pile up. The more the storm went on, the slower Lyn and Alir were able to progress, and the more miserable they each became.
To make matter s worse, what little sunlight that did come through the mountain's foggy barrier was drastically lessened by the storm; it was not long before Lyn found she was unable to determine which direction she was going or from which she had come. This was compounded when Lyn hit a patch of ice underneath a bank of fresh snow and tumbled fiercely down a small path for some distance.
Coming to a halt, Lyn rose and checked to see that she was all present and accounted for. Satisfied that she remained relatively intact, she checked her surroundings bleakly and sighed. A rustle from a nearby tree caug ht her attention and she turned to see Alir preening himself on a low branch.
Lyn shook her head and said aloud, "It's not funny, you know. I could really have been hurt. We are both lucky that isn't the case. After all, how would you find yourself a way off this Gods-forsaken icicle?" At this, Alir stopped his vanity chore and cocked his head at her. She gave a half smile and brushed herself off once more.
Lyn had always put on a brave face for people. For her mother, for Nana, for the rest of the villag e. Even for herself in an attempt to believe it. But despite her seemingly impetuous nature, Lyn was accustomed to feeling very deeply indeed, and those feelings often included fear. Fear that she would never amount to enough, fear that she was doomed to a life of complacency and solitude. Fear that she would not meet the expectations of her role. And now, true fear that she was lost, alone, and would perish if she could not soon find shelter and gain her bearings. Her joking remarks and smirk to Alir were a familiar charade on her part to mask these feelings and convince herself she wasn't feeling them. But she was, and Alir knew it. She could not hide from him like she hid from everyone else. Like she tried to hide from herself.
Alir watched her with a kno wing look, and after a moment took to the air. Lyn felt a moment of panic as she lost sight of him, and she frantically searched the sky for a trace of him. Not seeing him, she looked around her and took a moment to regain her composure.
"I got down here, I can get back up," she breathed to herself. While the trail that she had been following before was meager at best, it was at least some directional guidance. She intended to return to it at once and watch her footing much more carefully from then on. She took her time and carefully laid about to find a route back up the slope she had just come down. From what she could see, the slope was relatively steep and covered in the same ice that had caused her slip in the first place. She doubted very much that she could make her way back up the slippery surface without falling prey to another unintentional slide. She came to the conclusion that she would need to find another way around. She was loathe to do so, however, because the storm was picking up again and visibility was low. The last thing she needed was to lose sight of where she fell and lose her way among the mountain crags. To make matters worse, she seemed to have fallen into a small outcropping of trees, making visibility even lower as she tried to peer through the foliage to find an alternate route.
Back in the forest, Lyn was accustomed to tracking. But that was in familiar territory, where she could tell what was out of the ordinary. On this unfamiliar ground it was difficult for her to determine signs of irregularity and disturbance, and what signs she might have had anyway were quickly being covered in the snow that was whipping around her. She sighed to herself and racked her brain for an alternative.
As she was puzzling to herself, she heard the familiar beat of Alir's wings as he alighted on a nearby branch. She looked up at him and met his eyes, and while she could hear no words to the effect, she knew he wanted her to follow.
To make matter s worse, what little sunlight that did come through the mountain's foggy barrier was drastically lessened by the storm; it was not long before Lyn found she was unable to determine which direction she was going or from which she had come. This was compounded when Lyn hit a patch of ice underneath a bank of fresh snow and tumbled fiercely down a small path for some distance.
Coming to a halt, Lyn rose and checked to see that she was all present and accounted for. Satisfied that she remained relatively intact, she checked her surroundings bleakly and sighed. A rustle from a nearby tree caug ht her attention and she turned to see Alir preening himself on a low branch.
Lyn shook her head and said aloud, "It's not funny, you know. I could really have been hurt. We are both lucky that isn't the case. After all, how would you find yourself a way off this Gods-forsaken icicle?" At this, Alir stopped his vanity chore and cocked his head at her. She gave a half smile and brushed herself off once more.
Lyn had always put on a brave face for people. For her mother, for Nana, for the rest of the villag e. Even for herself in an attempt to believe it. But despite her seemingly impetuous nature, Lyn was accustomed to feeling very deeply indeed, and those feelings often included fear. Fear that she would never amount to enough, fear that she was doomed to a life of complacency and solitude. Fear that she would not meet the expectations of her role. And now, true fear that she was lost, alone, and would perish if she could not soon find shelter and gain her bearings. Her joking remarks and smirk to Alir were a familiar charade on her part to mask these feelings and convince herself she wasn't feeling them. But she was, and Alir knew it. She could not hide from him like she hid from everyone else. Like she tried to hide from herself.
Alir watched her with a kno wing look, and after a moment took to the air. Lyn felt a moment of panic as she lost sight of him, and she frantically searched the sky for a trace of him. Not seeing him, she looked around her and took a moment to regain her composure.
"I got down here, I can get back up," she breathed to herself. While the trail that she had been following before was meager at best, it was at least some directional guidance. She intended to return to it at once and watch her footing much more carefully from then on. She took her time and carefully laid about to find a route back up the slope she had just come down. From what she could see, the slope was relatively steep and covered in the same ice that had caused her slip in the first place. She doubted very much that she could make her way back up the slippery surface without falling prey to another unintentional slide. She came to the conclusion that she would need to find another way around. She was loathe to do so, however, because the storm was picking up again and visibility was low. The last thing she needed was to lose sight of where she fell and lose her way among the mountain crags. To make matters worse, she seemed to have fallen into a small outcropping of trees, making visibility even lower as she tried to peer through the foliage to find an alternate route.
Back in the forest, Lyn was accustomed to tracking. But that was in familiar territory, where she could tell what was out of the ordinary. On this unfamiliar ground it was difficult for her to determine signs of irregularity and disturbance, and what signs she might have had anyway were quickly being covered in the snow that was whipping around her. She sighed to herself and racked her brain for an alternative.
As she was puzzling to herself, she heard the familiar beat of Alir's wings as he alighted on a nearby branch. She looked up at him and met his eyes, and while she could hear no words to the effect, she knew he wanted her to follow.
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