("What was it that I sensed earlier? I don't understand it, I'm usually so dead on to these kinds of things.") Standing out in the open, Ember looked around trying to peer through the dense cluster of trees and brush surrounding her. The presence still lingered, but appeared to be further off than it had been. Choosing to deny he better judgment, she closed her eyes and walked off in the direction of the disturbance.
After walking for what seemed like hours, she could feel the uneasy sensation growing. However, this time she was the one following it. ("Where is it, and how did it get in front of me without me seeing it?") She was stopped mid stride as the sensation grew to an uncomfortable level. Something was close, but as the sun began to sink she could see nothing. ("it's like I'm standing right on top of something…but where the hell is it?") With that thought, Ember's feet fell from under her. "Oh my-!"
Flailing her arms around above her head, she managed to grab onto the root of a nearby tree. Dangling just below the ledge, Ember looked down at what would have been her fate had she not latched onto the tree. Nothing but cliff and sand lay below her, and with a fall that far, she would have been flat in no time.
After overcoming the initial shock of nearly falling to her death Ember realized something that slightly irritated her. Looking up, she could see that she had grabbed onto the root with her bad hand. The problem was that it didn't hurt like it should, an as she hung suspended next to the cliff there came a snapping sound.
The pain finally caught up to her.
"Gah!" Reflexively unlatching her hand, Ember began to fall when something above her latched onto her arm. "Huh?"
"Are you an idiot?" Frankie Stood trying to pull Ember back onto the ledge. "I could have sworn you were supposed to say n the village! Isn't that why I'm out here…instead of…" With one massive heave, she had Ember over the edge and back in the trees. "You!"
Holding her mouth shut with tears forming in her eyes, Ember began to wine while nodding her head.
"Uh, you ok?" Lifting one eyebrow in curiosity, Frankie examined Ember's expression and actions. It became apparent what the problem was after a few moment of looking her over. "You messed around and now your injured wrist is broken. ISNT IT."
Biting her lip, Ember forced a shallow breath and a low groan. "Uh huh…" Her wrist throbbed as the pain began to subside. "I think I broke it."
"Well you don't have to cry about it." Frankie cracked half a smile trying not to look too amused. "I broke my arm once, and I barely felt anything."
"I'm not crying, I'm just…I have a low tolerance for pain." Holding her wrist with the opposite hand, Ember shook her head and sucked it up. "I get bitten by wolves and stuff all the time back home, I've just never broken anything."
"Well, it doesn't look to bad. Then again Alyssa or one of your other friends might need to look at it to be sure." Seeing that Ember had managed to regain control of her emotions and the pain, Frankie looked back out of the trees and down the cliff. "Now, if you're done blubbering over your wrist, I want you to see where we'll be executing my Mater plan."
"Now it's a MASTER plan?"Seeing that Frankie had her back turned, Ember rolled her eyes with a slight 'as if' look on her face.
"Yes it is. Beryl and I had the whole discussion on the way here." Pulling Ember over to the edge of the tree line, Frankie smiled pulling a few branches out of the way. "Seeing as I'm the master of the plan, it's a master plan."
("If you say so…") Peaking out of the opening in the trees, Ember looked out over what appeared to be a small bay.
"It's got everything we need, and a few advantages that should come in handy." Frankie began to explain her plan in detail. "It looked like it should be at least two hundred feet from the top of the cliffs to the water. The walls are curved in to where there is only a slight opening in the wall just at the end of the bay."
Looking around at the cage like bay, Ember tried to imagine the plan unfolding. The cliffs were even and consisted of sheer rock walls that encompassed the small bay. At the far end of the bay there stood an opening as long as one small boat. The water coming in swirled into a small whirlpool in the center of the bay, and the water surrounding it looked black as pitch. On the other hand, the water surrounding the whirl pool gradually got lighter as it approached the cliff walls and the small beach directly below where the two girls stood.
"You see, we'll have the arrows made to pierce the scaly hide of the serpent, and once we have it "hooked" on all sides, we'll attach the chains to hooks we'll have hammered into the rock wall. After we have it hooked and it can't get away, the dragons will fly over with the net and drop it over the serpents head. After we have it hooked and netted it should be fairly weak. The only thing left to do would be to pull it onto the shore and burn it once it stops struggling!" The entire plan went down perfectly in Frankie's head as she smiled admiring her own brilliance. "And you don't even have to get it here, because it lives in the whirl pool down there.
