One Wild Ride
Part 10
At dusk, the bears finally wandered off, apparently tiringof waiting for a juicy tidbit to come out of the cave. They left behind pilesof scat and an unknown danger, since the forest that swallowed them up againwas darkening and refused to reveal how far they went.
Xena was asnear to the entrance as safely possible, her attention focused on the worldoutside. She gave up on the dimming light and turned her head, watching asGabrielle carefully made her way across the rocks. The bard’s face was quiet andpensive, and she wiped her hands off as she passed behind the fire and took aseat to Xena’s left. “You all right?”
Gabrielle had to think about that for a while. “I think so.”She said, at last. “I can’t tell if giving them that meat was a good thing or abad thing.”
Xena rested her elbows on her knees. “I’m sure they thinkit’s a good thing.”
“Yeah.”Gabrielle let her head fall back against the rock wall with a small thump. “I’msure they do.. I just don’t want them to get the idea that we’re going to bedoing that a lot.”
“Feed them?”
“Mm.” The bard rubbed her fingers against her thighs.“Though, it was their kill, so I guess they kind of had a right to it, huh?
“Kinda.” Xena allowed. “But I’m not regretting takingit from them. I was hungry.”
A faint quirk of Gabrielle’s lips met the statement. “Metoo.”
Xena watched her partner out of the corner of her eye.Gabrielle had done most of the food giving, and now she was gazing at thecavern roof, a somber look at her face. Naturally optimistic, it was anodd thing to see the bard this down and the warrior wondered if there was moreto it than just exhaustion.
“So, what do wedo now?” Gabrielle asked, turning her head to peer past Xena into the growingdark. “Stay here?”
Xena shifted to face her. “You don’t want to.”
Gabrielle lifted a hand towards the cavern and let it drop.“I feel like I’m stuck between a herd of warthogs and a thornbush.” She shookher head a little. “What the Hades have we gotten ourselves into?”
Xena hoped that was a rhetorical question. “Don’t know howclose those bear things are. I don’t want to be walking out in the dark withthem around.” She said. “We’ll head out in the morning.”
The bard sighed in frustration. “Darn it, Xena. I don’tthink I can take another night with these guys.’
“Well, if you hadn’t made me stop to sew up one of em, we’dhave been out of here, wouldn’t we?” Xena snapped back. “We’d be long gone.”
Gabrielle took a breath to answer, then let her jaw clickshut, her gaze moving thoughtfully past Xena’s shoulder into the darkness.
The warriorwaited for a moment, but her partner remained silent, her face settling into asomber cast. “Hey.”
“No, you’re right.” The bard cut her off. She shifted andleaned back. “I’ve got to stop being such a damn self righteous dipwad.” She started to get up onto her knees, then paused as Xena reached over and verygently took hold of her wrist. “Xe, let me go.”
“Hey.” The warrior added her other hand, turning the graspinto more of an entreaty. Their eyes met, and after a few seconds, Gabrielle’sdropped and she eased back down. “Sorry.”
“For what?”
“Being ajackass.” Xena released her wrist and laid her hand on the bard’s thighinstead. “Listen.”
“I’m listening.” The bard leaned her shoulder against thewall, relaxing a little.
Xena studiedher face again. “Frustrated?”
Gabrielle nodded.
“Me, too.” Thewarrior gave her leg a pat. “Let’s not take it out on each other.”
A faint hint of a wry twinkle appeared in Gabrielle’s eyes.“Know something?”
A dark brow lifted in question.
“We’ve both grown up a lot.”
Xena considered that seriously for a bit. Given how mucholder she was than her partner, she wasn’t sure if it was a compliment or aninsult. She’d thought she’d grown up fast when she’d had to face off againstCortese, but the more she thought about how she’d acted in the years sincethen, the more she winced at the hell brat with lethal combat skills she’dturned into.
She was nolonger that person. Her eyes shifted to Gabrielle’s face. Most of the time,anyway. “Yeah.” She agreed. “We sure have, huh?”
Gabrielle eased her legs out straight and regarded them,brushing a bit of granite off one knee. “We grew into each other.”
Mm.. now that was really true. The warrior picked up a bitof rock and looked at it, squinting a little at a feathery looking impressionalong one side. She tried to remember what the exact moment was she’d stoppedthinking of Gabrielle as a kid, and started thinking of her as an equal partner.
Hm. “To behonest, I’m outta ideas. You got any?”
