Forward // Theasa and Draven: Navigation RoD

From across the narrow winding corridors of snow and hard unseen stone the wind blew across Teasa’s fur. It tugged and pulled with invisible hands, pushing as if it meant to send tokota and man alike down the jagged edge of the mountain. The sound of the winds voice was both high pitched whining and so low that it made the bones ache with resonance. Up here, so high above the world that the air had begun to thin, the sky was an odd shade of blue that was only seen when one wandered this far from the surface of the earth. It was beautiful, clear with the sun shining so bright and large that it almost seemed to fill the sky up with its brilliance.

All around them were the sharp edges of the mountain, silver gray stone disappearing into the clean white snow and ice which was every bit as hard as the stone was in places. The world seemed untouched, perfect. From this vantage it was as if nothing else had ever lived or breathed, as if they were the first to view such majesty. It could have been a cold thought, to be so alone, but it was not. It was freeing. It was a feeling that mixed and mingled with the chill rush of the wind to leave them breathless and alight with the sensation of being alive.

Even the air itself was clean. Clean of the scents that made up the world below. There was only the snow, the ice, the sharp smell of the fresh cold air and the drier scent of the stone beneath. Nothing lived this high up. Nothing left its tracks or a trail to follow to more comfortable climates. Even their own scent was muted. The smell of fur and flesh, of leather and steel. It did not matter that they stood side by side, those scents were driven away by the harsh billowing wind and lost.

Which meant that even though Draven was sitting securely on her back, Theasa only rarely caught the barest edge of his scent. Those human smells so salty and warm. His presence was a welcome weight, just as hers was to him, carrying them both along the unwritten path of the mountain before them. There were no trail markers here to tell them which way to go. Nothing but the sun above their heads so large and bright that it could lead them nowhere. Nothing but the wind trying to push them back down the way that they had already come. All they had were Theasa’s instincts and the knowledge she had of these winding labyrinthine ways through the mountains.

So far Draven had not offered even the merest suggestion as to which direction they should go, and Theasa had not even considered that she might ask him which way to go. Though they were here together in these freezing pathways this was her challenge not his, and Dravens knowledge of where they were supposed to go would not help her learn the way.

If they got lost she would simply have to find their way once again, and if she chose the right path, then that too would be her accomplishment.

Even with the thick fur that both of them wore the mountains were a cold place. It managed to sink in past those outer layers, sneaking inside to cling to skin until it almost felt numbed and hardened by cold that stole close. It was only when the wind rose up that it was so noticeable once again, biting so hard that it seemed that the wind’s teeth should draw blood, but it never did. That at least might have offered them some warmth if no comfort, but as they moved slowly but surely through the wind-broken silence the desire for something warm grew and grew.

It made both Theasa and Draven think idle thoughts of prey to chase. Even that chase would have warmed them. With anticipation and with the thrill of the hunt. Then at last with the warmth of good food in their stomachs which were now filled only with the cold but necessary rations that had been brought with them. Water which was impossible to find here in such a cold climate had to be kept wedged close to the body where the heat of their bodies had some chance of keeping it from becoming a solid block of ice. Even with what precautions they could take often when they stopped for a moment for a drink only the outer layers of the water were still drinkable and so they had little to quench their thirst unless they were willing to stop for a greater length of time and melt the water.

Though even that was a luxury that they could not find here. It would have to wait until the path that Theasa walked now took them lower where they might find shelter enough from the wind to be able to build up a fire large enough for the task. Neither of them offered any manner of conversation either. One wayward voice might start a chain reaction that would bring down these miles worth of snow down and bury them so deep that they would never be found again. Even without that small risk there was little to talk about and little energy to waste on it.

Small rocks dislodged under Theasa’s paws as she steadily made her way ever forward. They made a small grating sound as they rolled over other pieces of stone, each small bounce sounding larger than it actually was to ears that were not used to hearing any sound beyond that of the wind. She looked down at them and Draven shifted at the sound as well though his eyes turned upward to see if the tiny noise had unsettled the mountain in any way.

The most avalanches occur either very late in the winter or in the pre-spring when the mountains were just barely beginning to realize that snow was no longer going to continue to accumulate. This was also when the most amount of snow remained on the mountains for it to be a danger. They were just past the most dangerous months for avalanches, but that did not make the mountain safe. No the mountain would never be safe. However the danger of avalanches would not lessen until the spring warmed enough for the snow to begin to melt and trickle down the mountain in old paths that would take it into the valleys below that would feed the land the water it needed to grow fresh vegetation. It was still very early in the spring now, and the snow was still very thick here which lent to their caution. Neither Theasa nor Draven was unwary enough to ignore the possible dangers.

Thankfully however the small noise seemed to go unnoticed by the sleeping mountain and they continued on without incident. Theasa was as careful as she could be with her steps but there was only so much she could do. Not only were some stones almost inevitably going to be moved by her passage, but it was tiring to keep her mind so dedicated to a task so uninteresting. It was mind-numbing to walk endlessly forward with such care. That tiredness was emphasized by a body which was being worn by the elements and the hours spent moving onward.

