Lera awoke with every muscle hurting and something digging fiercely into
her back. She didn't move, she didn't even open her eyes. Even breathing
hurt. She felt like her entire body was one big bruise, and she couldn't
remember where she was.
Almost immediately she did remember. Images of intestines and blood flooding her, the terror of the fall refreshed in her mind. Wincing she willed the images away, but they flashed through her mind like a slide show with no stopping point.
Opening her eyes to end the visions, Lera groaned at the bright sun. She knew she wasn't dead. It hurt to much. Painfully aware that she was on land and that a rock was stabbing her back, Lera rolled over, regretting it instantly. Pain wafted through her, ready to burst her open.
Grunting, Lera brought an aching arm over to shield her eyes from the sun. She didn't know where she was. The gentle tugging of the river on her still submerged legs told her she had been washed down stream, but she didn't know how far. Scanning the small beach upon which she lay, Lera found Carlyn. He was lying, unconscious a few meters away. At first Lera thought he was dead, but the gentle rise and fall of his chest broke her wave of terror.
Crawling painfully through the murky sand to her wounded friend, Lera couldn't hold back tears. It felt as though every ligament in her body was being torn into millions of pieces. Collapsing from exhaust beside Carlyn, Lera shivered and pulled the last of her legs from the water. Closing her eyes, meaning to rest just a little, Lera fell into a deep slumber.
Stirring nearby awoke Lera with a start. Sitting up, Her ribs groaning uncomfortably beneath her weight, Lera watched as Carlyn's eyes fluttered open.
"Hey." She said, flashing him a rueful grin as she tried to stand up. Her clothing was in taters. Her breeches were ripped off at the knee on one side and her blouse was torn from clavicle to elbow on one side.
Carlyn rolled over, his eyes wide as he took in what had happened. Glancing at Lera briefly, he rolled onto his belly and started coughing. The cough ran through his body as humanly blood spurted the ground before him. He choked a little, his fit ending as he collapsed onto the ground.
Lera didn't know what to do. She knelt beside him, her hand resting comfortingly on his back. They were alone. It was pressing in on her. She needed him to come to her senses.
Trying to distract herself, Lera scavenged nearby finding small dry sticks to make a fire with. Pages always carried a block of flint and steel with them. Lighting the fire was Lera prerogative for moving. Once she had gathered enough wood, Lera returned to their beach to find Carlyn sitting up right, still looking dazed, but a ring of stones stood prepared for her fire.
"Thanks" She mumbled, Arranging her twigs and withdrawing her Flint and Steel from a puch on her sash.
Carlyn nodded to her, edging closer to the hastily made fire pit as Lera's fire began to smoke and flames flickered higher every few seconds. They both huddled together, staring into the flames for what felt like an eternity as night fell and the only source of light was the stars far above and the fire roaring before them.
Every sound in the night shot shivers up Lera's spine. She kept expecting a troop of Haserpes to leap out of the underbrush and attack them. She, nor Carlyn, were in any condition to fight. They barely even spoke for exhaust. Lera didn't know for how long they dwelled on that small beach, living off nearby plants that Lera hoped were not poisonous as the gushing water of the river. She didn't notice day from night and her and Carlyn had both developed a fever. Spending most of their time between huddling together by a fire, and soaking in the river, Lera and Carlyn passed several days, the endless hours spilling like sand from an hour class.
One day.Or evening, Lera couldn't tell the difference through her fever, She and Carlyn were lying in the River, the water gushing around them, when a thought came to her. It was her first formulated thought for only god knows how long. Feverfew. It was a local plant that ebbed fevers. Providing they were still local, she could find some close by. Leaving Carlyn, who was in far worse shape than she, Lera crawled through the closest segment of forest, her eyes peeled for the small green like clover shaped sprout that would aid her recovery.
A quarter of an hour later, Lera returned, Dirt beneath her fingernails and a grin on her feverish face. She placed a small sprig of the plant in Carlyn's mouth. And coaxed him from his incapacitated state long enough to chew and swallow the remedy. Lera did the same, regretting the burning in her throat as she swallowed it.
Lera could tell that the last days of summer were washing away and autumn was setting in my the crispness of the air. That she could feel the difference in a matter of seconds was startling. Lying down beside Carlyn, hoping to share some of his feverish body heat, Lera closed her eyes and drifted into a restful sleep.
When she awoke, Carlyn was sitting cross legged by the fire.
"How are you doing?" Lera asked, dragging herself over to sit next to her. Carlyn looked up, his eyes twinkling, the dull heated look from them gone. '
"Better. Still beaten and bruised. You?" He asked, a trace of 'Carlyn' was in him again, as if his spirit had returned to his body.
"You stole the words from my mouth." Lera said, peering into the fire.
