for their fires, the red head continued to think. He did seem quite sure of himself. She wondered if he would be prideful or look down on her. Either option she would be uncomfortable with. With her being looked down on for so long, to go back to being seen as a failure or vermin Dek would enrage her. She wasn’t even that angry of a person, but her pride endowed upon her by her people would defiantly, ignite inside her core.

Above all else, she would reserve judgment of him and future events like she hoped he would. Assuming things of others only lead to angst and rocky cooperation. After that thought slip though her mind, she glanced down at her piled she had stuffed into his pack. By the gods, she had collected a lot! In her pondering she hadn’t noticed she shaved the entire lower half of the tree. The poor thing looked naked before her! The analogy brought a blush to her cheeks. Deciding that it was silly that she got embarrassed for the tree, she sat down in wait for Hess. There was nothing left for her other than to hope he came back safe.

((Sorry, another quick post. Not to mention very short since I couldn't really do anything else. But alas, I hope you enjoy it!))

[Hess]

Feeling aches and pains and twinges in almost every part of his body, Hess trudged upwards, having to reach out for hand holds frequently, making his way back up towards the rocks where he had landed. His eyes scoured the ground, hoping to catch sight of his arrows. But he saw none. Of course, he had little idea of the trajectory of his fall, and he could be in the right path or it might be to his left or right. He decided to concentrate on shelter and fire first. The arrows would have to wait. He still had his snares in his pack, though he wasn’t sure what he could hope to catch this far up, maybe some marmots or voles. Hopefully they wouldn’t be here so very long that it would matter. But as his eyes lifted to the sky above, and the coming storm it harbored, he could not help but shake his head in dismay. Whatever shelter he could find, it had best be a damn good one. Finally he gained the spot where he had landed and here the trees thinned and the underlying rocks of the mountain bulged upwards out of the ground. To his left, the slope flattened a bit and he headed in that direction, for no reason other than it was easier to negotiate. If he even found a suitable place, getting Faye up here was going to be a minor feat in itself. As he walked and searched with his eyes, he let out a small cry of triumph, running over and downhill a bit, to stoop and catch up one of his arrows. Hess spent a good few minutes scouring the ground thereabouts, but was rewarded with only one more find. Knowing that he had to keep on with looking for shelter, he finally shoved the two in his quiver, and made a mental note of a boulder nearby, so that he could return later and resume his search. Turning his feet back up the slope, he climbed upwards, towards a cluster of jagged, grey teeth. Perhaps they would be close enough to have formed a sort of natural windbreak, if he couldn’t find anything better. After a half a bell of casting about, Hess had made his selection. In a small grouping of boulders, three were tilted at angles towards one another, creating an almost complete barrier to the wind, for anyone thin enough to wiggle in through the gap at their outer edge. Once inside the fissure, there was a triangular space about five feet along each edge, and more than high enough to sit up comfortably, though not stand. It would be cramped, but if temperatures dropped, they wouldn’t want a huge cavern to try to heat. He considered whether he should go ahead and dig a fire hole, or go fetch Faye, and decided on the latter. Her sprained ankle wouldn’t prevent her from digging, and he could gather some fuel and set his snares while she did so. Once again looking at the sky, he knew they’d have little time for either. Hurrying back down to where he had left her, trying to move fast but without falling and injuring himself too, he made it in pretty good time, announcing his arrival in advance so she wouldn’t think he was some predator. Hess had kept a sharp eye open for signs of bear or wolf scat, and had been relieved to find none. That didn’t mean one might not show up though. Coming through the last few trees, he found her where he had left her, and noted the denuded tree against which she rested. He nodded and grinned. “Seems like you take your work very seriously. Another bell and you’d have had this tree felled.” He offered her his hand to help her rise. “I’ve found a place. It’s a good climb up. We’d best get moving. That storm isn’t going to hold off much longer.”