The First Time
Chapter 4 - A Shelter Against The Cold
Catti-Brie fought her way through the snow, her legs pumping fanatically to keep up with the black, feline form in front of her. As she moved, she started to notice the growing crimson stains in the snow, a certain sign that she was approaching a wounded person. The thought gave her renewed strength, and she started running, knowing she was close.
* * * * * * * *
Drizzt laid his head back against the rock he leaned against. The pain in his leg had dulled to a throb, but he was shivering from the cold, his legs and fingers were numb and he felt a tiredness creeping into his every limb, and knew that he simply could not go on much longer.
Suddenly, he heard his name being called through the howling of the wind. Confused, he looked up and saw two well-known forms make their way through the blizzard towards him.
* * * * * * * *
Catti-Brie nearly knocked the black elf off his feet when she threw herself around his neck, tears running freely down her cheeks, while she hugged him as if she never would let go again. She kissed him fiercely, more than a little startled at the coldness of his skin.
"I thought I'd lost ye ferever," she whispered, resting her forehead against his, looking into his lavender eyes.
He smiled softly and pulled her close, returning the kiss.
"What of Bruenor?" he suddenly asked and held her out from him, concern crossing his delicate features.
Catti-Brie grinned and pressed a kiss against his nose.
"Ye think he'd have let me out alone, and in a storm, if he didn't want us ta meet?" she pointed out.
He laughed softly, seeing the logic his love showed him, and gently returned her kiss.
"C'mon, let's go home," Catti-Brie smiled and grabbed his hand.
The dark elf nodded and took a step forward... And immediately whined in pain and dropped to a knee in the thick snow. Catti-Brie dropped to her knees as well as soon as she noticed the elf's blood-soaked leg, and quickly examined the wound, wincing at the sight. A deep, jagged gash were on each side of his leg, going from just below his knee to the middle of the calf. Though it had been more than an hour since the drow had gained it, it still bled.
She looked into the purple eyes of Drizzt, noticed the pain in them, and knew that he would not be able to make it back to the dwarven stronghold.
"We've ta find a cave," she stated softly while helping him to his feet, and hooked an arm under his shoulders to support them as they started walking again, holding her pace slow enough for the injured elf to keep up without too much pain.
Guenhwyvar showed her unnatural intelligence once more as she easily leaped ahead of them, leading the human and the drow through the blinding snowstorm, and, Catti-Brie hoped, towards a cave in which they could seek shelter for the night.
* * * * * * * *
"Did you find them?" Regis anxiously asked, almost before Bruenor got a chance to brush the snow out of his beard.
But when the halfling looked over the returned group, he immediately noticed the missing person and asked the obvious question: "Where's Catti-Brie?"
"She's gone herself ta find the drow," the dwarf grumbled and stomped at the floor to get the snow off his boots, but his voice trembled slightly, revealing his inner turmoil.
"Alone?!?" Regis asked in surprise, fighting hard to keep his jaw from hitting the floor.
"Aye. But the cat's with her. And when she finds the drow, he can protect her too," the dwarf said, then added in almost a whisper, seemingly more to himself than to the halfling: "They'll be alright..."
"They will," Regis said reassuring and patted his friend's back. "They will."
* * * * * * * *
The wind had somehow managed to grow stronger, and both human and drow found themselves hard pressed to follow the feline form in front of them, even though Guenhwyvar was no more than four feet ahead of them. The temperature had dropped as well with the leaving of the sun, and it was not long before Catti-Brie was shivering with cold as well, and pressed against the elf to savour what little heat she could gain thus.
Suddenly, Guenhwyvar's mighty roar sounded above the continuous howling of the wind, and fearful that something had happened to the great panther, both human and elf broke into a run - Drizzt's fear for the panther shortly clouding the shearing pain from his leg. But to their relief, they found their companion not only unharmed, but standing in the entrance to a cave.
Smiling, Drizzt dropped a hand to Guenhwyvar's head, and noticed that the cat had raised ears as well as flattened fur - a sign that there was no danger lurking inside.
On closer examination, they found that their shelter consisted of not only one cave, but two. A small tunnel in the corner of the first, which lead back out to the dale and the cold, gave access to the second, that thus was protected against the cold. A deep, warm stream even ran through this second cave, heating the air to a pleasantly temperature, and they found a pile of firewood in another corner.
"No-one has been here in a long time," Drizzt said, as he carefully sat down next to the stream, rolled up his trouser leg and lowered the injured leg into the flowing water to clean the wound and get some warmth back into the limb. "It's properly some merchants, who've sought shelter here some while ago, and left the wood in case other travellers should pass by."
"'Haps," Catti-Brie replied while unpacking the blankets. "Just as long as it's warm and sheltered against the snow, I'd be willin' ta sleep in a giant-lair."
Guenhwyvar, lying at the other bank of the stream, purred, as if she agreed.