The bard lickedher lips. “I don’t” She said. “Xena, my butt hurts.”
In pure reflex, the warrior straightened up, her browscontracting as she gazed at her partner.
“It does. I’mover these freaking rocks.” Gabrielle indicated what they were sittingon. “I want to go find a nice bush to sleep on.”
Xena’s dark brows now elevated into her hairline. Slowly,she looked left and right, then down at herself, then up at Gabrielle. One browremained where it was, the other lowered.
Gabriellefrowned at her, then apparently re-ran her own words in her head because shelet her face drop into one hand and her shoulders started shaking. “oh gods.”
Xena put her arm across the bard’s shoulders and pulled hercloser. “C’mere.” She half lifted the blond woman up and ended up withGabrielle sprawled in her lap, still laughing silently. “Bumpkin.”
“Hehehe.” Gabrielle laughed harder, burying her face intoXena’s chest.
The warriorrolled her eyes, but started laughing along with her, rocking them both gentlyback and forth. Sometimes laughter really was some kind of medicine, certainlyright now it was making her feel a lot better. “Gab-ri-elle. What am I gonna dowith you.”
“Darned if I know.” The shaking slowly subsided, and thegiggles eased. “Gods, I needed that.” The bard tipped her head back against herpartner’s shoulder and sighed. “I’m getting to be a grump in my old age, Xe.”
“Tch. Poor granny.” Xena felt the tension that had beencoiling inside her guts relax. “I don’t think it’s your old age, kiddo.” Shepatted Gabrielle lightly on the side. “You got this way last time.”
“Last time?” Gabrielle frowned, giving her a puzzled look.
Xena returned the look.
“Oh.” The bardmurmured, catching a clue. She remained silent for a minute, then looked backup. “I did?”
The warrior nodded.
“Really?”
“Yup.”
Gabrielleplayed with a bit of her partner’s dark hair. “I guess that might explain yourhyperactive defend me at all costs stuff, huh?”
Xena’s nostrils flared. “I wasn’t doing that.”
Gabrielle rolled her eyes. “Oh, Xena, please.” She moaned.“You picked me up and carried me back to the darn cave.. do I look like I’vegot a broken leg?”
The warrior scratched her nose. “Hm.”
They were both quiet for a few minutes, as the last of thelight outside faded into the shadows of dusk. Inside, the soft green glow ofthe roof of the cavern was augmented, overshadowed really, by their fire andthe flickering shadows from it painted them in ocher and gold.
Then Gabrielledisentangled herself, easing off her partner’s lap and back onto the rockfloor. “I’m going to go get our skin, and see if I can make us morecomfortable.” She said. “And then we’re going to trade off keeping watchso you can get some sleep.”
“Gabrielle.”
“Save it for the Amazons, WP.” Gabrielle had gotten to herfeet and now she went over to where their pack was, kneeling next to it andpulling out it’s contents.
Xena watchedher, pulling up one knee and circling it with her arms. A soft sound caught herattention, but she kept her eyes focused on the bard and merely cocked herears.
The whisper ofleaves against stone. A soft scuff of bare feet and the faint creaks of joints toolong still in one position.
Breathing. Xenaalmost stilled her own to listen, the faint humming under Gabrielle’s breathsounding echoingly loud in her hearing. She heard the faint scrape of rockagainst rock and her body stiffened, warrior’s instincts flaring as her fingerscurled around the hilt of her battered, but still serviceable ax.
A rush ofmotion. Xena whirled and came up onto her knees, then held fast, sensingnothing near her bigger than a bug. She heard the sound of a bodyimpacting another, and strained her eyes into the low light to see what wasgoing on.
The fire threw shadows across the wall, and in them shespotted the motion she’d heard. Dark figures were running across the rocks inthe back of the cavern and the next thing she knew Gabrielle was next to heragain in a half crouch, her staff in one hand and her other resting on thewarrior’s shoulders. “What’s going on?”
“Can’t tell.”
The womanscreamed suddenly, piercing and strange.
Male yellsechoed it, and then, the sound of rock hitting flesh.
Gabrielle felther heart hammering in her chest and she took a half step back as Xena rose toher feet, neither of them in any immediate danger but the unknown pressingaround them. She couldn’t see into the back of the cavern – the light from thefire flooded her vision and made the chaos in the rear nothing but somemoving shadows.