"How did you catch a fish?!" She asked, startled as she caught sight of the silvery flash in the roaring flames. Lera turned to Carlyn, her stomach rumbling. They hadn't been eating properly and Lera's appetite seemed to have returned to full health.
"Don't you ever pay attention in Tracking and Hunting classes?" Carlyn asked, jokingly irritated. He smiled at Lera, continuing his explanation, "I braided some grass together and put it in a place where I thought the fish would hit it. The current wouldn't let them get out of the net. Then I swam out and took it."
Lera gazed at him in wonder, standing up. "I'll get some.roots?" She said questioningly, not waiting for an answer, but wanting to prove her worth.
Returning with some spongy white tubers, Lera popped them into the fire, letting them get nice and crispy on the outside. After the both of them ate another sprig of Feverfew, just for safe keeping, They dished out the food. Munching happily on her portion of Carlyn's fish, Lera grinned. It felt good to have real food in her stomach once again. She huddled closer to the fire and Carlyn as the night swept in. It was getting cold and neither of them was in proper shape to move much. Lera didn't know exactly how long they had been gone, but she and Carlyn made an educated guess that they had been missing about a week, give or take.
As much as Lera would like to think she was healed, she wasn't. Even the simple task of eating exhausted her. Curling up next to Carlyn to keep warm, they both fell asleep, aching muscles knitting closer to being healed over night.
When Lera awoke, the only trace of her wounds were the bruises that blanketed her body. Her sore muscles were nearly healed. As long as she didn't push it, they could start on home, If Carlyn was better.
Carlyn's fever had receded completely, and in the morning sun, his bruises looked less yellow-purple. He stood up, fully, for his first time in days and doused the fire, still flickering from the night before. "I think we should go." He said, glancing around their little beach, which Lera had begun calling, and thinking of as home.
Lera nodded, turning away. She didn't know why she was so sad to leave their beach. Tears welled up in her eyes. She rubbed them away viciously with the palm of her hand. She turned back, realising they had nothing to pack with them, and shrugged her shoulders, turning to head upstream. Maybe they could find Corus again.
Carlyn's fingers, tentively on her back made her turn.
"Hey." He whispered, his eyes filled with emotion, just as hers, " I'll miss it too." Lera wrapped her arms around them and they stood there, hugging for what seemed like forever.
After stopping to rest every half an hour so they wouldn't tire themselves out, and hiking slowly upstream, sometimes having to splash upwards in the water because the underbrush became so thick. Along the way, Lera and Carlyn had both picked up long sticks, to be used as walking sticks. During their breaks, they went over drills with their sticks. The drills for Fencing, and Short sword fighting, even broadsword. Returning to peak condition was desperately needed after a week of lulling about in nothingness.
That evening, soothing her shins and laughing as Carlyn cursed over his as well, Lera snuggled up to the fire, her back chilling from the nights air. They had tramped un efficiently through poison ivy, Now Lera's legs were itching and stinging so much. Sitting on the bank of their small clearing, more gravely and smaller than their beach, Lera dangled her legs into the water, letting to cool liquid sooth her irritated skin. Carlyn sat beside her, copying her antics.
She groaned and pulled her legs from the water, Helping Carlyn up. Finding a particularly plump looking clump of grass, Lera sat down. Luckily it was closed to their fire as well. Though Lera was worried about forest fires, Carlyn said the fire would keep enemies away, hopefully. Sitting down on her clump of grass, and welcoming Carlyn to share his body heat, Lera closed her eyes, Carlyn's arms draped around her, keeping her warm. She snuggled against his chest, shivering from the cold, even as the fire roared nearby. Carlyn rested his chin on the top of her head, and she could tell by the way he breathed he was nearly asleep, sitting up.
Lera pulled her head away and peered up at him, her crystal blue eyes unreadable in the night. Carlyn opened his eyes. His mischievous grin telling Lera he was not so tired he couldn't speak.
"Thanks." She whispered, meaning it. She knew she would have died of cold if not for Carlyn's talent with getting the fire going and his muscled arms around her at night.
Carlyn's eyes, twinkling, grew more serious. "Thank you too." He said, remembering the haze in which he had spent days, till Lera fed him feverfew. Lera took a deep breath, sharply.
Carlyn leaned forward, closing his eyes. He pressed his lips against Lera's. Lera was taken by surprise, but kissed him back, her mouth tingling where they met. Carlyn's fingers ran down her spine and one hand settled in the small of her back. His other hand drifted up and cupped the back of her head, his fingers entwining with her long, knotted brown hair. Lera pulled away briefly, looking at him confusedly. Carlyn smiled a little lopsidedly and kissed her again, this time, his tongue slipped gently into her mouth, flicking around. Her stomach fluttered and her arms tingled.
