Mountain Meeting

It only took several weeks for the Plains to be far off. The rugged mountain terrain was their home now, at least until they crossed it. They only had two weeks worth of food, so they depended on Kore’s sharp sense of smell and hunting skills to get extra meat. It wasn’t as cold as it could be, but nevertheless, furs were needed. Adelpha was usually in her panther form, to keep her mistress warm at night, and to help herself to living meat in the mountains. No need to burden Kore any further, considering how he still felt uncomfortable around Sura. Kore was rarely ever seen except in the distance now. His lesser wolf form was his body of choice for travel in these harsh mountains. His howling could be heard occasionally in the night, and on this particular night Suren was trying to sleep.

“Damn it Kore, shut up for once!”

She pulled the fur trimmed hood over her face as she snuggles closer to Adelpha’s warm body. Sura was near her on the other side, so Suren was in between the two. Apparently she was the only one awake, for Sura’s breathing was slow and deep. And Adelpha can sleep through anything. She rolled her eyes and tried to force herself back to sleep against the sound of the wind whistling through the tree. Winter would be here soon, and the nights were getting extremely cold. The towering gloomy trees lost their leaves, save for the cone bearing ones, and their skeletons scratched at the midnight sky. The moon was entering a rebirthing period, so it was only a sliver of silver. The grounds were not yet covered with frost and snow at this altitude, but one more month, and the entire area would be blanketed. Many birds have left for warmer areas and hibernation was starting to show in some animals. The bears that would normally be colliding with Kore are now snug in their cozy dens for the season. Suren noticed all this, and knew what it meant. It made her nervous. She didn’t know how long they would last in these conditions.

Adelpha stirred and flicked an ear, still deep in sleep. Her fur was thick and soft, compelling Suren to snuggle into it more. Sura rolled over in his sleep, making himself get closer to Suren. Now she was sandwiched between two warm masses. An arm gently wrapped around her waist loosely as he rolled over. Suren rolled her eyes but smiled.

“Aren’t you supposed to be sleeping Sura?”

He still dozed. Apparently he was just dreaming. I wonder what he’s dreaming about. Then it struck her. She still didn’t know about the guy. All this time she was warming up to and flirting with a complete stranger. She sat up and looked at Sura. Why do I like him so much? His beautiful face seemed content and happy. He apparently didn’t know about the darkness that could exist in the human heart. Suren smiled sadly and gently stroked his face. Maybe that’s why. Just then a hand was placed on top of hers.

“Shouldn’t YOU be asleep my lady?”

Sura opened his eyes and smiled while holding her hand. Suren still had a surprised look in her eyes.

“I-I thought you were...”

“Asleep?”

Suren look away without an answer. She tried to hide her face with hr bangs but her embarrassment was still obvious. Sura, being the gentleman that he is, stroked her hand to make her feel better, and Suren calmed down slightly.

“Sorry...for waking you up”

Sura shook his head slowly.

“Not at all, I was just resting”

Suren was about to open her mouth to reply, but just then a flurry of feathers swooped in and startled them. Adelpha instantly woke up to find a large eagle perched on a boulder near her. She growled menacingly as she lunged, but missed. She rebounded off the boulder and tried once more to catch the creature, but it’s speed was too quick.

“Augh, where’d it come from anyway?”

Suren pulled out her sword, which was still in its scabbard, to act as a shield and Sura used his cloak.

“What do you have, it keeps going after you!”

The eagle was aiming for Suren’s throat and managed to break the chain holding the pendent. Before Suren could retrieve it, the bird swooped down once more to snatch it before flying out into the night. Suren quickly grabbed her cloak and ran out after it.

“Come back here or else I’m roasting you for breakfast!”

Her breath came out in little clouds while she ran over the frozen ground. She was just barely keeping up when she slipped in the soggy leaves and fell into a nearby hole.

“Whoa! OW!”

She yelped in pain as her head collided with a stone at the bottom. Groaning and rubbing her head (surprisingly, there was no blood) she stood up and tried to get used to the darkness.

