Chapter two of Kat's trade story. Warning: If you don't like thinking about animals being hurt or killed, might not want to read this. It's not graphic, but I know how some people are.
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Zephyr yawned and roused himself from sleep, sitting up and running a hand through his hair. He had taken to traveling at night when the air was cool and people were snug in their beds; he had received to many hostile looks and fearful avoidances in the past week, so he decided to avoid as much contact as possible. Beside him, Onycha lay curled against his side, her sharp muzzle resting on her bushy tail and when he sat up, she raised her head and looked at him expectantly.
"Ready to go?" he asked her, running his hand between her fine ears.
She yawned and stood, stretching luxuriously before regarding him as if to say 'Lets go then.'
"Right."
He stood and pulled on the bundle that was his extra clothes, tightened his belt and stretched, back popping and a deep grunt coming from his chest. Together the two of them waded out of the tall grass and onto the road that was leading them out of the long valley they had been traveling through. Zephyr lifted his nose into the air and snuffed, picking up cool, piney scents, speaking of dark, peaceful forests and rippling brooks. The moon was full overhead, lighting the path as brightly as in the daytime and the lights danced in the sky; blues, pinks, greens and golds.
"Just think...on a night like this at home...we would be out hunting Eedoks." he mused out loud and Onycha nuzzled his palm before bounding ahead, chasing the shadow of some winged creature flying over head.
Zephyr laughed and chased after her, running through the cool, tall grass that was slightly damp with dew. The wolf ran circles around him, her mouth split into a grin with her tongue hanging out, eyes bright as she ran at him, spinning at the last moment to throw her haunches into his knees, knocking him down. He laughed and caught her by her mane, pulling her down onto his chest in an embrace and she wiggled with joy, licking his face like a puppy.
They both froze as a scream rent the air and Onycha jumped up, ears swiveling back and forth to try and pin point the source while Zephyr stood and placed his hand on his sword hilt, keen eyes scanning the area around them. A second scream sounded and abruptly ended but it was enough for the wolf to locate and she lept ahead towards the sound, head low and running fast, like a missile locked onto it's target. Zephyr bounded after her, as silent as his wolf. They quickly approached the edge of the valley, where the side of the mountains suddenly rose up out of the ground, rocky and jagged and the black wolf paused, throwing her nose in the air to scent before running on up the side of the mountain, tough feet unaffected by the sharp rocks. Ahead and up a ways on a ledge, Zephyr could see the massive white form of a winter lion, struggling to bring it's bulk over a rock slide that blocked the path. Blue eyes flicked to the other side of the slide and picked out the form of a person, frozen in fear on the ground.
The situation took great caution. Winter lions weighed roughly the same as a large bull, with massive paws and claws like daggers that stayed unsheathed, like a wolf's claws. The upside was, they weren't terribly agile because of their bulk and the path was narrow. Man and wolf slowed into a stealthy glide, skimming over the rocks silently until they were behind the great lion. It's thick fur was as white as snow and the huge mane completely obscured it's head from behind. Another downside...the mane prevented any thing from getting to it's throat; Onycha's sharp fangs wouldn't be able to get to the life force of the animal, the great, pulsating jugular.
Zephyr tapped the wolf's shoulder and motioned to the uphill side of the path, making a curving motion with his arm and she exhaled sharply, understanding her master's order. Silently, she bounded across the path and up the side of the hill, her blackness blending in with the dark rocks and shadows they created. Drawing his sword, Zephyr waited until the wolf was poised above the lion, who was still struggling to climb the rock slide and get to his prey on the other side, snarling in frustration. A cloud passed over the moon and Zephyr roared, drawing the lion's attention and signaling for Onycha. For a moment, the wolf flew, soaring through the air and impacting with the great beast's back, quickly sinking fangs into the backbone for a paralyzing blow. The lion roared, shaking the earth and reared up on it's hind legs; at that moment, Zephyr charged ahead under the great paws and sank his blade into chest, piercing the heart. The lion pawed the air and Zephyr's hands were bathed in hot blood as it gushed out of the wound and down his blade and he jumped back as the beast crashed to the ground, it's last breath shuddering from the gaping mouth. Onycha detached from it's back and jumped down to the wound, lapping at the blood as her master also licked the blood from his hands and cleaned his sword before sheathing it once more.