"Wait, it lives in a swirling vortex of rapidly rushing water?" Trying to figure out how something could survive in such conditions, Ember shook her head. "How do you know it lives there? Did you see it?"
"Yeah, I saw it. If came out of the trees a little before you did. Only it came out from the tops of the trees." Frankie found it a bit concerning when Ember's eyes widened in a bit of shock. "You ok there?"
"I had sensed something following me in the woods earlier…I hid, and didn't see anything for a long time. When I came out of hiding, the thing that I had sensed was in front of me and I followed to see what it might have been." Holding her injured hand at her side, Ember reflected on the actions she had taken in the forest. Her first instinct had told her to hide in the tree. Had she listened and been able to get into the tree, she would have been killed. Instead she had hidden under a tree. The god's were sending a pretty good streak of luck her way. "Opicempu…" Kneeling she closed her eyes and spoke inaudibly in a foreign tongue.
"O pie what now?" Frankie tilted her head looking as confused as she'd ever been.
"Opicempu. It means "to thank the gods for their good works"." Ember stood up with a smile stretched across her face. "Well we better get back to the village. I have to have Hiccup or Astrid look at my wrist."
"Nope. We can't go anywhere." Suddenly Frankie flushed an embarrassed bright red.
"Oh? And why can't we?" Now Ember was the one confused.
"Well, one, the sun is setting and it's going to get really dark out here soon…and two…Beryl, ran off with my horse."
"WHAT? You mean we have to spend the night next to the den of the ONE CREATURE ON EARTH that is out to kill me?" With her one good hand, Ember pulled Frankie uncomfortably close. "FRAN…!"
"Hey! It's not my fault you wandered out here on your own and hurt your hand. AGAIN!" Grabbing Ember by the collar of her shirt, Frankie was ready to go at it.
"Yeah well-!" A sudden splash from below startled Ember and caused her to release Frankie from her iron grip. Looking down, Ember could see the serpent rising from the water toward the trees. "Frankie run!" Tying to keep as silent as she could, Ember pulled Frankie toward the thickest cluster of trees she could find.
Making her way silently beside her, Frankie also pulled Ember toward the same cluster of trees. "Stop pulling me!" She hissed under her breath.
"You stop pulling me!" Ember hissed back glaring over at Frankie as the two of them climbed inside of a thick crop of pine trees.
"You first!" The whispers were now the only thing able to be heard, and as Frankie went to speak again, she found Ember pulling her down and pressing her to the forest floor with her bad hand over her mouth. "MMM!"
Releasing her grip on Frankie, Ember gestured for her to be quiet. Pointing up she released her all together and pressed her body against the dark wood of the pine tree.
Looking up, Frankie saw the reason for Embers behavior. Pressing against a different tree, she tried to keep silent.
Hanging just above the two of them was the massive head of a sea serpent.
After a few moments of sniffing the air, the massive snake disappeared into the darkness of the tree tops.
It was quiet for nearly an hour after the encounter, and the only thing to break the silence was Beryl as he trounced in between the two girls.
"B-Beryl, you almost gave me a heart attack!" Grabbing the small dragon by its tail and lifting him into the air Frankie sighed. "Well at least you came back."
Cowering in the corner, Ember had nearly lost it.
"You ok over there?" Frankie didn't sound as if she were messing around, and her tone depicted concern.
"Yes. I'm fine." Trying to shake off the experience Ember closed her eyes and thought of the one thing that made her happy. Nearly a minute passed before she opened her eyes. "Yes Fran, I'll be ok." This time she honestly meant it.
"Well, we can't have a fire tonight, so it's going to be pretty cold, and we'll have to get going as soon as day breaks." Shifting her position closer to Ember Frankie smiled. "This reminds me of the time Alyssa accidentally tripped into a well. I jumped in after her, and we sat in the dark for three days before water day came around. It wasn't as bad as you might think though. It's how she and I became such good friends."
The rest of the night went by slowly as the weather turned to rain. However, under the thick trees, the two had very little rain actually hit them.
Once dawn broke through the clouds, both Ember and Fran made their way cautiously back to the village, along with Beryl who had a great time rolling in every puddle he could seem to find.
"Opicempu Fran!"