The Call
~ Kitty
Chapter 4: Wild lives
…
"An eagle soaring above a sheer cliff, where I suppose its nest is, makes another striking show of life, and helps to bring to mind the other people of the so-called solitude—deer in the forest caring for their young; the strong, well-clad, well-fed bears; the lively throng of squirrels; the blessed birds, great and small, stirring and sweetening the groves; and the clouds of happy insects filling the sky with joyous hum as part and parcel of the down-pouring sunshine."
― John Muir, My First Summer in the Sierra
The branches they dredged out from the river were damp and it took longer to start this second fire. After several false starts, Sango finally managed to coax the flame into a self-sustaining state. Miroku had a small collection little metal mugs at his feet and he was pouring a healthy portion of amber colored whiskey in to each. Kagome lounged beside Sango, using her foam sleeping pad for a yoga mat and gingerly stretching out her tired legs.
"It's so bizarre!" She exclaimed, "It's almost one and the sky's still so bright!"
"Yeah, feels like it's only five or six," Sango said in agreement.
"I don't even feel tired!"
Miroku gave her a disbelieving look. "Not even your legs?" He asked, slightly incredulous.
Kagome rolled her eyes, conceding. "Like, I'm not mentally tired," she clarified, "I don't feel sleepy at all."
Legs stretched and tended to, Kagome settled down comfortably on the mat, pulling a small pouch onto her lap and pulled out a small black notebook. Sango glanced over curiously.
"You still painting these days?" She asked her friend.
Kagome shrugged, flipping to an empty page and pulling out a pen. "Not much," she answered, "I brought my watercolors for this trip though."
"You gonna be able to keep them dry?" Sango asked, "We're very likely going to flip several times when we get on the pack rafts…"
Again, the raven haired girl shrugged. "If they get wet, then they get wet."
"That's the spirit," Miroku piped up, handing out the whiskey and taking a seat beside Sango. He raised his cup above the fire.
"To surviving our first day," he said. There was a chorus of cheers and then he turned toward the tents. "And to our grumpy guide!" He said loudly.
A very faint grunt could be heard in the distance and Kagome giggled, shaking her head. The whiskey burned on the way down but it was bracing and she took another sip before sighing.
"So, how do you know each other again?" She asked, genuinely curious, "You guys were roommates in college right?"
Sango snorted on a laugh while Miroku answered.
"Yep, four straight years if you can believe it."
"I… can't believe that...," Kagome said, laughing and shaking her head, "Voluntarily?"
"You guys didn't start sophomore year as roommates though," Sango cut in. Miroku scratched his head recalling.
"Yeah," he said thoughtfully, "We both went with the lottery system and had new roommates that year."
Kagome scooted forward, her journal forgotten. She tossed a new bough onto the fire and leaned in curiously. "So, what happened then?"
"They both applied for new ones," Sango said, a smile growing wide on her face, "These two were apparently insufferable to everyone but each other."
Kagome raised an eyebrow, sipping at her mug. "Inuyasha I can already guess," she said, turning to Miroku, "What did you do to your roommate?"
Miroku jerked back as though wounded, pressing a hand to his chest. "Kagome!" he exclaimed, "You insinuate that it was my fault that my roommate wanted out?"
Kagome laughed. "Yup."
At this point, Sango piped in. "You got that pudgy guy, Hachie… something?"
Miroku sighed, shaking his head. "Don't know why he wanted to move out. I thought we got along really well."
"You kept hitting on any and every girl he brought around."
"Eh," Miroku said carelessly, "Share and be shared."
Kagome was giggling into her mug while Sango fixed her fiance with a serious stare. "Not anymore," she said, her voice clipped and deathly serious.
Miroku nervously huffed a few chuckles. "Yeah, honey," he said, "Of course…"
Kagome glanced toward their collection of tents, where a distant little tarp was all she could see of Inuyasha and asked with a sparkle of curiosity in her eyes.
"So, what's the story with Inuyasha?" she asked, "I guess that his roommate couldn't stand his grouchiness?"
Sango frowned, thinking back to their college days. "Actually," she said, "I think it was Inuyasha who made the new roommate request. Something about being fed up with Jack's advances or something."
At this, Miroku choked on his whiskey, coughing and laughing until tears sprung to his eyes. "Jack! Oh my god, Jack," he said, "I'm surprised Inuyasha didn't murder that guy."
Curiosity well and truly piqued, Kagome leaned closer with a gleam in her eyes. "Why's that?" she asked.
