A Wild and Savage Land ByHolly C
These aren't my characters. Alliance owns them, I am borrowing them and making no profit. TYK.
A Wild and Savage Land
Rated G
Spoilers for Call of The Wild. This is a sequel to The Breath of the Night Wind
Coppermine, Coronation Gulf. September.
Fraser's been real quiet since we got back to what he calls civilisation. Huh. Civilisation up here means a coupla huts, some indoor plumbing, some note paper, post office and a bar. I think it's a bar. At least the post office has real heating in it and I feel like I'm finally thawing out. Almost human again. Fraser says we're eight hundred kilometres from Inuvik now, whatever that is. Five hundred miles in real measurements, I guess. See I can count like he does now I spent so long with him. Still not sure if I know him that much better. Slightly off track he says. We've gotta get to Yellowknife tomorrow so we can get a plane back to Ottawa. Ottawa sounds like heaven to me: cars, shops, pollution, smells, people, noise, music, television, electricity, more people. I sure hope Francesca remembered to feed the turtle.
We came a long way.
Seems like they had a search party out looking for us. All cos we failed to radio in at the expected time, and they all expect Fraser to keep to schedule, knowing how pernickity he is about that kinda stuff. Organised, punctual, reliable Fraser.
Well we made it in spite of losing the radio though there were some moments that had me praying like I haven't done for years. We get stuck in a crevasse and Fraser does this singing thing like he did that other time when we jumped out of the plane after Mulgrew or whatever he was called. I know the words real well now so I could sing along with him. "Just one more time and I'll take the northwest passage to the sea...." And you know what? It's kinda soothing. Out there it's so quiet, silence like ya never get in the city. So quiet you can hear the thud of each others heart, the sigh of each others breath. And even though you're real scared, you feel peaceful. Ya know? Like when you see a tiny baby smile at you; that feeling of pure calmness.
So we never found the hand of Franklin that reaching out hand and I don't really care, you know. It was all a big excuse to get away and I kinda had to humor the big guy. He was hurting bad over his mom and Ray. I think he was kinda lonely and getting away from everyone was supposed to help. Go figure: you feel lonely so you go someplace where there are almost no people. Geez, we only saw a handful of Inuit in all the weeks we were out there. I tried to help him but sometimes the words wouldn't come. My mouth would freeze up as cold as my nose. Besides I was hurting too, you know. Stella had finally left town for good she said. No chance of getting her back now.
I learnt a lot on the journey. Facts can keep you sane out in the wilderness, trying to survive. I learnt about the Arctic explorations of Elisha Kent Kane and his search for Sir John Franklin in the 1850's. The poor Franklin guy died in July 1845 without ever finding the northwest passage. I learnt about polar bears and siksiks. About which berries are safe to eat and how to fish in ice holes with a spear with feathers on it. I can sit real still for hours now though I don't know how useful that will be in Chicago. Maybe for stakeouts.
I learnt that the stars are bigger and closer and scarier out here. And the sky during long daylight hours is full of many different kinds of birds; more than I've ever seen in my life. I discovered that through Fraser's eyes a desolate wilderness becomes a land of intense light and beauty. I learnt there is a place where the sun never sets and sleeping gets kinda hard to do without a partner to lull you to sleep with stories. And boy does Fraser know some stories. The guy is an anthology.
I can now name every province in Canada and its capital even that new one. I know that John A Macdonald created the north west Mounted Police to rid the plains of Americans and John Cabot landed on Cape Breton Island in June 1487.
Fraser showed me how to build a house out of ice and it was warm too. Oh yeah, I learnt to like lichen. Huh, that was a joke. I guess I've developed a Fraser sense of humor through over exposure to him.
Anyway, what I have managed to do is this. I persuaded him to ring her in Ottawa. I could see he was missing her already; the Ice Queen. He's here in the post office now putting the call through. He protested at first, said it was too late and she'd be in bed but I pushed him. He needs that, a lot of encouragement. He sure can be one stubborn Mountie. I told him she would be *concerned* about him. Words like 'concerned' work well with Fraser. Concerned about both of us. Since they all thought we might have frozen to death out there it was only fair to put her out of her misery. He argued that he did not know where she was, or even if she was in Ottawa but the Mountie guy who is stationed here, a corporal someone or something said she had called every settlement in this part of the NWT (see I even call it the same as Fraser does). They'd all heard of Inspector Thatcher and he could tell Fraser exactly where to find her.
Fraser looked a bit scared as he went to the phone, the palest I've seen him since he last got beat up. Or sometimes when Frannie talks to him; he goes pale and then red as his jacket when she does one of her numbers on him.
I wonder what he'll say to her? I'm gonna ring Chicago when he's finished. See how Frannie is. I never thought I'd hear myself say this but I kinda missed her and I woulda been sorry if I never got to see her again. Funny what you realise when you have time to think. Like I'm looking forward now, not back. I've put Stella behind me and I'm thinking about the future and what I'm gonna do with my life now I've got it back. Like Fraser has. He's put his hurt behind him and made a decision about the ice queen. And boy do I wish him luck.
