The Test On The Mountain IV

If only green trees meant that we were close. But we still have a long way to cover. I can feel it. Even as we sit by an open fire for the night, for the first time not in snow, I can't relax as I want to. We still have to worry about the night. Snow gave us an easy way to make a shelter that kept us somewhat covered from the outside. Without it, we are exposed to everything. I could dig up a foxhole (no pun intended) to sleep in but the same problem occurs.

Exposure to the elements.

And the bugs…

Fur only gets you so far. Insects are built to get to the undercoat to feast on the skin or draw blood. Eventually, sleep takes hold of me as the night comes. The bugs taper off enough that I can finally relax. But that morning light comes too soon.

The goal for today is to reach another high point to get a better view of the surroundings. We've been traveling blind for too long and I need to find a direct route to somewhere that is not lost in the wilderness. A town, a road, I'll take a truck stop at this point. But we need something to get us in the right direction.

Madam Odette seems to be sleeping peacefully for being out of what seems to be her element. As I stand her eyes open to look at me. "Good morning, Red. Did you get enough rest?"

"It was rough, but I'm ready for the day."

I get a nod in return. She seems rather lost in thought. She's been rather spacey for most of this trip since we landed. Is it a ploy to try and get me to take more control of the situation? A play from her to be the helplessly lost individual in the mountains? She can try to play it up all she wants. We are lost at the moment.

As she stands she gives me the sign that she's ready to get moving. With a deep breath I steady myself for the trek we'll have to make. From the valley we are in I will have to climb yet another mountain. I can spot that there is a small ridge that juts out that should give me a good sight line to everything on the other side without having to go all the way to the summit. Everything starts with one step…

The ground is still cold beneath our paws. I can feel the morning dew begin to soak through everything. It's not uncomfortable yet but it's getting there. Some spots that were shielded by the trees give me a place where I can shake some of it off but within a few more steps it's right back where it was.

As the sun continues to rise, and we continue up the side of this mountain, everything begins to start drying out. Conditions continue to get better and by midday, we are at the jutting rock I spotted before. I can take a seat under some shade for a quick spell to rest. Madam Odette joins me a short distance away.

Time to shine! I thought that this spell was simple when I first made it but now it's going to show how useful it can be. I put my claws into rings and focus on them. As I begin to feel the glass begin to form I stop myself. I'm pulling and refining from myself instead of from around me. Do I have the materials around me?

"Red, are you ok?" I hear that soft voice pipe up in concern. "I am, Madam Odette. I am thinking of how to tackle this." I can ask her for help if needed but I want to see what I can do on my own at this moment. I take a seat and look at everything around me.

The snow-capped mountains still shine in the sunlight like a beacon. The sides are scattered with patches of snow with evergreen poking out scattering the mountains with green. A few birds take flight crossing the valley we came from heading towards something unknown to me. When I sit back and observe my surroundings I'm able to let my mind relax. I can start to see what I can use and before I know it, I might have an idea of what I can use.

I won't be able to get everything I need but I can use what I have to be more effective. I take a deep breath feeling the crisp air around me. I exhale the warm breath from within.

In…

Out…

In…

Out…

I can feel some of what I need drawing it in from the world around us into where I need it to be. In my paws, I can feel the glass beginning to form from ethereal elements floating in the air into something tangible. It swirls as it collects building up to something more solid. Both paws hold what they need yet there is still something missing. The bonds between them give them the ability to see further.

In…

And out…

Again, focus. Bring everything to me. Don't pull from focal points. Step by step I build the spell until, finally, I can feel it's completed. The resources needed for it are hard to scavenge in this environment. But they are there. Asking to be used but to also be returned to where they came from. I am not creating this with my power but instead borrowing it from the world for the moment.

With the magic in my paws, I can see further now. Twisting the false glass lets me zoom in or clear up what I'm looking at. Scanning the mountainsides just shows me a lot of the foliage that lives here. The trees thrive while the underbrush is near barren. The wildlife in the area has adapted to their environment to live their own lives. Personally, I would not want to live here. I can see the appeal though.

It's so spacious. It's quiet. The only sounds that echo through these valleys are those of nature. There's no city noise here. No cars in a hurry to get to where they need to be. No factories with workers pumping away. This is serene. This… is peace. It might be worth coming back and building a cabin up here. Expand my "kingdom" of wood and iron to relax and study in the wilderness. I only jest to myself but something in the back of my mind says that it may not be a bad idea to pursue.

As I wonder about life in the mountains something catches my eye. Something shines in the distance for just a split second. I bring it to the center of my view waiting for it to hit again. The twinkle never comes but I can see something. It's metallic… and that's about all I can get from it. With that mentally noted I continue to look around. There might be something else out there. As the minutes pass I can feel the sun beginning to beat down on me. We're almost to midday so we need to get moving again. Getting out of the sun and into the shade of the trees would be the best.