Sango also had a wide smile of her own and she smirked. "Jack was gay. Very, very, gay. And he completely fell head over heels for Inuyasha, violently."
Kagome brought a hand to her mouth to keep from guffawing into her drink. A discomforting burning sensation blasted up to her eyes as the alcohol vapors invaded her nose. She was coughing for several minutes, Sango sympathetically patting her back while laughing. The conversation turned to different topics and eventually they all decided it was much too late to be staying up beside the fire. They did their best to stay quiet as they returned to the tents although Kagome was completely certain Inuyasha still lay awake and she felt extremely self conscious as she shuffled around in her tent. How he could sleep like that, partially exposed and open to attack from every mosquito in the vicinity, was a mystery to her. But the physical exertion of the day caught up to her quickly she was almost instantly enveloped by the oblivion of sleep as soon as she closed her eyes.
…
A loud, deafening crack echoed through the valley and three slumbering campers were awakened in a state of disoriented panic, practically wetting themselves as they tumbled out of their tents.
"Rise and shine, lazy asses!"
The shot was ringing in her head, she could virtually feel her skull vibrating with aftershocks and she groggily fell out of her tent as her feet snagged on the fly tiedown straps. Luckily, the ground was soft and forgiving just outside her door. Miroku and Sango's tent was a thrashing mess of limbs and agitated voices, toppling over as the occupants were rudely startled awake. Kagome, with her hair sticking out at odd angles, squinted into the overbright daylight in the general direction she believed her auditory assailant to be in and managed a hoarse grumble.
"You are so dead," she mumbled, "I'm gonna kill you today."
"Keh, go for it," he dared her, grinning openly at her disheveled, blotchy appearance. As much as she wished to take him up on his invitation, Kagome could only groan as she tumbled out the rest of the way from her tent.
"What time is it?" She managed to ask.
"Time to get up," Inuyasha said simply, wasting no time and already pouring out a hot mug of coffee. The steam drifted over the campsite and it helped draw Kagome up and out and she bumbled her way to the cold, black campfire, a hand outstretched.
"Make yer own," he grumbled, greedily taking a long draft from his mug. Kagome pouted, her eyes still not quite adjusting to the golden sunlight and she wrinkled her nose at him.
"But sharing is caring…," she whined, resigning herself her own bear bin to dig out a portion of the wakefulness elixir. The opening mechanism required far more dexterity than Kagome was capable of so early in the morning, and after watching her for several minutes, Inuyasha rolled his eyes, sighed, and handed her his mug.
"Hold this," he said, pulling her bin in front of himself and finangling the stubborn lid off. Kagome held the hot mug under her face, reveling in the rich, dark scent and enjoying its warmth in the chilly morning air.
"Here," he said, handing over the now open bin and reclaiming his mug. She was clearly still in a state between sleep and fully awake and he took advantage of the moment to take in her drowsy expression. No matter what the mood or context, he realized, there was always a bit a sunniness in her face, something joyful that shined behind her eyes. Perhaps that was why his subconscious was beginning to lean towards her, her presence was somehow soothing. With her hands free again, she rummaged through the bin, sifting through the tightly packed collection of freeze dried pouches and miscellaneous snacks. By the time she managed to locate her instant coffee, Inuyasha had water boiling for her and she was soon contentedly sipping from her own steaming mug. Sango and Miroku eventually joined them in matching masks of morning grumpiness.
"Did you have to use your gun to wake us up?" Miroku asked.
Grunt.
"Next time just bless us with the sound of your voice?"
Grunt.
Kagome chuckled into her mug before offering Sango a sip. She knew her friend well and as predicted, the first hit of caffeine helped clear away the clouds on Sango's face and the taller woman sighed, her shoulders relaxing as she handed the mug back.
"So," Sango said, "Today's more of the same?"
Grunt.
Miroku, not having the benefit of coffee, nor in any mood to humor his infuriating ex roommate, didn't hold back his retort.
"Use your damn voice, Inuyasha!" He shouted, "Or I will surgically remove it from you!"
Grunt.
"Inuyasha!"
Miroku's first swing was easily dodged and Inuyasha caught the second one smoothly. Kagome watched the proceedings with an eyebrow raised, quietly impressed that Inuyasha had drawn out physical violence from Miroku. Inuyasha seemed completely unfazed by the attack and went about cleaning up camp. Kagome was fully awake now and ready to help, grinned at him with those shining eyes.