“Ooohhh...Sura, Adelpha! Anyone there?!”

She was greeted with silence for a moment, before a nasty snarl came from her right. Suren jumped back in fear as two piercing gold eyes glowered at her. The little light that came in revealed the owner of the eyes. An enormous foxbear, about seven feet tall and easily weighing several tons. It’s fangs were huge, and could easily chomp through a human in one bite, which it was about to do.

“N-nice animal, nice..foxie”

Suren slowly backed up to the wall of rocks below the hole and scrambled for some plan at the back of her head. I don’t know anything about taking on this type of animal! My sword’s up there!

Just as the foxbear was about to lunge, a huge mass of black fur shot in and went for the creature’s throat. That gave enough time fore Suren to hastily climb up the rocks and pull herself out, leaving the two snarling masses to their fight. Her sword was ten feet away, right where she dropped it when she slipped. Suren grabbed it and hide in the bushes, prepared to fight the foxbear if it won and decided to come out.

The vicious grappling went on for a few more minutes before a sudden roar exploded. Then silence. The black wolf that lunged at the foxbear earlier climbed its way out, with a deep gnash on its right flank. Suren squinted her eyes to get a better look before she realized who it was.

“Kore!”

He ignored her and began licking his wound. Suren came out of the bushes and conjured up some bandages.

“Here, this will help somewhat”

His ears were still pressed against his head, but he let her dress his wound.

“Why are you mad?”

Kore rolled his eyes.

“Because, you made me loose a particularly juicy looking rabbit when you nearly got attacked”

Suren stared at him through wide eyes.

“You can talk in that form?”

“Of course I can!”

Kore was obviously irritated, but that didn’t stop Suren, It never did.

“Come to think of it, I barely hear you talk in you werewolf form as well. Why only your human form?”

Kore answered her with a roll of the eyes and a groan as he rolled onto his back. Suren ignored him and glanced at the hole.

“Did you kill it?”

Another roll of eyes.

“Why don’t you get your skinny ass back down and see?”

Suren nearly kicked him, but he read her “attack” and was able to jump away in time. He shook his rear at her mockingly before disappearing in the brush. Suren huffed angrily before picking up her sword.

The sound of crunching snow was getting nearer, and Sura came from the bushes. Adelpha was right behind him.

“Did you get the pendent back?”

Suren shook her head. Adelpha was sniffing around the hole with her ears pressed back. Suren glanced at her before looking at Sura.

“Didn’t you hear me?”

He looked confused.

“Hear you? No, the eagle came back and it flew off in the opposite direction. I was hoping you got back the pendent because I was unable to stop it”

Suren shook her head once more and looked at the sword in her hand.

“Oh well, at least we still got the sword and the sphere...wait, the sphere!”

At this realization, she ran back to the cave. Oh please let the sphere be there! Please! Her heart was beating fast ans she ran in. Oh no, where did I put it?! Scrambling, she threw what little hey had out of the way, and found the bag that the sphere used to be in. Oh no....

“Ah, perfect Amad, perfect! These’ll bring in some moneys and put some food in our bellies!”

The eagle merely cawed and flapped its wings in agreement. It was sitting on a makeshift perch in what appeared to be an underground room. A squat candle on the nearby table and a few smaller ones on the little window ledge provided meager light. On the table was the sphere, glowing darkly in its nest of wrappings, and the jaguar pendent. A young man, who appeared to be in his early twenties, was studying this pendent with his good eye. He had long, silky dark green hair that was kept in a loose braid that flowed over his left shoulder and onto his chest. His left eye was a similar color to his hair, but his right one was covered by a black eye patch. He had a handsome face, with light beige skin and a lean body with long limbs, but he wasn’t the clumsy type. He possessed the grace and air of a dancer, which clashed with his threadbare clothing. He wore a simple beige peasant top, ragged brown pants, and old leather boots with soles worn thin. When he stood up, you could see that he was tall.