"Stay here." Zephyr motioned to Onycha to stay and scrambled over the rock pile to check on the person.
It was a woman and the moonlight illuminated her pale, fear stricken face and the dark blood splatters on her dress. One leg was trapped under a rock and he could see the dark outline of a donkey, half buried under the rocks.
"Talii." he greeted gently, hopping down beside her and lifting the rock off her leg with a grunt.
She gasped in pain as the pressure was relived and then burst into frightened tears and Zephyr stared at her awkwardly. He had never been good around women and Glacier women weren't prone to tears....most of the women he knew would have turned around and slaughtered the winter lion as soon as it became a threat, but he was learning that Valley women were soft and delicate.
"Ahm..." he rumbled, kneeling down beside her and gathering her up hesitantly. He didn't like being touched or his personal space being invaded in such a fashion, but he bore it manfully and let her cling to him, sobbing into his chest and clutching his biceps.
After a few minutes, he could bear it no longer and gently pried her off and sat her down, pointing to her leg, then to himself. She stared at him for a moment with large dark eyes, then looked at her mangled leg before nodding. With deft hands, he tore off the thin legging and examined the shallow wounds, grateful for the full moon and his good eyesight. He pulled a small flask from his boot and sparingly dribbled the alcohol over the wounds to clean them. It was a very potent alcohol, made from the tiny seed pods of a mountain flower. It was not made for drinking as it would literally burn a hole in one's stomach, but for sterilizing and cleansing wounds, it worked wonderfully. The woman shivered in pain as Zephyr capped the flask and pushed it back into his boot then stood, holding his palm out in a 'stay' motion, then bounded back over the rock slide.
"I can't just leave her here....have to take her back down somehow and figure out what to do with her...can't think of what a woman would be doing, alone, at night, on the hillside.." he told Onycha, who was laying very comfortably on the big cat's warm side.
She watched him with those blue eyes as he pulled out a sharp dagger and sliced a piece of hide off of the cat's stomach, then cut it into strips and disappeared back over the rock pile. Zephyr knelt down once more at her leg and wrapped the strips of hide around the wounds, fur side down, then pulled her up gently, letting her cling to him once more, arm over his neck and his arm around her waist. He sighed at the rock pile, then turned at the hips and picked her up. He was highly aware of her staring at his face and the way her arm tugged on his hair and he quickly moved back over the pile for the last time, eager to get to flat ground so he could put her down. He would return the next day to skin the lion, it's hide and mane would make a nice cloak or coat and the claws would make good bartering items or a necklace perhaps.
Onycha stood as her master appeared and together they moved down the slope, the woman wordlessly laying her head on his shoulder and shivering from the cool of the night. A few easy leaps and hops brought them back into the tall grass of the valley floor and Zephyr moved at an easy pace towards the road where the grass was shorter. Gingerly, he sat the woman down and unbundled his heavy coat, draping it around her shoulders. There was few trees in the valley so far, so a fire was out of the question since the grass was to wet and green to burn, but his coat would keep her through the night.
Sighing, he knelt in front of her and pointed to himself,
"Zephyr." he said, hoping she would understand.
"Ilsa." she replied after a moment, voice still shaky.
He nodded and pointed to the wolf sitting at his side, "Onycha."
"Onycha.." she repeated with a nod, drawing the coat further around her.
Another nod and Zephyr sat down a little ways from her, staring down the road with a sigh. He had hoped to be on the move, covering ground, but now he was forced to sit and wait...the woman...Ilsa would no doubt be asleep soon but he had slept already and was very awake. There was nothing else to do but lay back and stare at the stars and the dancing lights until morning came.
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Hope you like it Kat and sorry it's taking me so long to get this done. I finally figured out where I'm going with it, so writing should be much easier now ^^
-Kas