"Just how did you two survive each other in college?" She asked as they both carried their bear bins back to camp.
Grunt.
Kagome groaned with mock exasperation. Inuyasha glanced over at her as she maneuvered around her gear, taking down her tent and wrangling it back into its stuff sack. Gear tamed, Kagome turned her attention to her hair, sitting comfortably atop her pack and splitting the dark locks into two equally portioned halves. Once again, he found himself enraptured by the serenity in her face as her eyes drifted distantly across the landscape. Plaiting done with one half of her hair, Kagome turned her face away from him to braid the other side. Eventually, Miroku and Sango returned to the tents full up on granola bar breakfasts and coffee and with very little ceremony, camp was taken down and packs were hoisted up, and another grueling day of trekking spilled out before them.
…
Things were an improvement from yesterday, Inuyasha decided. Kagome was once again borrowing a trekking pole, carefully picking her way through the river whenever they had to cross to the other side. Since they'd started out on the river that morning and open swaths of gravel were growing more and more common along the water's edge, they made good time, silently huffing and sloshing for the next hour or two. The peace was punctuated here and there by Miroku or Kagome excitedly pointing out yet another animal print, calling him over to identify this or that for them. Though they paused often, Kagome's genuine wonder over every new thing she saw took the edge off his impatience, helping him to savor the moment, rather than focus on getting to their destination. Over the course of that single morning, there were wolf print sightings, several wide moose prints, and one very large set of bear tracks. As they moved lower and lower down the valley, Miroku turned to Inuyasha.
"Should we be shouting or making noise or something?" he asked, "The intro video said the worst thing possible is to surprise a bear out here."
Grunt.
"Is that a yes or a no?"
Grunt.
"I'm going to fucking kill you…"
Kagome laughed, watching the interaction while Sango could only shake her head. "I get first dibs," Kagome said, but Miroku protested.
"No," he said, "Believe me, I think I get first dibs after suffering through four years of being his roommate."
Snort.
"MOOSE!"
Kagome's whole body was stiff as a board and her eyes were wide and stunned as she stared downriver. The alarm in her voice had instantly alerted the group that this was no drill and all heads whipped around to see the young bull moose staring calmly at them. There was a modest rack of antlers proudly displayed on the strange, elongated head, still covered with a brown, fuzzy velvet. The entire group of humans stood stock still, hardly breathing as they watched the large creature continue to gaze at them before turning toward the shore, powerful muscles rippling with each leisurely stride. Its long, slender legs moved easily through the river water and it returned gracefully to the wilderness, disappearing up the river bank and among the low brush. Silence lingered between them after the moose's departure.
"Wow…," Kagome sighed, "Just wow…"
"That thing was huge!" Sango said beside her, her eyes round as Kagome's. Miroku's reaction was one of disappointment.
"Aw man!" he exclaimed, "I completely forgot to get my camera out!"
Sango patted Miroku's shoulder while Kagome laughed. "I don't think I'll need a picture to remember that!" she said.
Inuyasha, for his part, relaxed his hold on the grip of his gun and sighed. He wouldn't admit it, but the touch of panic in Kagome's shout had caused his heart to leap into his throat, and the thumping in his chest was only just beginning to come down. Kagome turned to him with a sheepish smile.
"Sorry…," she said, excitement still swimming in her eyes, "I'll try to be less jumpy."
His body reacted on its own in response to her and his lips flashed a smile despite himself. Shaking his head, he sloshed forward downriver towards where the moose had been.
"Let's get moving," he said.
When they'd arrived at the spot where the moose had been standing, another wave of awestruck murmurs erupted from Kagome and Sango.
"Look how big it's feet were!" Kagome said, leaning over the prints.
"Look how deep the prints are!" Sango responded, marveling alongside her friend.
Inuyasha rolled his eyes while Miroku instructed the girls to place their feet beside the tracks as he snapped picture after picture. Finally, his patience wore out.
"Can we get a fucking move on?" he complained. Miroku waved at him absently, adjusting his camera before taking one last picture and straightening up.
"Ok, ok, angry one," he said patronizingly. He turned to Sango and began informing her about the mating rituals of the creature they'd just seen, while Sango rolled her eyes, but humored him as they began to move forward. Inuyasha grumbled as Miroku shoved past him, but he let him pass, lingering until Kagome stepped up and eyed him curiously. He didn't make eye contact, but started walking alongside her. It wasn't even a conscious decision, simply that her presence spoke to something inside him and he naturally gravitated towards the thing that made him feel at ease.
