Timestamp: Spring 28, 512 (evening)
Leth was full that night. He had just begun to peak over the eastern horizon, the massive face filling the scope of sight for what seemed forever. His surface glowed a briliant red and orange. The last time a supermoon had occurred had been sometime last year, but the precise time was unsure. It was as though Leth was trying to fall to Mizahar, if only for the night!
But the beauty of that moonrise was lost on the drykas leaning against the deadwood she'd stumbled upon by a snow-melt fed stream, the banks of which were swelled near to bursting. It must be raining somewhere up from it. But even that was lost on the woman as she hunkered here, a sputtering fire built before her barely able to hold itself together. The razor from Ahanu's satchel was in her hand and Dela, with badly shaking fingers, was trying to cut away the dead flesh upon her burned hand. Her face was badly flushed and her body soaked in sweat. A fever burned through her like a wildfire on the grasslands in summer. It made sitting straight even more difficult.
The fever burned savagely, but not so much as the agony coursing through her hand. The black threads of whatever was infecting her could be seen clearly along the bottom of the blisters and even some of the muscle. The only thing she could think to do now was cut the dead bits off and salvage what she could. If she didn't find medicine soon, though, she feared she would die. "Help me, Eyris...show me where I must go. Show me where they are...if not they who I want, then that which I need...Show me the plants..." She groaned as another piece was cut away, the blackened flesh falling from the razor and the ruined hand dropping onto her lap. Her voice was shaky and weak, though not from hunger.
A few days after leaving Stardown, Delani had come upon a shrub filled with pheasant nests. Each nest had at least four eggs. She'd taken all of the eggs that time and stripped the bush of its leaves, securing limbs to the yvas so they could dry as she walked and be used as a fire later. The eggs might go well with the rave-spar jerky she had made back in the crater. No, Delani was not hungry. Sick, in pain, but not hungry. For all her lacking fortune right now, she had been grateful not to feel the abdominal ache of starvation.
The hand holding the razor lowered, gripping it tight as she leaned her head back and closed her eyes. The smell was the worst. Each night for the last four nights, she'd sat at the new camp she struggled to make and picked away at the charred and infected skin and sinew. Already, Dela knew her hand would never function properly again; the fingers were stiff, hard to bend without mentioning the pain of doing so. The wrist did not turn easily as seared flesh had fused with the underlying muscle and bone around it. At least her shoulder felt not so bad. Unable to actually see it, she'd had to rely on delicate touches with her left hand to examine it. That burn seemed to be healing better than her hand.
"Leave me Leth to see by...I haven't the strength to make another fire. Please, lift this fog from my mind, Eyris. Help me see the plants I need."
xLeth was full that night. He had just begun to peak over the eastern horizon, the massive face filling the scope of sight for what seemed forever. His surface glowed a briliant red and orange. The last time a supermoon had occurred had been sometime last year, but the precise time was unsure. It was as though Leth was trying to fall to Mizahar, if only for the night!
But the beauty of that moonrise was lost on the drykas leaning against the deadwood she'd stumbled upon by a snow-melt fed stream, the banks of which were swelled near to bursting. It must be raining somewhere up from it. But even that was lost on the woman as she hunkered here, a sputtering fire built before her barely able to hold itself together. The razor from Ahanu's satchel was in her hand and Dela, with badly shaking fingers, was trying to cut away the dead flesh upon her burned hand. Her face was badly flushed and her body soaked in sweat. A fever burned through her like a wildfire on the grasslands in summer. It made sitting straight even more difficult.
The fever burned savagely, but not so much as the agony coursing through her hand. The black threads of whatever was infecting her could be seen clearly along the bottom of the blisters and even some of the muscle. The only thing she could think to do now was cut the dead bits off and salvage what she could. If she didn't find medicine soon, though, she feared she would die. "Help me, Eyris...show me where I must go. Show me where they are...if not they who I want, then that which I need...Show me the plants..." She groaned as another piece was cut away, the blackened flesh falling from the razor and the ruined hand dropping onto her lap. Her voice was shaky and weak, though not from hunger.
A few days after leaving Stardown, Delani had come upon a shrub filled with pheasant nests. Each nest had at least four eggs. She'd taken all of the eggs that time and stripped the bush of its leaves, securing limbs to the yvas so they could dry as she walked and be used as a fire later. The eggs might go well with the rave-spar jerky she had made back in the crater. No, Delani was not hungry. Sick, in pain, but not hungry. For all her lacking fortune right now, she had been grateful not to feel the abdominal ache of starvation.
The hand holding the razor lowered, gripping it tight as she leaned her head back and closed her eyes. The smell was the worst. Each night for the last four nights, she'd sat at the new camp she struggled to make and picked away at the charred and infected skin and sinew. Already, Dela knew her hand would never function properly again; the fingers were stiff, hard to bend without mentioning the pain of doing so. The wrist did not turn easily as seared flesh had fused with the underlying muscle and bone around it. At least her shoulder felt not so bad. Unable to actually see it, she'd had to rely on delicate touches with her left hand to examine it. That burn seemed to be healing better than her hand.
"Leave me Leth to see by...I haven't the strength to make another fire. Please, lift this fog from my mind, Eyris. Help me see the plants I need."