That night Lera slept well, knowing she was safe in Carlyn's arms, and content that even if she didn't get home, she was with her best friend in the whole world.
Almost immediately she did remember. Images of intestines and blood flooding her, the terror of the fall refreshed in her mind. Wincing she willed the images away, but they flashed through her mind like a slide show with no stopping point.
Opening her eyes to end the visions, Lera groaned at the bright sun. She knew she wasn't dead. It hurt to much. Painfully aware that she was on land and that a rock was stabbing her back, Lera rolled over, regretting it instantly. Pain wafted through her, ready to burst her open.
Grunting, Lera brought an aching arm over to shield her eyes from the sun. She didn't know where she was. The gentle tugging of the river on her still submerged legs told her she had been washed down stream, but she didn't know how far. Scanning the small beach upon which she lay, Lera found Carlyn. He was lying, unconscious a few meters away. At first Lera thought he was dead, but the gentle rise and fall of his chest broke her wave of terror.
Crawling painfully through the murky sand to her wounded friend, Lera couldn't hold back tears. It felt as though every ligament in her body was being torn into millions of pieces. Collapsing from exhaust beside Carlyn, Lera shivered and pulled the last of her legs from the water. Closing her eyes, meaning to rest just a little, Lera fell into a deep slumber.
Stirring nearby awoke Lera with a start. Sitting up, Her ribs groaning uncomfortably beneath her weight, Lera watched as Carlyn's eyes fluttered open.
"Hey." She said, flashing him a rueful grin as she tried to stand up. Her clothing was in taters. Her breeches were ripped off at the knee on one side and her blouse was torn from clavicle to elbow on one side.
Carlyn rolled over, his eyes wide as he took in what had happened. Glancing at Lera briefly, he rolled onto his belly and started coughing. The cough ran through his body as humanly blood spurted the ground before him. He choked a little, his fit ending as he collapsed onto the ground.
Lera didn't know what to do. She knelt beside him, her hand resting comfortingly on his back. They were alone. It was pressing in on her. She needed him to come to her senses.
Trying to distract herself, Lera scavenged nearby finding small dry sticks to make a fire with. Pages always carried a block of flint and steel with them. Lighting the fire was Lera prerogative for moving. Once she had gathered enough wood, Lera returned to their beach to find Carlyn sitting up right, still looking dazed, but a ring of stones stood prepared for her fire.
"Thanks" She mumbled, Arranging her twigs and withdrawing her Flint and Steel from a puch on her sash.
Carlyn nodded to her, edging closer to the hastily made fire pit as Lera's fire began to smoke and flames flickered higher every few seconds. They both huddled together, staring into the flames for what felt like an eternity as night fell and the only source of light was the stars far above and the fire roaring before them.
Every sound in the night shot shivers up Lera's spine. She kept expecting a troop of Haserpes to leap out of the underbrush and attack them. She, nor Carlyn, were in any condition to fight. They barely even spoke for exhaust. Lera didn't know for how long they dwelled on that small beach, living off nearby plants that Lera hoped were not poisonous as the gushing water of the river. She didn't notice day from night and her and Carlyn had both developed a fever. Spending most of their time between huddling together by a fire, and soaking in the river, Lera and Carlyn passed several days, the endless hours spilling like sand from an hour class.
One day.Or evening, Lera couldn't tell the difference through her fever, She and Carlyn were lying in the River, the water gushing around them, when a thought came to her. It was her first formulated thought for only god knows how long. Feverfew. It was a local plant that ebbed fevers. Providing they were still local, she could find some close by. Leaving Carlyn, who was in far worse shape than she, Lera crawled through the closest segment of forest, her eyes peeled for the small green like clover shaped sprout that would aid her recovery.
A quarter of an hour later, Lera returned, Dirt beneath her fingernails and a grin on her feverish face. She placed a small sprig of the plant in Carlyn's mouth. And coaxed him from his incapacitated state long enough to chew and swallow the remedy. Lera did the same, regretting the burning in her throat as she swallowed it.
Lera could tell that the last days of summer were washing away and autumn was setting in my the crispness of the air. That she could feel the difference in a matter of seconds was startling. Lying down beside Carlyn, hoping to share some of his feverish body heat, Lera closed her eyes and drifted into a restful sleep.
When she awoke, Carlyn was sitting cross legged by the fire.
"How are you doing?" Lera asked, dragging herself over to sit next to her. Carlyn looked up, his eyes twinkling, the dull heated look from them gone. '
"Better. Still beaten and bruised. You?" He asked, a trace of 'Carlyn' was in him again, as if his spirit had returned to his body.
"You stole the words from my mouth." Lera said, peering into the fire.
"How did you catch a fish?!" She asked, startled as she caught sight of the silvery flash in the roaring flames. Lera turned to Carlyn, her stomach rumbling. They hadn't been eating properly and Lera's appetite seemed to have returned to full health.