Carefully she hopped down to a large flat portion of the path below her and followed it as it began to lead them back down the mountain. Theasa was walking on pure snow now. Every step crunched, her paws breaking through ice by virtue of her weight and into the soft powder beneath. She took only a few steps further before she paused, paws aching and Draven looked down to see why she had paused. Without a word he moved down from the saddle, his shoes breaking through the same thin layer of ice with a small sharp crunching sound. Small spots of crimson marked Theasa’s path and he moved up to her paw, patting her leg. “Let me see your paw.” His gentle voice was quiet, both of them still conscious of the danger of talking or making too much noise of any kind. Sound did not even feel as if it belonged in this place. Only the voice of the wind.

Obediently she lifted her paw and he made another soft noise. All of their walking had left her paws worn. She was not badly injured, and she could certainly continue further, but if the ground kept making dainty cuts in her pawpads soon enough she would be made lame by the sheer multitude of injuries. “Rest here a bit, I’m going to wrap your paws.” She glanced down at her own paw, nosing the one that he let go of and he pushed her head away when she started to lick at the little spots of blood.

Tokota mouths might be less bacteria infested than human mouths, but it was better to clean her paws a bit and wrap them then to allow her to lick them. Draven pulled a few lengths of cloth from the gear she was carrying and carefully applied some balm that would keep the pads of paws from becoming dried out from the lack of moisture here and that would also heal the small marks more quickly. With that done he wrapped the paw in question and then did the same to each paw in turn. He also pulled out a set of booties which should have looked ridiculous but had this exact purpose. Booties would protect Theasa’s feet from being harmed by the sharp snow. In fact Draven would have put them on her sooner, but so far most of their treking had been across stone or softer snow so they had not been necessary and no tokota he had ever lain eyes on actually enjoyed wearing them.

Already Theasa was sniffing at them and looking at them with an almost injured if somewhat resigned expression. She might not argue about the fact that they were necessary, but she did not have to like them either. Theasa did not try to take them off, but she did sigh as she pawed at the icy snow to test how the booties felt on her feet. It felt awkward to wear them. Unnatural. But they did help to keep her paws from being injured by the jagged layer of ice on the snow.

Silently Draven patted her on the shoulder in a comforting manner and put everything neatly back in its place. He did not return to his place on her back however. Instead he patted her shoulder. “Come on, I’ll walk for a bit.”

Theasa blinked blue eyes at him but again did not argue. Both of them were weary from their long travels, but Draven did not want to make Theasa carry more of a burden than she had to. Not with her paws in the condition they were in. In truth the injuries were small, and likely to be well on their way to healing by tomorrow, but it would not do them any good to have his extra weight on them. He stretched a bit as he walked at Theasa’s side. Draven was a bit sore from riding her anyway. His body could do with a bit of exercise lest his muscles start cramping up.

The two of them continued forward, Draven still allowing Theasa to lead them. He let his hand fall from her shoulder once she started moving on, not wanting to give her any of his thoughts on which direction they should go by putting subconscious weight on her via his touch.

Really there was no path here, no well worn passage where tokota had gone time after time. This was a mountain, and they simply carefully worked their way around sharply jutting rocks and further down the slope carefully anywhere that they could. In their wake they left a trail of paw and boot prints that would have been easy to track if anyone had been trying to follow them. Once they got off of the snow however they were back on solid stone and even the best of trackers would have been hard pressed to track them again. Particularly with how winding their trail was.

From time to time Theasa would pause, looking from one direction to another. Trying to gauge her direction before she would determine how she wanted to continue onward. If they reached a rock it did not matter if they went below or above it, only that they passed it. When they reached places that Draven could not so easily traverse on his own he climbed back onto Theasa and allowed her powerful muscles to bear them onward.

It was hard to tell how many hours passed by that comfortable near silence. They made it back down to where they could see trees beginning to grow again. The trees were smaller this high up. They had less in the way of easy soil to grow in, but they made the effort, and once those small trees were in sight they both started keeping a sharp eye out for where they might be able to stop for something to eat and drink.

Luck and Theasa’s memory proved with them, and they found a small cave a way further down the mountain and closer to where there were trees beginning to grow more readily. It was big enough for both of them to fit inside comfortably but not much more beyond that. Draven got together the things they needed for a fire and built it up so that they could warm some water and their bodies for at least a short time. While he did so Theasa stood outside looking at the options before her.

There were miles to go yet through these mountains to find their way to the other side, but from here Theasa could see the next peak rising up. From here she could see that the path she had chosen was the right one. She only needed to keep making the right choices.

Draven called her name from behind her and she turned from the sight of the mountains still waiting for them back to the cave she had found. It was already just slightly warmer inside than it was outdoors where the sun was beginning to lower itself in the sky. Theasa joined Draven at the fire, laying down by the fire and staring at her booties until Draven took them off for her so that she could relax without them distracting her.

They sat together beside the fire, and now that they were resting the sound of his voice echoed in the small space. From time to time the wind would roll by, adding its own voice to that of Draven’s. High and low, a gentle complement to his voice adding punctuation to the conversation. Theasa sat her head on her paws and took comfort in these moments of rest.

She had miles to go yet, but for now they had peace, and she had confidence that they would find their way to the other side.

                                                                           - End -

-Elm