"Madam Odette, are you ready?" She must have gotten used to the quiet. I could have sworn I saw her jump as I addressed her. She brushed herself off, straightened herself up, and gave me a nod to let me know that she was ready to move again. We get ourselves straightened before heading back down the side of the mountain.

I have to keep my nose pointed towards the shining light to keep my bearing. I have to use the trees to move from point to point working my legs to cooperate with the zig-zag pattern I have to take to make sure that I don't trip and fall. It's steep at points, where one wrong step could send you tumbling until you hit something much more solid than your body to stop.

There's a sense of relief when we hit a flat section. Gravity does most of the work when trying to move downhill yet makes the work so much harder when trying to stop. A hefty sigh leaves me as I go to sit for a moment. I've been dead set on keeping my nose dead center on where we need to be heading. I refuse to move it in any other direction. We've been lost long enough.

It's a short respite before I get us moving again up a slight hill. We press on through the underbrush continuing to follow my nose. Everything is starting to blur together though. I've seen so many trees, shrubs, and small holes that my memory is starting to think we've been here already. Even with the tricks, I push forward with Madam Odette behind me.

As hard as I've been pushing myself, Madam Odette seems to be keeping up. I don't know if it's her own natural ability, training, or just her, but she's continued to impress me as we go. She said she would be taking a back seat to this excursion to leave me in charge but she's keeping up with the leader like it's almost nothing. I'll be panting after a hill climb while she stands there composed with her proper stature she always carries herself with. Spine straight, nose slightly up, and a stern face. I know she's grading and judging as we go. I hope by the end of this she'll give me a passing grade.

We crest a small hill to something that brings me the greatest sense of relief. A beaten path! It hasn't been used in a while but it's very clear that something used this to travel. The shine that I had spotted was from an old sign from a hiking trail. It's been weathered and beaten by the elements leaving only a rusted steak behind. The sign itself wasn't too far away stricken with the same deteriorated condition. It was unreadable except for a portion of the picture with a black line for the trail. It could be an avalanche warning or a cliff warning.

Well, now that I've found some form of a landmark it should be easier to get to where we need to go. We have two options to follow and assuming that the trail doesn't taper off along the way, we could travel even faster than we were before with better accuracy.

Left or right…

Left or right…

Left takes us back to the general direction we came from. The right will take us further away from the point that we started. I tap where my phone should be wishing I had it to make this decision easier. I have to make a decision and weighing my options isn't really going to help. Going back the way we came isn't the smart idea so I start following the trail to our right. The beaten ground is a lot easier to traverse even with a little bit of overgrowth.

I'm going to need new shoes after this. The ones I have on, I can feel the bottoms wearing from all the walking we've done over the last three days. The trail is pretty straightforward. It's still very clear from the rest of nature. I feel like we made greater progress than we have been. We can move faster than before. As the late afternoon starts to catch up with us, the shadows of the mountains begin to cover our path. It's not too dark yet, but the cold is starting to creep up on us.

I would hate to waste the daylight but I also can't push us in these conditions. We'll have to get a fire going with some shelter once more for the night. The path continues along with no mind for the time of day bringing us to the best thing I could have hoped for, a small cave. And by small, I mean it is small. Madam Odette and I will be cramped in this little sliver in the rock but it will be sturdy and provide us a break. "Madam Odette, I think we should stop for the night. If we stop early we'll be able to rest well and avoid the cold."

I don't get a verbal response. Just a nod once again. I usher her inside where I can create a small bit of light. We will be right next to each other in here but I can get a fire going with food if hunting proves fruitful. Once again, I hate to leave her alone, but I'll have to.

The 1st step is something to burn. There are still plenty of twigs, sticks, and fallen trees that can be taken back. I managed to find a dead tree that split itself up into some usable logs. They'll burn for quite a while. With just some light kindling we're good to go.

I get the supplies back to the cave, the fire going, and head out once again looking for something in the wild. A bird or squirrel will work but a fat rabbit would be the best. I would only need two in that case.

Hunting has never been my forte. I've never really been that outdoors kid either. I like air-conditioning too much to want to be out in the hot sun. Getting up early was never a big thing I enjoyed either. Don't care for traveling too far… I really was antisocial now that I think about it.

Back in the moment! I have to pay attention to what's going on around me. With a quick ping, I find what I am looking for. One rabbit, fat enough that it would make a good, quick dinner for the two of us. Using my own focus to center on the elements around me, I collect some sand and stone from the ground making it into a small needle. I just need to be precise. Just like with the wolves I'll need to hit it once making it a quick kill. One more ping to find its position and the stone needle flies!