"Don't you ever pay attention in Tracking and Hunting classes?" Carlyn asked, jokingly irritated. He smiled at Lera, continuing his explanation, "I braided some grass together and put it in a place where I thought the fish would hit it. The current wouldn't let them get out of the net. Then I swam out and took it."
Lera gazed at him in wonder, standing up. "I'll get some.roots?" She said questioningly, not waiting for an answer, but wanting to prove her worth.
Returning with some spongy white tubers, Lera popped them into the fire, letting them get nice and crispy on the outside. After the both of them ate another sprig of Feverfew, just for safe keeping, They dished out the food. Munching happily on her portion of Carlyn's fish, Lera grinned. It felt good to have real food in her stomach once again. She huddled closer to the fire and Carlyn as the night swept in. It was getting cold and neither of them was in proper shape to move much. Lera didn't know exactly how long they had been gone, but she and Carlyn made an educated guess that they had been missing about a week, give or take.
As much as Lera would like to think she was healed, she wasn't. Even the simple task of eating exhausted her. Curling up next to Carlyn to keep warm, they both fell asleep, aching muscles knitting closer to being healed over night.
When Lera awoke, the only trace of her wounds were the bruises that blanketed her body. Her sore muscles were nearly healed. As long as she didn't push it, they could start on home, If Carlyn was better.
Carlyn's fever had receded completely, and in the morning sun, his bruises looked less yellow-purple. He stood up, fully, for his first time in days and doused the fire, still flickering from the night before. "I think we should go." He said, glancing around their little beach, which Lera had begun calling, and thinking of as home.
Lera nodded, turning away. She didn't know why she was so sad to leave their beach. Tears welled up in her eyes. She rubbed them away viciously with the palm of her hand. She turned back, realising they had nothing to pack with them, and shrugged her shoulders, turning to head upstream. Maybe they could find Corus again.
Carlyn's fingers, tentively on her back made her turn.
"Hey." He whispered, his eyes filled with emotion, just as hers, " I'll miss it too." Lera wrapped her arms around them and they stood there, hugging for what seemed like forever.
After stopping to rest every half an hour so they wouldn't tire themselves out, and hiking slowly upstream, sometimes having to splash upwards in the water because the underbrush became so thick. Along the way, Lera and Carlyn had both picked up long sticks, to be used as walking sticks. During their breaks, they went over drills with their sticks. The drills for Fencing, and Short sword fighting, even broadsword. Returning to peak condition was desperately needed after a week of lulling about in nothingness.
That evening, soothing her shins and laughing as Carlyn cursed over his as well, Lera snuggled up to the fire, her back chilling from the nights air. They had tramped un efficiently through poison ivy, Now Lera's legs were itching and stinging so much. Sitting on the bank of their small clearing, more gravely and smaller than their beach, Lera dangled her legs into the water, letting to cool liquid sooth her irritated skin. Carlyn sat beside her, copying her antics.
She groaned and pulled her legs from the water, Helping Carlyn up. Finding a particularly plump looking clump of grass, Lera sat down. Luckily it was closed to their fire as well. Though Lera was worried about forest fires, Carlyn said the fire would keep enemies away, hopefully. Sitting down on her clump of grass, and welcoming Carlyn to share his body heat, Lera closed her eyes, Carlyn's arms draped around her, keeping her warm. She snuggled against his chest, shivering from the cold, even as the fire roared nearby. Carlyn rested his chin on the top of her head, and she could tell by the way he breathed he was nearly asleep, sitting up.
Lera pulled her head away and peered up at him, her crystal blue eyes unreadable in the night. Carlyn opened his eyes. His mischievous grin telling Lera he was not so tired he couldn't speak.
"Thanks." She whispered, meaning it. She knew she would have died of cold if not for Carlyn's talent with getting the fire going and his muscled arms around her at night.
Carlyn's eyes, twinkling, grew more serious. "Thank you too." He said, remembering the haze in which he had spent days, till Lera fed him feverfew. Lera took a deep breath, sharply.
Carlyn leaned forward, closing his eyes. He pressed his lips against Lera's. Lera was taken by surprise, but kissed him back, her mouth tingling where they met. Carlyn's fingers ran down her spine and one hand settled in the small of her back. His other hand drifted up and cupped the back of her head, his fingers entwining with her long, knotted brown hair. Lera pulled away briefly, looking at him confusedly. Carlyn smiled a little lopsidedly and kissed her again, this time, his tongue slipped gently into her mouth, flicking around. Her stomach fluttered and her arms tingled.
That night Lera slept well, knowing she was safe in Carlyn's arms, and content that even if she didn't get home, she was with her best friend in the whole world.