“Hmm, the emerald eyes alone are worth 50 gold! Better put them away safe”

He walked over to a small cabinet by the window. He glanced outside for a moment. Hmm, gonna storm tonight. He reached into the back and gently pulled out a small, dusty looking antique chest. It was slightly bigger than his hand, and had one miniature golden lock in the front.

The man reached down his shirt and pulled out a small key that was on a long silvery chain. The key fit perfectly in the lock and it opened.

“Alright, the money makers will be safe for now until we get to Ukran”

He gently placed the pendent in it and it disappeared, but the man wasn’t alarmed. He did the same with the sphere, careful to not touch it with bare hands, and then he locked it.

“We’ll set off for the city tomorrow. Sweet dreams Amad”

The eagle ruffled his feathers in response. The man blew out the candles and went over to the cot across the room.

The depressing clouds blocked out the sun, but didn’t let loose any storms. Not yet at least. Kore rejoined the group as they got nearer to the other side of the mountain. Despite the clouds, Suren was feeling slightly optimistic.

“Only a couple more days ‘til we get to Ukran. The I can find some magic that’ll allow me to find those artifacts and get them back”

Kore was still in his wolf form and he growled.

“How the hell did you let a damn bird get away with TWO of the artifacts?!”

Suren stopped to face him.

“I didn’t see YOU anywhere trying to help!”

“That’s besides the point! And I DID save your skinny ass from the foxbear! Where was your pretty boy then?”

Suren was glaring death at Kore now.

“You leave him out of this, he was actually trying to get the artifacts back!”

Kore rolled his eyes.

“Ya, a lot of good that did”

Suren huffed angrily, but didn’t respond. She knew that arguing with Kore would get nowhere.

Sura was ahead of them now. His horse whinnied as he stopped it to wait for them. He sighed inwardly as they came to him again. The wolf is right...I haven’t been any use at all. The true reason he volunteered to go with them was so he could be closer to Suren. He wasn’t in love, not yet at least. But he felt a strong attraction he only felt once before, and he wasn’t about to lose his chance. If only he could find a way to make himself stronger, so he could protect her. But how can I find the right artifact? All he could do was wait and use his bow and arrows for now. Not that they were useless, of course not. But compared to Suren’s magic skills and Kore’s anthromorphic abilities, well, he was pretty plain. A piece of wood can only do so much.

“Sura? Something wrong?”

He snapped back from his thoughts when Suren came to his side. He smiled sheepishly and shook his head.

“No my lady, I’m fine”

She gave him a blank stare and pouted, making Sura reach out and cup her cheeks.

“I just love the expressions you make when I do that”

She pushed his hands off in an annoyed way and continued walking ahead. Sura looked at her back and smiled a half-smile. She might just be the one.

The woods were silent. Suren assumed it was because of the winter cold and themselves, for Kore wasn’t alarmed. Snow was falling lightly on the frozen ground. The sky was growing lighter, but the woods were still dark. Once again, Suren was glad for her jacket and Adelpha. The Plains never reached freezing temperatures like this.

An object with a large wingspan could barely be made out against the grey sky, but when Sura looked closer, he realized that it was the eagle thief. In a split second, he had out his bow and arrow and shot, hitting the eagle in the wing. The loud cry of startled pain caught Kore and Suren’s attention as they witnessed it falling into the trees.

“Sura?!”

He didn’t answer, but ran from his horse to the landing area. Suren ran behind him to where the eagle lay, wounded in his right wing.

“Sura, you got the eagle! Where are the items?”

He shook his head.

“No, this eagle obviously belongs to someone, and that someone..or something has our artifacts. We’ll keep this close to us to get them back”

Suren nodded in agreement, and attempted to bend down and wrap up the wing, but a sudden shock seized her and she fell unconscious, the back of her head bleeding.

“Suren! Suren, get up!”

A voice in the shadows spoke.

“Hm, so you were gonna eat my pet or something right?”

A man with long dark green hair stepped out into view and looked at Suren with slight sympathy.