These aren't my characters. Alliance owns them, I am borrowing them and making no profit. TYK.
A Wild and Savage Land
Rated G
Spoilers for Call of The Wild. This is a sequel to The Breath of the Night Wind
Coppermine, Coronation Gulf. September.
Fraser's been real quiet since we got back to what he calls civilisation. Huh. Civilisation up here means a coupla huts, some indoor plumbing, some note paper, post office and a bar. I think it's a bar. At least the post office has real heating in it and I feel like I'm finally thawing out. Almost human again. Fraser says we're eight hundred kilometres from Inuvik now, whatever that is. Five hundred miles in real measurements, I guess. See I can count like he does now I spent so long with him. Still not sure if I know him that much better. Slightly off track he says. We've gotta get to Yellowknife tomorrow so we can get a plane back to Ottawa. Ottawa sounds like heaven to me: cars, shops, pollution, smells, people, noise, music, television, electricity, more people. I sure hope Francesca remembered to feed the turtle.
We came a long way.
Seems like they had a search party out looking for us. All cos we failed to radio in at the expected time, and they all expect Fraser to keep to schedule, knowing how pernickity he is about that kinda stuff. Organised, punctual, reliable Fraser.
Well we made it in spite of losing the radio though there were some moments that had me praying like I haven't done for years. We get stuck in a crevasse and Fraser does this singing thing like he did that other time when we jumped out of the plane after Mulgrew or whatever he was called. I know the words real well now so I could sing along with him. "Just one more time and I'll take the northwest passage to the sea...." And you know what? It's kinda soothing. Out there it's so quiet, silence like ya never get in the city. So quiet you can hear the thud of each others heart, the sigh of each others breath. And even though you're real scared, you feel peaceful. Ya know? Like when you see a tiny baby smile at you; that feeling of pure calmness.
So we never found the hand of Franklin that reaching out hand and I don't really care, you know. It was all a big excuse to get away and I kinda had to humor the big guy. He was hurting bad over his mom and Ray. I think he was kinda lonely and getting away from everyone was supposed to help. Go figure: you feel lonely so you go someplace where there are almost no people. Geez, we only saw a handful of Inuit in all the weeks we were out there. I tried to help him but sometimes the words wouldn't come. My mouth would freeze up as cold as my nose. Besides I was hurting too, you know. Stella had finally left town for good she said. No chance of getting her back now.
I learnt a lot on the journey. Facts can keep you sane out in the wilderness, trying to survive. I learnt about the Arctic explorations of Elisha Kent Kane and his search for Sir John Franklin in the 1850's. The poor Franklin guy died in July 1845 without ever finding the northwest passage. I learnt about polar bears and siksiks. About which berries are safe to eat and how to fish in ice holes with a spear with feathers on it. I can sit real still for hours now though I don't know how useful that will be in Chicago. Maybe for stakeouts.
I learnt that the stars are bigger and closer and scarier out here. And the sky during long daylight hours is full of many different kinds of birds; more than I've ever seen in my life. I discovered that through Fraser's eyes a desolate wilderness becomes a land of intense light and beauty. I learnt there is a place where the sun never sets and sleeping gets kinda hard to do without a partner to lull you to sleep with stories. And boy does Fraser know some stories. The guy is an anthology.
I can now name every province in Canada and its capital even that new one. I know that John A Macdonald created the north west Mounted Police to rid the plains of Americans and John Cabot landed on Cape Breton Island in June 1487.
Fraser showed me how to build a house out of ice and it was warm too. Oh yeah, I learnt to like lichen. Huh, that was a joke. I guess I've developed a Fraser sense of humor through over exposure to him.
Anyway, what I have managed to do is this. I persuaded him to ring her in Ottawa. I could see he was missing her already; the Ice Queen. He's here in the post office now putting the call through. He protested at first, said it was too late and she'd be in bed but I pushed him. He needs that, a lot of encouragement. He sure can be one stubborn Mountie. I told him she would be *concerned* about him. Words like 'concerned' work well with Fraser. Concerned about both of us. Since they all thought we might have frozen to death out there it was only fair to put her out of her misery. He argued that he did not know where she was, or even if she was in Ottawa but the Mountie guy who is stationed here, a corporal someone or something said she had called every settlement in this part of the NWT (see I even call it the same as Fraser does). They'd all heard of Inspector Thatcher and he could tell Fraser exactly where to find her.
Fraser looked a bit scared as he went to the phone, the palest I've seen him since he last got beat up. Or sometimes when Frannie talks to him; he goes pale and then red as his jacket when she does one of her numbers on him.
I wonder what he'll say to her? I'm gonna ring Chicago when he's finished. See how Frannie is. I never thought I'd hear myself say this but I kinda missed her and I woulda been sorry if I never got to see her again. Funny what you realise when you have time to think. Like I'm looking forward now, not back. I've put Stella behind me and I'm thinking about the future and what I'm gonna do with my life now I've got it back. Like Fraser has. He's put his hurt behind him and made a decision about the ice queen. And boy do I wish him luck.