…
As they continued to descend down the valley, a chorus of birdsong joined the rushing water and rustling foliage and Kagome stopped often to look around, trying to catch a glimpse. One clear throated bird stood out among the rest, taunting her with a melodic three note song. When Kagome stopped once more to pinpoint its location, Inuyasha sighed and indicated toward a thicket of trees.
"Probably over there," he said, "It's a white-crowned sparrow."
"It's got such a distinctive call," Kagome mused, moving again. Inuyasha just shrugged.
"Sparrows are a dime a dozen out here," he said.
Kagome made a sound of acknowledgement and continued on. Only a short distance later, she stopped short again.
"The creek is orange!" she said, perplexed. Inuyasha glanced over in the direction she was staring, a little feeder stream pouring into the river they were on.
"Iron in the mountains," he posited, shrugging again, "Could also be sulfur."
"Or both…," Kagome said, her expression thoughtful as her eyes absorbed as many details as they could detect. Even more than the day before, Inuyasha found himself pulled into Kagome's pace, glad the rushing water drowned out Miroku's unceasing exposition from up ahead of them. He seriously couldn't fathom how Sango put up with the man. As they progressed, Inuyasha found himself pointing things out to Kagome, enjoying her reaction and admiration as he indicated toward useful plants or features in the mountain. There was an intimacy there that he hadn't felt in years. The land around them had left a deep imprint inside his core in the last five years he'd lived out here and sharing it with her felt like he was sharing a piece of himself. Her open excitement and acceptance of each new bit of information felt as though she was slowly embracing more and more of him as they hiked. This feeling of connection, of bonding, with another person was deeply profound for him and somehow unsettling in a way that made him excited and restless. While he could not give it shape or form, there was something budding inside him that had been buried for a long time and Kagome drew it out like springtime defeating the long sleep of winter.
As they carried on, the river grew deeper, and finally, they arrived at the end of gravel bar and stared at the deep, fast paced current that flowed between them and the next open bank.
"Miroku, let me see the map again," Sango said, turning to Miroku's pack to pull out the laminated paper. Unfolding it, she and Miroku oriented themselves with the terrain and landmarks while Kagome huffed a sigh and looked around, grateful for the break. After Miroku turned the map over several times, Inuyasha finally came up to the pair.
"That's north," he said, pointing, "That's this, and that's this."
Sango frowned as she shifted the map to align with Inuyasha's indications while Miroku kept glancing between the paper and the nearby peaks.
"Are you sure," he asked Inuyasha, "I could have sworn we were much further down river."
"We're not, dumbass."
"So, should we cut up the side now?" It had been in the plans to travel up a side creek and cross over a mountain pass before descending down to meet up with a supply drop. But they were still a fair distance away from the juncture and it was getting harder to continue trekking in the river. Any deeper, and Sango was sure Kagome would be swept away.
"I was hoping to get down to that flatter area before cutting to the Wolverine Creek," Sango said, pointing out where the plain seemed to level out. She glanced up the bank they currently stood beside and grimaced. It was steep, and thick with trees.
By this point, Kagome had taken a refreshing swig of water, dabbed her sweaty forehead with a bandana she'd dipped in the icy cold river, and had come up behind them to glance at the map, the upcoming river, and quickly made a decision for them all.
"I wanna avoid freezing my crotch," she said bluntly, "My vote is to cut over to the creek now."
Decision made, Inuyasha grunted, and started off up the hill, Kagome marching after him. Miroku looked up at the slope and groaned, he did not fancy another stretch of bushwhacking in the scratchy, tangled alders. Sango took Kagome's lead and began moving without complaint. Very soon, they could hear nothing but the sound of their own heavy panting, punctuated by snapping twigs and the rustling of branches as they pressed through the dense forest. Without the cold river to help cool them during the exercise, sweat poured down their faces in little rivers by the time they each burst through one last thicket and into an open meadow, sparsely dotted with tall spruce trees.
"Oh my god, finally!" Kagome wheezed, stumbling out of the trees and plopping herself down beside Inuyasha who was calmly exchanging his water shoes for a sturdy pair of boots. Sango and Miroku were both in very similar states as they emerged, bracing each other as they caught their breath. Laces tied, Inuyasha straightened and observed his companions with obvious amusement.