Chapter 4 - A Shelter Against The Cold
Catti-Brie fought her way through the snow, her legs pumping fanatically to keep up with the black, feline form in front of her. As she moved, she started to notice the growing crimson stains in the snow, a certain sign that she was approaching a wounded person. The thought gave her renewed strength, and she started running, knowing she was close.
* * * * * * * *
Drizzt laid his head back against the rock he leaned against. The pain in his leg had dulled to a throb, but he was shivering from the cold, his legs and fingers were numb and he felt a tiredness creeping into his every limb, and knew that he simply could not go on much longer.
Suddenly, he heard his name being called through the howling of the wind. Confused, he looked up and saw two well-known forms make their way through the blizzard towards him.
* * * * * * * *
Catti-Brie nearly knocked the black elf off his feet when she threw herself around his neck, tears running freely down her cheeks, while she hugged him as if she never would let go again. She kissed him fiercely, more than a little startled at the coldness of his skin.
"I thought I'd lost ye ferever," she whispered, resting her forehead against his, looking into his lavender eyes.
He smiled softly and pulled her close, returning the kiss.
"What of Bruenor?" he suddenly asked and held her out from him, concern crossing his delicate features.
Catti-Brie grinned and pressed a kiss against his nose.
"Ye think he'd have let me out alone, and in a storm, if he didn't want us ta meet?" she pointed out.
He laughed softly, seeing the logic his love showed him, and gently returned her kiss.
"C'mon, let's go home," Catti-Brie smiled and grabbed his hand.
The dark elf nodded and took a step forward... And immediately whined in pain and dropped to a knee in the thick snow. Catti-Brie dropped to her knees as well as soon as she noticed the elf's blood-soaked leg, and quickly examined the wound, wincing at the sight. A deep, jagged gash were on each side of his leg, going from just below his knee to the middle of the calf. Though it had been more than an hour since the drow had gained it, it still bled.
She looked into the purple eyes of Drizzt, noticed the pain in them, and knew that he would not be able to make it back to the dwarven stronghold.
"We've ta find a cave," she stated softly while helping him to his feet, and hooked an arm under his shoulders to support them as they started walking again, holding her pace slow enough for the injured elf to keep up without too much pain.
Guenhwyvar showed her unnatural intelligence once more as she easily leaped ahead of them, leading the human and the drow through the blinding snowstorm, and, Catti-Brie hoped, towards a cave in which they could seek shelter for the night.
* * * * * * * *
"Did you find them?" Regis anxiously asked, almost before Bruenor got a chance to brush the snow out of his beard.
But when the halfling looked over the returned group, he immediately noticed the missing person and asked the obvious question: "Where's Catti-Brie?"
"She's gone herself ta find the drow," the dwarf grumbled and stomped at the floor to get the snow off his boots, but his voice trembled slightly, revealing his inner turmoil.
"Alone?!?" Regis asked in surprise, fighting hard to keep his jaw from hitting the floor.
"Aye. But the cat's with her. And when she finds the drow, he can protect her too," the dwarf said, then added in almost a whisper, seemingly more to himself than to the halfling: "They'll be alright..."
"They will," Regis said reassuring and patted his friend's back. "They will."
* * * * * * * *
The wind had somehow managed to grow stronger, and both human and drow found themselves hard pressed to follow the feline form in front of them, even though Guenhwyvar was no more than four feet ahead of them. The temperature had dropped as well with the leaving of the sun, and it was not long before Catti-Brie was shivering with cold as well, and pressed against the elf to savour what little heat she could gain thus.
Suddenly, Guenhwyvar's mighty roar sounded above the continuous howling of the wind, and fearful that something had happened to the great panther, both human and elf broke into a run - Drizzt's fear for the panther shortly clouding the shearing pain from his leg. But to their relief, they found their companion not only unharmed, but standing in the entrance to a cave.
Smiling, Drizzt dropped a hand to Guenhwyvar's head, and noticed that the cat had raised ears as well as flattened fur - a sign that there was no danger lurking inside.
On closer examination, they found that their shelter consisted of not only one cave, but two. A small tunnel in the corner of the first, which lead back out to the dale and the cold, gave access to the second, that thus was protected against the cold. A deep, warm stream even ran through this second cave, heating the air to a pleasantly temperature, and they found a pile of firewood in another corner.
"No-one has been here in a long time," Drizzt said, as he carefully sat down next to the stream, rolled up his trouser leg and lowered the injured leg into the flowing water to clean the wound and get some warmth back into the limb. "It's properly some merchants, who've sought shelter here some while ago, and left the wood in case other travellers should pass by."
"'Haps," Catti-Brie replied while unpacking the blankets. "Just as long as it's warm and sheltered against the snow, I'd be willin' ta sleep in a giant-lair."
Guenhwyvar, lying at the other bank of the stream, purred, as if she agreed.