Journey to Getulush

The sun was slowly peeking over the treetops as Yishva sat up, naked, in the bed and looked around, "Good morning, Yishva, care for some food?"

"You are up early, Kolvma."

"And you whimper when you wake up, what's your point?" She blushed brightly at hearing his remark about her wake, "You wanted to leave early, the best way to do it is to head out as the sun is rising and we can normally hit the snowless plains by early afternoon or by dusk, depends on how fast we walk and what we encounter."

"I should get ready then," She replied, pulling her clothes back on. He ate some of the stew he had made the day before, it was warm, not hot, but it was good enough for a breakfast for the two of them.

"How is it down in Getulush?"

"It is warm, a lot warmer than here."

"A little heat won't hurt," He commented before handing her a bowl of food, "You are an energetic one."

"Hmm?"

"In bed," She shrugged and began eating, "I never understood the whole, sleep with your superior thing in the Ilty-Ilty traditions."

"You give yourself to the person above you, I see nothing wrong there, they are the stronger one, why would you resist it?"

"Must be my pale skinned way of thinking."

"It must be that, Kolvma," She quickly ate and then pulled on her cloak and the small sack she had with her, "How long are the winters here?"

"Well, in Naav the winters vary, sometimes they are 7 months sometimes they are 5 or 6 months, the summers are short and the days get short fast," He strapped on his shield and grabbed his axe before taking his sack, "Let's get going," The Ilty-Ilty woman nodded and stood up. They were nearly physically opposite, he was pale skinned and rather large while she was slender and tanned.

They left the house and began walking down, heading away from the forest. The wind was cold and he could tell his unprepared travel companion was shivering the moment she left his house. They had a few hours to walk in the snow before arriving at a correct place to stay for the night, "How has the chief been?"

"The chief has been fine, he is an old man so he has his moments, but his son seems ready to assume the role once he passes," She spoke, her teeth clattering as she walked, "How do you manage with the cold?"

"I have proper clothing, Yishva, I live here," He joked, "The first winter was rough, but I got used to it fast," She nodded as they continued to walk.

"Do you know the way?"

"More or less, I just have to head west and down to the ocean," He stopped, pointing towards where they were going, "The best part of the highlands is the view most of the time, I get to see the world around me a lot."

"That is interesting, Kolvma, it is very different to my usual environment."

"How does it feel being the first one of the Ilty-Ilty to be this far north?"

"You were here first, Kolvma."

"I am not your people, I am only an honorary member, I am not of Ilty-Ilty blood," He laughed as they continued to walk, she seemed interested in the small herd of peaceful reindeers that was calmly eating at the low branches and the grass under the snow, "Reindeers, they are nice creatures, their meat is good too."

"How many have you killed?"

"Pff, I don't know, but you slept on one of them last night, and you ate some of another," He shrugged, "I kill the older ones, never the young, because if I want to continue eating, I have to not kill the next generation."

"I didn't think of that," She admitted as she turned to look at the path once more, nearly slipping before catching herself, "I didn't cross any beasts as I walked here, what lives around here?"

"Highland trolls mainly, they are mostly higher up in the mountains, I kill a few, there are giants further in the valleys in the north, but no one lives there, the terrain is harsh, the weather is hell and the winters are nearly year round," She looked at him with wide eyes and nodded, "Not somewhere people can really live, also that there are giants and trolls there too."

"How do you know this?"

"I went exploring before deciding to rebuild the house I live in now and settle in," She was, as he thought the night before, a curious creature who wanted to know everything about the new things she was seeing, "I haven't interacted with many humans since I settled here."

"You still know what you are doing at least," She smirked as he rolled his eyes, "What did I say?"

"You were really loud."

"How else should I show my enjoyment and express the pleasure I am feeling?" She shrugged, "I see nothing there."

"What is the biggest creature you have fought?"

"I fought a wyrm with my sisters on our 18th bloom."

"Your sisters?"

"The women of my age, Kolvma, you have forgotten a lot about our ways, haven't you?" He shrugged, "You will hear all about it and also, I won't be the only woman interested in you when we get to the tribe, the chief has built you up in a major way."

"I wouldn't expect less of him, he is an interesting man."

"How old were you when you saved him?"

"I was 17, a young man who left his hometown in the east and decided to become a wanderer," She nodded, intently listening to him, "Are none of the women married or anything like that?"

"What is marriage?"

"Forget it, a different culture's thing, you guys are just the same tribe."

"We are the same tribe, and you are also part of it," She replied without pushing for more information about what marriage was and moving on.

The sun was setting and the prediction Kolvma had given was mostly correct, and they had reached lower Naav, it was still part of the highland region without being snow covered during the winter, "Do you want to continue walking or do you want to stop and set up camp here?"

"What is better?"

"What did you do coming here?"

"I walked until I was tired, slept on the ground and then continued," She replied, "I was rushing to try and get to you as soon as I could."

"Based on the fact that we are descending to Getulush, we should have a few days to walk, 7 or 8, not as many as you."

"I also stopped in a town with a name I forget to ask for directions."

"Jevturo, that town is 3 days from here, I think."

"If we set up a camp, do I get to sleep with you again?"

"Do you want to sleep with me or get to your tribe sooner?"

"I want both."

"Pick one," He rolled his eyes as she nodded, "So?"

"The faster we go the better it is for my tribe, I think," She nodded, "Help me set up the tent and we can get to sleep sooner and by sundown, we will be able to go to sleep and then head out tomorrow, at sunrise once more," She did as he told her, acting in the way she had described the tribe behaved, listening to those who were superior to them.

The sun was only just rising and they were already walking again, "It isn't as cold and the sun isn't even up, I didn't notice that when I was heading up."

"We are in lower Naav, it is a more temperate climate, shorter winters and longer summers, not as long as your summers but a month longer than my usual winters."

"Why do you know so much about this place?"

"When you are alone, Yishva, you get to travel and see things, I found myself a little bit of an explorer complex, I wanted to learn more and discover more things," She listened to him attentively, "I both killed creatures, gathered different types of plants and also studied the environment."

"Do you only hunt and gather?"

"I cultivate plants when I can, which is only the summer and that is about it, plant late spring, gather early fall and store what I have to last to winter," She wasn't holding her pelt so tightly as the temperature was much milder than before, "I have learned from my first year's struggles and now my winters are rather simple and painless."

"That is interesting, and impressive," She grinned as she listened to him talk, "Makes you sound even more impressive than your collection of fangs and your physical appearance."

"You are just trying to find ways to justify wanting to have sex with me."

"I don't need to justify that, you are clearly my superior, I have to submit to my superior," She grinned as he rolled his eyes, "You seemed to enjoy it when we slept together, did you not?"

"That isn't what I meant, Yishva, forget about it, let's just get to your home as soon as we can.