"Is that the antidote?" I asked Takkar as I headed towards the Wenja leader and he slowly shook his head, Roshani giving me a smirk when he joined me.
"I still need to give these to Sayla." Takkar answered, heading towards Sayla's hut and with a shrug I followed ignoring Roshani's sniggering. We entered Sayla's hut to find her kneeling on the ground beside a bowl though as soon as she noticed Takkar she stood, a smile on her face. Taking the yellow flowers from him she knelt beside the bowl again spending a minute or so as she ground the flowers into a paste.
Using a leaf she spread some of the paste into it before she rolled uit up and with another smile she stood, handing it to Takkar who gave her a slight nod. Just for a few seconds I noticed that she rested her hands over Takkar's and that brought a smile to my lips. Even Roshani noticed this and he gave me a tiny nudge making me roll my eyes at him though I did give him a nod in return as Sayla released Takkar.
Making our way back outside I started to follow Takkar until I felt a tug on my hand and when I stopped I saw Roshani at my side his gaze following Takkar who hadn't even noticed we weren't still following him. "What's wrong, Roshani?" I asked my attention moving to Takkar then back at the former Izilla commander.
"Valery, we should wait for Takkar for return." Roshani told me blinking when I shook my head, my eyes narrowing at him. "I just want you to be safe." He sighed and I gave him a weak smile.
"I know, Roshani. Look how about I let Takkar take care of Ull and we fight off anyone stupid enough to attack Takkar?" I offered and he grinned, reaching over before I felt his hand squeeze mine. "So we agree."
"Maybe we should follow Takkar before he leaves us behind." Roshani replied and I blinked, turning back to find the warrior had already left.
"Too late, Roshani." I grumbled as we started to run into the bushes, finding Takkar after only a few minutes of sprinting. "There you are." I coughed and he turned to see both of us jogging over to meet him.
"You should stay in the village. It is not safe for you." Takkar answered and I rolled my eyes at him so Takkar turned to Roshani. "She is very stubborn." He pointed out and Roshani cracked a smile as I crossed my arms, snorting at them.
"I know, Takkar but we are stuck together now." Roshani pointed out and I elbowed him, getting both eyebrows raised in response.
"Very funny you two. If you're done making fun of me we should be going after Ull." I grumbled and they both exchanged a quick grin before Takkar hefted his club, heading deeper into the forest before I followed with Roshani taking up the lead.
After several hours of walking Takkar called a halt and I blinked at him, cheeks a little red from the long walk. "We should make camp and wait until that storm blows over." Takkar told us, kneeling to gathering some branches. Confused, I waited until Roshani copied him and I blinked at them. "The storms to the North can kill just as easily as the Udam." He added with a frown and I rolled my eyes, following Roshani who headed over to a grove of trees to gathering mover firewood.
"Valery, he is right. If we wander into that storm we could get lost or freeze." He explained, grabbing several branches. I gathered a few myself though I paid more attention to the cold air coming from the mountain than what I was supposed to be doing. "Valery, is something wrong?"
"I just thought we'd go straight to Ull's camp. It kind of sucks that we can't face him yet even after getting the antidote." I replied, straightening and he gave me a tiny smile. "Other than that I'm perfectly fine."
"I understand that, Valery. But I thought you would be thinking more about our marriage ceremony." Roshani answered and that thought brought a smile to my face. "I am looking forward to it as well."
"Of course I am. Just not sure what exactly happens in an Izila ceremony. You won't even drop a single hint." I complained and he laughed, dropping the branches before he swept me into a hug. I yelped trying to stay mad until he kissed the side of my neck and I couldn't help a lopsided grin. "Okay, I have to wait. I get it so put me down, Roshani." I protested and he smiled, giving my cheek a kiss before he gently placed me back on the grass.
"We need to beat Ull then we can live in peace with the Wenja." Roshani said and I nodded, retrieving the branches I'd dropped as Roshani did the same. Together we walked back to Takkar who noticed my slightly red cheeks though he didn't comment, too busy starting a campfire.
Now sitting around the fire I moved closer to Roshani as the air around us grew colder. Noticing I was shivering, Roshani wrapped his arm around my shoulders. "It will get colder once we start the journey to Ull's cave so you need to be ready." Takkar warned and I sighed, resting my head against Roshani's while I considered how cold it really would get and if I would be able to cope.
Between the cold and the long trek just to reach the edge of the forest I must have fallen asleep, waking to find myself lying beside Roshani who didn't move when I moved my head. "Roshani?" I whispered, reaching over to gently shake his shoulder. A second shake made him groan and he cracked open his eyes to stare at me.
"Hmm...Valery? Is something wrong?" He mumbled, still half-asleep and I sighed as I straightened. Seeing me looking around he sat before he rubbed at his eyes. "Where is Takkar?"
"That's what I want to know, Roshani. He's gone." I pointed out with a sigh and he climbed to his feet, looking at the embers of the fire before he looked off into the distance.
"There are no footprints, Valery. He may have headed into the mountains while we were sleeping." Roshani answered and I growled under my breath, stomping towards the snow until Rosnahi's hand on my shoulder stopped me in my tracks.
"Wait, Valery. If Takkar left us here he must have a good reason. He wants to face Ull on his own and he has his animals." Roshani told me and I nodded though it took me more than a few minutes to calm myself, eventually I decided to distract myself by gathering more branches. It worked for a while and I even started whistling too busy thinking about my upcoming wedding to notice something moving in the bushes.
It wasn't until Roshani noticed, searching for branches as well, that he dropped them. He raced towards me and I looked up giving him a grin until something hissed. I turned just as something black and red leapt at my uncovered right leg and I let out a pain-filled cry as the creature sunk its fangs into my ankle. I barely noticed Roshani grabbing a tree branch before he struck the snake over the head, killing it in two blows before he turned his attention back to me.
Having fallen on my backside due to the pain and shock I sat there whimpering, the branches I'd carefully gathered scattered around me as my eyes stared at the two red pinpricks.
"Valery, it was a snake. We need to get you back to the village now." Roshani told me and I looked up, eyes filling with tears due to the sting of the snakebite. I tried to climb to my feet until Roshani grabbed me around the waist and I yelped as he lifted me into his arms. "You need to keep yourself calm. I will get you help." He assured me and I tried to nod just as my vision started to blur. I could feel my heart beating faster as I struggled to stay conscious watching with fading vision as Roshani raced through the forest.
He didn't make it far before he felt my head resting against his chest, my breathing weaker and he slowed long enough to hug me tighter. "Hold on, Valery." I heard him whispering to me and I wanted to answer finding that even lifting my head proved too much and my eyes closed.