The Test On The Mountain V

Madam Odette is waiting for me in the small crevasse of a cave. The fire is going steadily on its own providing an inviting glow on everything it touches. I step in announcing myself before taking a seat opposite of her. With a hefty sigh, I lean my head back against the cold stone. There's just a moment hanging in the air where it's just silence broken by the crackling fire. A short breeze whips by outside whistling in the crack we've taken refuge in.

"Red, how did hunting go?" Finally, the silence was broken. I shuffle in the cramped space reaching for my belt. Hooked in it my lucky catch. Holding it up I can only smile. "This little guy must have run me for two miles before I caught him."

I'm ashamed to admit that I missed it. I had it dead to rights but my aim was off. The stone needle landed short alerting the little guy. He sprinted off and I couldn't let him get away. Hunting isn't chasing but that's what it turned into. In the end, I eat tonight.

Madam Odette takes the rabbit from me with a smile. This must have been the first time since we got out here that she's smiled. "This is a good one. Since you hunt, I'll clean it. How does that sound?" I couldn't resist the offer. From her deep pockets, she pulled an ornate-looking knife. It glistened with the inlaid metals against the fire. A flick of her wrist brought the blade out of its sheath. She must take proper care of that blade. It cut the fur with minimal effort.

It was fascinating to watch her work. It couldn't have taken longer than five minutes for her to clean the fur off the rabbit and prepare it for the fire. One of the sticks I grabbed for kindling was used as a skewer to hold it over the flame. I could only watch as she worked the rabbit from the raw state to edible.

The first bite was juicy, but without a proper way to cook it, it was just bland. Even so, with how little I've had to eat over the past few days, this is almost a feast. I'm not surprised that there's nothing left by the time the two of us are done.

A full stomach can change a person. Hangry is a very real emotion. There's a very real change in Madam Odette's demeanor. She's been spacey, almost non-existent mentally. This might be my chance to get a little deeper into what's going on. "Madam Odette, is there something on your mind? You've been… rather absent since we landed."

During the many different training sessions that I've done, I've learned that the only way to solve a problem is to go after it. It's wise to have a plan when you go after a problem. Sometimes you can't have a plan. In this case, the best I can do is play it by ear as it unfolds.

The silence returns for a lot longer than I expected. I thought it would be an easy question but she seems to be racking her brain trying to give me an answer. Have I asked something I shouldn't have? Is she running it over in her mind to pick her words carefully? The nerves started to get to me. My brain kicks into overdrive overthinking every little thing.

"Red, there have been a few things on my mind. Nothing too much to worry about."

I butt in, "Well, I'm going to."

The quick snap of my response caught her. "You've been absent-minded, lost in thought, whatever you want to call it for the last four days. That is uncharacteristic of you. You are calm, collected, straightforward, and progressive in any action or idea. What is going on? What is wrong? Are you worried we aren't going to make it back? Are you uncertain of my survival skills? Something is gnawing at you and it's affecting us."

It was time to put my paw down! She has been acting like she is someone else since we got her and I need to know what it is and how to correct it so we can continue to move forward. If this continues, it could lead to a bad end to this trip. One or both of us could be hurt if our minds are not in the moment. It seems my snapping at her was enough to bring her out a bit more.

She straightened herself up, putting on her business face that I am used to, and bringing back that Madam Odette sternness in her voice that I have become accustomed to, "I'm not worried about your skills. You've shown to be very adept at working with your surroundings. You've picked up the simple concept behind alchemy rather quickly and I'm personally impressed that you have done so in just a short time with minimal explanation and instruction. I'm not worried about making it back home. I am certain that we will make it home within seven days as I said when we landed. And… as for what I asked a while back… Have you given it any thought to what you want to do?"

That was a lot at once. And a lot of it was very positive. I'm having an issue keeping myself from beaming. I have the approval of my teacher! Ok, quickly compose myself. I can't get too jumpy because she said nice words to me. "I'll be honest. I haven't been able to give it much thought. I've been keeping my mind forward on the task at hand. Now that we've found something a little bit more stable to travel along I might be able to give it more thought. So It'll be a while before I can give you an answer."

