AN: Remember I split 6-7 up into two separate chapters for flow purposes. Thank you for reading.
Leaving the beast's carcass in the snow a few miles back, as it would have been too heavy anyway, the group pressed rapidly onward. Even with the light packs each carried, Bellatrix could tell that they would not be able to go on much further. Kazia had taken Flint from Miles a while back to spell him for a bit. The poor second was drifting between the plains of consciousness at this point, jolting awake to excruciating pain every time she stumbled over the uneven ground. The group of seconds had been all but completely disoriented in the blizzard that came upon them, yet they pushed on, with Kazia being the only one out of them all who seemed to have any idea of where they were.
Eyes flicking up and down the rock wall Kazia squinted her eyes, trying to peer through the snow whipping down around them. Once the storm had hit, she had all but lost her sense of direction, and now she was just hoping and praying they would be able to find a certain spot in the rock face that would lead them to safety. Even though she had never laid eyes on the range of cliffs before this day, the way they had been described to her stuck out in her mind clear as day. Flint wouldn't last much longer, and the binding of his wounds was only temporary, they would need to be burned shut if he was to survive. With the blood he had lost so far, it would be days before he would even be able to travel, and therefore it was imperative they find shelter within the next mile or two.
Kazia almost let out a cry of relief when she spotted the outline of a tunnel through the rock giving way ahead of them, and as they approached, it became clear that the passage was inadvertently designed so as to hide the sheltered cove that lay beyond. As they passed through, their presence attracted a group of warriors from the wooden structures that lay beyond, all of whom approached, armed to the teeth, and without any intention of letting them pass. A shout rang out across the clearing, a command for the small group of seconds to identify themselves.
"Beja, sis osir au! Please help us!" Arlo called out as he darted forward. His progress was cut off as a handful of spears were pointed in his direction. Halting, he held his hands up in front of him. "Oso nau throu daun au yu. We don't want to fight you."
"Azkru put daun osokru, yu nau gyon klir. Azegda executes our people, you will not pass here." Came the aggressive shout from one the warriors behind the spear line upon recognizing the distinct decorations of Azgeda on the second's clothing.
The rest of the group had caught up to Arlo by this time. Stepping to the forefront, Kazia held her head high in challenge, the blood covering her face presenting a frightful spectacle in the gleaming torch light. "Ai laik Kausha kom Azkru! Ai don sis au Fitts, nomfa de Garrick, kom de pauna alba! I am Kazia of the Ice People! I saved Fitz, son of Garrick, from the white pauna!"
Seeing the hesitation written across their faces upon hearing her words, Kazia repeated Arlo's previous request for assistance, stating that the others who followed were hers as well.
One of the opposing warriors broke away from the rest, dashing towards the buildings, no doubt to inform whoever was in charge of these people who had come. The rest still blocked passage, but were less aggressive, obviously waiting for orders from higher up. Kazia shifted Flint to a more comfortable position in her arms, unwilling as of yet to let him go.
It didn't take long before a figure emerged from one of the wooden houses, and upon approaching them, Kazia discerned the newcomer to be a female, possibly a few years older than her and Bellatrix at the most. One of the warriors leaned to whisper in her ear when she had come close enough. After a moment, her head turned to the front, scanning the group of seconds looking for their leader. Her eyes landed on Kazia's face, and she looked her up and down before coming forward. "You are Kazia kom Azkru?"
Kazia lifted her chin slightly. "I am." She replied evenly, keeping her gaze locked on the other woman's face.
"Those who travel with you, can they be trusted?" The woman's gaze was now resting upon the other seconds, trying to discern whether or not treachery was among them. They kept their faces indifferent, however, trusting Kazia to get them through this test.
"They will not cause you any trouble, nor will their tongues be loosed to speak of this in mixed company."
After some consideration the woman seemed to accept Kazia's words, and ordering her warriors to stand down, she gestured for the group of seconds to follow. As Kazia fell in beside her, the woman began to speak. "My name is Iskra, and the boy you saved is my brother Fitz. Do not fear for your wounded, our healer is highly skilled. His fight will not end today." The hut they halted in front of was smaller than the others. Arlo, Bree, and Ruger remained outside, while Kazia entered, closely followed by Bellatrix.
As her eyes adjusted to the dim lighting, Kazia could see it was a one-room building, and only contained a few cots, all vacant at this point, while the walls were lined with shelves containing various dried plants and herbs for healing, as well as for making poison, ranging in degrees from mild to deadly.