“Shame your darling’s hurt, but she’ll live”

Before Sura could react, Kore lunged at the man’s throat, who would have been dead in a second had he not foreseen the attack and dodged. By then Sura attacked him on the side and knocked him down. Before the man could react, Sura pinned him down and used his weight to hold him.

“Before I break your neck, tell me who you are”

The man smiled nervously under Sura’s glare”

“My, a feisty one you are. No offense, but I don’t go for the aggressive guys”

His shirt suffered a sharp jerk.

“Alright, alright, call me Aleron. My eagle’s Amad. Speaking of eagle, your lady’s awake”

A groan confirmed his statement, and Suren sat up with a little help from Kore, who was back in his human form.

“Oww..wait, what the?”

An odd sight greeted her eyes. Sura was on top of a strange man, both of whom were staring at her.

“Ah, see, she’s a-ok, so maybe you could nudge off a little-“

”You are not going anywhere”

Kore snorted.

“I don’t know, the tough guy feel is not working for your pretty face-ow!”

He turned away, nursing a slap mark on his cheek. Suren stood up and brushed off the dried blood in her hair. Sura finally got off of Aleron, but he refused to let go of his frayed tunic. Aleron shot an annoyed look at him before smiling pleasantly at Suren.

“Pardon my lil slip of the sling, I’m not the type to hurt pretty girls”, he said with a wink.

Kore groaned softly at that. Suren got closer and gestured Sura’s hand off. Her voice was cold, though her eyes were curious.

“Who are you, and where are the artifacts?”

Aleron tried to shift away, but Kore stood in his way. A sigh came out as he resumed his original position.

“You can call me Aleron, and my pet you hurt”, he gestured towards the eagle, “is called Amad”

“Your pet can be healed instantly once you give us back the artifacts”

Knowing that he had no other choice Aleron sighed and pointed over his shoulder.

“It’s a back at my shack, follow me if you need..just give me back Amad”

Suren gently picked up the eagle and held it like a baby in her arms.

“I’ll keep an eye on him while you get the artifacts”

“Yii...alright, alright, just follow me and don’t step in no holes, cause I’m no nurse”

The sun’s first rays of the day peeked over the trees and mountains with a beautiful rose glow. The clouds were much smaller now, and scattered across the sky. Aleron went inside his little underground house to retrieve the antique chest and pulled out the pendent and the sphere, once again covering his hands with the cloth. He pushed them out the entrance hole to Suren above. He hesitated, then reached down and pulled out a small spherical gem. Suren recognized it at once and gasped.

“That’s the fourth artifact!”

“I’ll give this to ya willingly..on one condition”

“Give you back your bird?”

“Nope!”

With an unexpected show of strength he jumped out and landed in front of Suren.

“Well, yes, give him back to me obviously, but I also wanna join your posse!”

A half grin played across his face as blank stares came to him. Kore shook his head.

“Hell no, there’s too many add ons anyway”

Suren rolled her eyes.

“I..guess you can join, but don’t steal the items back”

Aleron winked at her.

“Deal dawling, I won’t need to steal anyway if I’m with you right?”

A sigh and a nod.

Kore turned his back to him, with extreme irritation showing on his face. Dammit, now there’s yet ANOTHER pretty boy that’s gonna be all over Suren. Aleron noticed this though the others didn’t. My, what’s biting his butt now? A quick sideways glance at Suren and it all became clear.

“Hello partner! Looks like you an’ me are gonna be buddies now”

Aleron wrapped his arm around Kore’s shoulder with a goofy grin as Kore stared back at him in absolute horror.

“Get the hell off-a me!”

Kore ran so fast that even Suren was surprised. Aleron just pretended to pout.

“Aw shucks, he’s just being shy now”

Suren was having a very difficult time keeping her laughter from bursting out and Sura was looking a little nervous.

“Things should certainly be interesting around here now”, he sighed.

Suren nodded as she looked over the rest of the mountain side. They were wasting precious time to get across the range, and with a new addition to the team, who knows what will happen.