I hate giving that as an answer. I know it was an important question that needs an answer but at this point, I just cannot provide it. But it is true that with the new path to travel I can give it more thought. With a beaten path, we can travel faster, and possibly safer, and I can divert some brain power to an answer. She shakes her head, "You don't have to give me an answer right now. Think about it and when we're done here, then you can give me an answer."

She's changed again. She's more like her old self. There's a softer demeanor in her smile accompanied by a caring tone in her voice. It gives me a sense of ease knowing that she believes in me. Maybe now her mind will be back on track. That's one less worry I'll have for the remainder of this trip.

We just chat for the rest of the evening. The sun sets over the mountains leaving us in the dark. The temperature outside of our little cubby hole drops drastically while we stay warm with the fire. I venture out for a few moments to make sure we have enough to burn for the night. Anything left over we can throwback to the wilderness.

As the fire turns to charcoal and cinders, leaving the cave with ambient heat, I can feel sleep's embrace over me. I can't tell if Madam Odette is already asleep or not. She's hunched over with her arms crossed as she has been before. But her breathing seems different. Maybe it's meditation. Maybe it's that she's finally feeling better and can sleep more peacefully. The morning will come one way or another. Our journey will continue. I just hope it's smooth.

I got so lost in thinking about the next day that the sun has come up. The wild birds woke me up as they started their day. The fire has gone out but the chips left behind are still toasty. This is the best we've woken up to since we started. The ground could be a bed but other than that, I'll take it.

I stretch my legs out rustling the dirt on the ground. The noise is enough to stir the woman sleeping across from me with a heavy breath. Her eyes flicker as she shakes off the sleep. With a stretch of her own, her head comes up for her eyes to meet mine. "Good morning." She smiled. I can't help but smile back. This is… something else. She's been so off for the last couple of days. For her to smile first thing in the morning, it's nice. She beams like the sunshine when she smiles, shining her presence onto me, and warming me from the inside.

We've still got a long way to go. I smother the fire before we leave back out into the early morning. We're still in the shade of the mountains making it cold. If we keep moving we shouldn't have a problem. The trail takes a sharp turn double back up the side. It zig-zags back and forth until we reach a spot where it loops around and starts twisting down the opposite side. Now we're back in the sunlight with natural warmth.

The path takes us on a downhill trek for the day. Keeping to it keeps us out of the woods, the underbrush, and all the difficult terrain that we were dealing with before. We still get shade from the trees and larger hills around us. We do end up trekking through some standing water that has been collected. Easy to avoid or get through but it sucks to walk with wet paws.

We pushed. We pushed harder than we have up to this point. I can feel the pulsing in my paws. I can't see the sun anymore but sunlight is still beaming over the hills. I can tell it's getting late and it would be wise to look for a place to take shelter.

Luckily it doesn't take long before we run across a treasure. A small hunting cabin that looks long since abandoned. I push in the door to a room full of dust and grime that has been exposed to the elements for years. "Madam Odette, do you know anything about this place?" She's looking around trying to make heads or tails of it but she just shakes her head. "Nothing. I've never been this far this way before."

For now, it'll work. I kick the junk to one corner where it can stay. The wood-fire stove still looks like it's holding up. The metal is still thick with minimal wear. A couple of rust spots here and there but nothing major. The bed; trashed. There's no way it can be used except for firewood. I'll break that down so I can get that into the stove.

There are a few cups that we can use and a jug to collect some water. Nothing for food though. Everything is empty or so spoiled that it might be living again. It takes a few hours but we get settled in. I break the bed down by just kicking it apart. With a fire going we have warmth and light. Hunting proved fruitful. I got two full-sized rabbits this time. With one of the pans, we managed to recover we were able to properly cook them.

Everything is going a lot better. Madam Odette has a bit of her attitude back accompanied by her signature smile. We're almost done with this trial though. I can feel it.