Bellatrix watched as Kazia checked Flint's pulse after laying him on one of the beds. His skin was a ghostly white, and the jacket he was wearing was slick with blood. The healer entered a few moments later and began examining the dark-haired youth. Throwing away the red soaked strips of fabric they had bound around Flint's torso, he efficiently cleaned the affected area. The blood had slowed some, due to the cold, but showed no signs of ceasing, quickly replacing what had been wiped away.
Looking up, the healer addressed the two girls quietly. "I will need to burn the injuries shut in order to prevent the danger of infection."
"Do it." Kazia's voice was tight with emotion, her only concern at the moment being the boy lying before her, whom she had come to consider as a younger brother over the duration of their time together in Azgeda. She remembered the first night on the ground, how he had worked past his fear of their captors, standing by them through the toughest challenges any of them had ever endured, all without breaking. He had grown stronger and was showing great promise under the careful instruction of his first, when they had been sent out to test their ability to survive on their own.
They had been doing fairly well up until today, but now Kazia feared losing another of her family, even with all the healer was capable of, and she prayed that his time had not yet come.
The clearing of a throat roused Kazia from her thoughts, and her eyes found Bellatrix's, who had been observing her the entire time. As Bellatrix opened her mouth, Kazia held up a hand. "I need you to look after the others. I'll keep an eye on Flint for now." The tone of her voice brooked no room for argument, and though the dark-skinned girl wanted to convince Kazia to rest herself, she knew that would be a useless endeavour. The Slavic girl would push herself until she dropped from exhaustion, and Bellatrix hated seeing her at times trying to shoulder the whole burden herself when she was surrounded by a supportive family in their group of seconds, from both the sky and the ground. Maybe someone else would be better suited to the task. Turning on her heel, Bellatrix left the hut without another word.
It wasn't long after Flint's wounds had been sealed and dressed, that Iskra chose to reappear. Taking in Kazia's clearly exhausted form, she reached down and placed a hand on her shoulder. "There is a bed already made for you."
Kazia shook her head stubbornly. "I need to make sure he will be okay."
Glancing between the girl and the boy lying on the bed, though they did not share a familial resemblance, Iskra could clearly see the devotion that this second displayed went far above mere friendship. That she considered him a lover did not make sense, as they were too far apart in age for that to be plausible, therefore the only other option was that they were siblings, though perhaps not in blood. Iskra knelt in front of the girl. "There is nothing more that can be done. If he is a fighter, and if he is blessed, he will survive. But one cannot worry about what cannot be controlled. Please trust us, that we are doing the best we can."
Kazia's eyes shot toward Iskra momentarily, frustration, anger, and fear dancing behind them, before dropping her gaze to the floor. The broken whisper that fell from cracked lips was so quiet the older woman barely heard it. "I can't lose him too." Her eyes glistened as they met Iskra's. "I've already lost so many. I do not wish to lose anymore." She swallowed a sob, once again attempting to hold back the tears that threatened to fall.
"Is he strong?" Iskra asked. She received a nod in return. "Does he know how much you care about him?"
"I care for all of them."
"Then he will survive." Iskra reassured Kazia. "I have seen warriors survive wounds more grievous than these, and those who have weak minds die from less. What he needs is rest. When his body is ready, he will wake up. But you must be patient, and in the meantime remember to look after the others under your charge. Tend to your own needs as well, so you may be ready when you are called upon."
Kazia gave a tired sigh. Iskra was right. She couldn't worry about what she couldn't control, and Flint was stubborn as a mule. By now also Bellatrix had probably made sure the others were tended to, so she had nothing to worry about there.
"Where's the rest of my party?" Kazia inquired, all business once again as she rose from the cot she had been seated on.
Iskra straightened up as well, leading them out of the hut. "My people have taken them into their homes. I have extra space in my house for you as well. We will share our food supplies until you can get back on your feet."
"I thank you, but this, what you're doing, is very unlike the rest of your people." Kazia pointed out, curiosity evident in her voice.
"What do you mean, my people?" Iskra queried.
"You were from Azgeda once, were you not." Kaszia stated matter of fact. "In my time in Azgeda, I have seen the rule of the strong over the weak. Warriors are treated as the upper class in Azegdan society, and anyone who is not a warrior, such as those who farm the land, forge weapons, or trade between clans are looked down upon like lower class people."
"While your observations are true for the most part, there are those of us who believe that type of social distinction is wrong. Without someone to specialize in different areas of life such as healing, making clothes, and forging tools among other things, our people would be unable to function as a whole." Iskra explained. "When you look at the Coalition, it is, in reality, a great feat to have been accomplished in so little time. Just twenty years ago, our people were at war that had no end in sight. Clans would change alliances in a heartbeat over the most trivial slight in some cases, while in others because the promise of wealth and victory was too hard to resist." She continued as they entered the house.