"Break, I need a break," Miroku begged, slipping out of his pack and letting it fall heavily to the ground. Kagome laughed at Sango, who staggered over to her and rested her hands on both of Kagome's shoulders, leaning heavily on the seated girl.
"How ya feelin'?" Kagome asked, patting Sango's hand.
"Like we're doing that Spartan thing all over again…," Sango said, slowly catching her breath, "I regret not working out enough for this…"
Kagome laughed again, shrugging to dislodge her friend while Sango groaned and moved to sit down as well. The clearing was a cheery, sunny place, where the bushes were knee height and manageable. They all lounged on the bed of soft mosses and grasses for several minutes, rubbing sore and scratched up shins as they switched to more comfortable land footwear.
"Yikes," Sango said, glancing over at Kagome's legs, "You have a nasty one there."
Kagome grimaced, looking down at the angry red welt.
"Yeah, I think the tree won that one."
There was chuckling and groaning and eventually, after the sun dried their sweaty bangs to their faces, Inuyasha decided they'd had enough of rest and stood to press on. Kagome and Sango managed to scrambled to there feet but Miroku required a special kind of encouragement.
"Get your ass up, Miroku!" Inuyasha demanded, giving Miroku's pack several half hearted nudges with his booted foot. When that didn't work, Inuyasha moved on to Miroku's rear end.
"Yow!" Miroku exclaimed, "Alright already! I'm up."
At such a higher elevation from the water below, the land was firmer and drier and movement was far easier. They briefly traversed a recovering burn area, colorfully decorated with bright purple blossoms that Miroku identified as fireweed. The sun had no trouble piercing the barren branches overhead and so another sheen of sweat began to form and drip from their faces before Inuyasha paused, reaching a cliff and turned to wait for the others to catch up.
"What now?" Miroku asked, coming up behind him and looking down at the slender river below. Wordlessly, Inuyasha just motioned down the steep side and Miroku groaned. And then Sango and Kagome arrived and both girls surveyed the view, Kagome's eyes lighting up with delight.
"That's beautiful!" she said, "It's almost a canyon!"
The opposing cliffside was bare rock and hung over the rushing water majestically, catching the reflected light from the river below. There was a deep pool where the water eddied and spun in little rippling circles and Inuyasha immediately decided that this would be their lunch spot, and that he would take a dip. The scrambling descent down the crumbling slope was tricky and Kagome found herself very far behind, emerging from the brambles with leaves and dirt smudged into her face and hair. But the scene that greeted her eyes immediately removed her thoughts from her discomfort and she stood for several seconds, dumbstruck and mouth ajar.
Water glistened off his skin and he seemed to glow and sparkle in the sunlight. Then he dropped, plunging below the waters to emerge a short way downstream, shaking his head so his heavy, wet braid whipped around his torso and brought her attention to his abdomen, which was tight and contracted as he breathed and shook, the angular light highlighting the little streams of water racing down between the lines of his muscles. Closer by, Sango coughed, catching Kagome's eyes and winking.
"You're drooling" she said playfully, her eyes twinkling with mischief. Kagome snapped her jaw closed, blinking rapidly, and reached out to take a share of the firewood Sango was holding.
"Holy crap!" Kagome whispered under her breath to her friend. Sango giggled. They joined Miroku on shore who was nursing a little flame with small twigs.
"You're not going to take a dip?" Kagome asked Miroku. He sent her a flabbergasted look.
"Fuck no!" he said, "It's freezing in there!"
Inuyasha was now emerging from the river, water droplets streaming off his shorts and hair. Kagome determinedly kept her face neutral and focused on finding a snack for lunch, all the while glancing at him through her lashes. Inuyasha came to them and shook himself like a dog, spraying Miroku who complained loudly.
"Oi! Watch it, dude!"
Grunt.
Miroku grumbled under his breath, vowing to get Inuyasha back for that as well as this morning's wake up call. Inuyasha seemed unfazed by the threats and moved to grab his discarded shirt before sauntering back down to the water's edge to rinse the sweaty, dirty garment off, his actions inspiring Kagome to do the same.
"That's a good idea," she said, coming up to squat beside him. She'd taken her shoes and socks off and squealed when she stepped into the freezing water.
"How…," she gasped, "How the hell did you manage to take a swim in this?"