"What about the previous Commanders? Didn't they at least have some say in what was happening?" Kazia asked in confusion.
Iskra shook her head. "Usually the natblidas who won their conclaves were loyal to their own clan. It wasn't until the current commander, as well as the one previous, that the unification of the clans became a reality. The maunon unwittingly served as a crucial piece of the puzzle while they were in existence. The clans came together through compromise, trade deals, and threats, but mainly through the fear of what the maunon could do to them."
Gesturing for Kazia to have a seat on a bed, Iskra went to fetch a bowl of water, as well as some cloths for cleaning. Handing the younger woman a small mirror, she set the bowl and the cloths on the table by the bed. "Use these to clean the blood away. I'll send for Mikkel to bring a healing paste for the wounds."
Dipping the cloth in the water, Kazia rang the excess out before carefully dabbing at her face while observing her reflection in the mirror. The dried blood was crusted over and partially frozen on, making it painful to remove. She winced as the premature scabbing fell away, and fresh blood oozed through the torn skin. Rinsing the cloth out, she continued making her way down the side of her face to where her neck disappeared into the collar of her jacket, before taking that off so as to allow better access from her neck to right shoulder, where the claw marks had easily torn through her clothing, stopping just above her forearm.
She had been extremely lucky to have survived, Kazia remembered. If it hadn't been for Bree's quick thinking and even faster shooting, she wouldn't be alive to tell the tale. After the wolf had turned its attention to Flint, Kazia had pulled herself up and out of her daze through sheer willpower. When she spied the rock formation, she immediately had an idea of where to hit the wolf, if only she could ascend the pillar of stone. When it was all said and done, though they had survived the encounter, that was not an experience Kazia was eager to repeat.
By the time she finished cleaning the claw marks, her face and shoulder were thoroughly warmed up, and the pain that had previously been dulled by the frigid temperatures was now back in full force, threatening to give Kazia a whopper of a headache. Squinting her eyes at the reflection in the mirror, she cursed upon seeing her appearance. As the words fell away from her lips, the sound of a door closing caught her attention, and her eyes darted upwards, taking in Mikkel's silent hulking form.
The healer, followed closely by Iskra, took one look at Kazia's face and without comment pulled up a chair in front of her. Dipping his fingers in a bowl filled with paste, he gently smeared the mixture along the angry red trails. Kazia's eyes hooded slightly at the cool feeling of the medicine, delighting in how the mixture made the cuts instantly feel better.
"There is honey in there, it will help minimize scarring when your injuries heal." Iskra said from where she sat to the left of Kazia.
Kazia hummed in acknowledgment, her eyes now fully closed, practically basking in the cool relief working its way down her shoulder and arm. "We left the carcass a few miles on our back trail. It was too heavy to attempt to transport it as well as Flint." She spoke after a moment, answering the unspoken question as to the nature of her injuries.
"What did it look like?" Iskra asked suspiciously, not daring even for a moment to consider what it may have been.
Kazia opened her eyes slightly and glanced over at the older woman. "Big and black, with three heads, larger and wider than two battle stallions."
Iskra's mouth dropped open in astonishment. "You defeated cebes?" The answering nod had her staring at the younger woman with a mixture of awe and horror. "That wolf has been killing much of our livestock as well as any who venture forth alone into the forest."
"And I intend to take its heads as my trophy." Came the matter of fact reply.
"You are crazy, and very lucky." Iskra mused, shaking her head in wonder and disbelief.
"One must be those and much more just to survive." Mikkel spoke up for the first time during the exchange.
Kazia eyed the healer a moment before nodding in agreement. "I intend to do much more than just survive." A deeper meaning was evident in her tone of voice, but neither Iskra nor Mikkel ventured to ask more at the present.
Mikkel's duty completed, he stood and gathered his things, leaving without so much as a farewell. Iskra stayed, however, watching Kazia inquisitively, half wondering if the girl had any other remarks or tales of astonishment.
Something had struck Iskra as odd earlier about the way the warrior girl had talked about her own people as apart from Azgeda. But as she opened her mouth to ask why, a deep sigh came from the younger woman, and she realized a little sheepishly that Kazia had passed out, no doubt entirely drained from her exertions.
Further conversation out of the question for the night, Iskra rose herself from where she was seated, and went to retire to her own bed, but not without making a note to ask later just what exactly Kazia had meant.