Inuyasha smirked and shrugged, tilting his head up to glance at her, immediately captivated as she began to shed her top to reveal her own trim stomach, her modesty protected by a simple black sports bra. Her proximity prevented him from fully appreciating her form as he quickly succumbed to self-conscious embarrassment and looked away. She was preoccupied by her own bashfulness and proceeded to dunk her dirty, dusty shirt into the water, industriously scrubbing at the fabric and pretending not to have the most attractive male specimen she'd ever seen crouched right beside her. The water was refreshing, and after acclimating to the temperature, Kagome felt brave enough to scoop a few handfuls up to rinse the dirt and grime from her face.
The stop was brief, only enough to grab a snack and rinse out sweaty clothing. Soon, they were packed up and picking their way carefully along the long gravel bar. It was only a short distance before the gravel shores came to an end and the group was faced again with the cold, fast-flowing, deep water. They stalled there briefly, no one particularly eager to plunge through the frigid waters again. Just as Kagome was about to pipe up, Inuyasha turned his head sharply, his eyes scanning the cliffs over head.
And then she heard a sharp, piercing call echoing off the rocks above.
"What's that?" Sango asked, looking up as well. Miroku, clearly determined not to miss another photo opportunity, immediately dropped his pack began rummaging around for his camera.
"Some kind of bird of prey…," he muttered in response. He triumphantly located his camera and joined the others searching the skies.
"Hawk," Inuyasha said, "Red tailed hawk."
He narrowed his eyes at a particular little dark spot on the cliff and absently gestured to Kagome and pointed. Kagome squinted, struggling to make out the bird and jumped when something brushed against her hand.
"Here," Inuyasha said, holding out a pair of binoculars.
Gratefully accepting, Kagome eagerly swung up the device to her eyes, gasping in delight when she spied a messy collection of twigs and branches supporting a grey, fluffy, clumsy fledgling only beginning to shed its down for true flight feathers. A dark shadow passed over it and the little creature tilted its head back, beak wide open as it begged for food.
"Wow!" she exclaimed, passing the binos to Sango. She turned to Inuyasha, her face bright and excited.
"That's so cool!"
His reactions toward her were growing softer and this time, when he smiled in response, there was a warmth she'd not seen before in his eyes. That combined with the absolute vision she'd witnessed of him earlier caused a surprising flutter in her chest that she hadn't been prepared for.
Inuyasha waited a minute longer for Miroku to take his pictures, before grunting and moving to cross the river. Kagome lingered a bit longer on shore, gazing up at the little speck on the cliff, then looking up further to spie the baby bird's parents circling overhead, releasing their piercing calls as they stared down at the strange, two legged creatures below. Eventually, Miroku was satisfied with his pictures and he and Sango began to cross the river. And then it was Kagome's turn. She took a breath to push back her apprehension of the swirling currents, and took her first step toward the opposite shore.
It was scary. Kagome's knuckles were white as she struggled to stab the borrowed hiking pole into the cracks between smooth, slippery river stones and she had very little trust in her ability to find solid footing. The water was strong, a wave of force that pulled her downstream and there were several teetering moments when she nearly called out for help. The river was brushing her hips and her knee-length shorts clung damp and heavy to her legs. And it was cold. Bitterly cold and her breath came in short, involuntary gasps. She was so focused on ensuring her body stayed upright, she didn't even notice a helpful presence come up beside her until he'd placed a hand at her elbow.
"You're fine," his gruff voice said and somehow, she instantly felt better. He stood upstream of her, bracing her and breaking the current. Between the hiking pole and his steady arms, she somehow made it to the other side in one piece, although certainly a lot wetter than she'd hoped she would be. Trembling, she smiled her thanks to her rescuer.
"River's gonna stay pretty high for a ways," Inuyasha said, "Let's climb up higher on this side."
The next two days were much the same, only dipping back down to the river in order to replenish their water bladders. Sparrows and chickadees alerted each other to their presence as they passed and the end of each day, Kagome would glance back at the valley they were slowly trudging up, marveling at the distance they'd made and how narrow the river was becoming, eventually dwindling down to a shallow, bubbling creek and then finally, they arrived at the last stretch, to climb up the high mountain pass to reach the next valley.
A/N: Not sure how much people care but i'm trying to derive all the chapter titles in this story from some famous John Muir quote or other (i.e. chapter 1 - the mountains are calling and I must go) but i'm running out of good ones… anyone have any favorite John Muir quotes they want to suggest? Specially for this chapter cause i spent hours and couldn't find a good one… :P
Also, sorry for how rambly this story is… i don't really have a plot in mind so i'm just going with the flow on this one...