She could hearbone breaking, though, and suddenly, a despairing yell – a cry of pain thatbrought her up onto her toes and nearly sent her into the darkness to find it’ssource. “Xena, wh…”
As if sensingthe instinct, Xena put her arm out, her hand clasping the bard’s arm. “Fight.”
“Why?”
“Don’t know.” Xena’s nose twitched. She could smell blood,over the general stench of the cavern, and then the shadows came forward, scrapingand grunting, a crowd of them in a tight cluster that sent her heart racing andevery hair up on end. “Whatever it is.. it’s not good.”
Gabrielle licked her lips and got her other hand on thestaff, stepping to the side and giving herself some room to move as the crowdcame closer to them.
Near the frontof the cavern, they broke apart, and three or four of them continued on,dragging something between them. Hoots of triumph went up, and as shewatched, the rest headed in their direction, the flames of the fire flickeringoff their glittering eyes and teeth.
The four in thefront went to the edge of the cavern and threw something out, a bundle of limbsand body that hit the ground outside with a sodden thump and moved no further.The woman had come up behind them and now she screamed again, wailing at thetop of her voice and slapping the rock with her hands.
The two closestmales now beat their chests and hooted at them. One, a little bolder,shoved into the front and went over to the woman, grabbing her by the hair andpulling her backwards towards the darkness again.
The other maleshooted, and ran after him, the sounds weirdly echoing off the stone, and aftera moment, the woman’s screams fell off, turning into yells instead, the shadowshiding everything from the watching eyes.
Xena let her arm drop, for the first time in a long time atan utter loss as to what to do. Rescue the woman? She had spurned theirattempts the last time, and even if she hadn’t, going into the darkness with thecreatures…
Well, she wasn’t a coward. But she wasn’t an idioteither.
Gabrielle letout a breath and grounded her staff, staring into the back of the cavern insilence. “Xena?”
“Yeah?”
“I’m sorry I made you stop this morning. We have to get outof here.”
“Yeah.”
“We have to get out of here.” Gabrielle repeated, softly.“We have to
Gabrielle huddled against Xena’s tense form, her eyeslooking past the shoulder high flames in front of them. They were pressed againstthe wall near the entrance, with the fire built up as much as they could manageto keep back the rest of the cavern’s inhabitants.
She still felt cold, even though the fire was snapping notmore than two arms lengths in front of them, and the glittering eyes watchingher through the flame only added to the chill. The creatures hadn’t slept allnight either, shifting and moving around the cave, testing the fire’s edge withtheir hands before darting back.
Xena was seated with her legs crossed under her, the axresting on her knees and her attention focused on the hooters. Her eyes hadn’tstopped sweeping them for an instant during the long, dark night and now thatdawn was coming closer there was an edginess there that Gabrielle could feel asfaint twitches under the skin she was pressed against.
At dawn, Xena had told her, they’d move. She had the last ofthe firewood ready, it’s end tied with bits of vine and leaves to make a torchin case the hooters tried to block them and they were both so full of nervousenergy that any kind of rest, much less sleep, would have been impossible.
Even for Gabrielle, who normally trusted Xena implicitly. Itwasn’t as if she didn’t trust her now, but with the danger so close, she didn’tdare cause the warrior one half second’s worth of reaction time, and the needto wake her would do that.
So she sat there, gripping her staff and praying for thesunlight as she’d prayed for few things before in her life. In a way, itreminded her a little of the night before the start of the war in Amphipolis,that brief quiet time she’d spent with Xena before all Hades was going to breakloose.
At some point, you just want it to start. You want to go, tobe doing something, be doing anything but sitting and waiting, and knowing badthings were coming.
One of the hooters barked, and suddenly, rushed at the fire.In a single motion Gabrielle shifted and they both stood up, weapons at theready, the firelight throwing their shadows in huge relief against the cavernwall behind them.
The hooter stopped just short of the fire and jumped up anddown, as though working up his courage. He slapped the rocks with both handsand yelled brazenly at them, until Xena nailed him with a rock in the face.
That knocked him back a little, and he hunkered down on anearby rock, glowering at them sullenly. Xena watched him for a moment, thenshe cautiously sat back down. “Know what I wish?”
“You had your sword?” Gabrielle hazarded, as she droppedback down to the hard rock as well.
“No. That I had a damn cart full of Greek fire.” The warriorresponded with a grimace. “Put an end to this misery in a heartbeat.”
Gabrielle gazed into the heart of the flames, unsure if shewas more surprised at her outrage over the thought of killing off everything inthe cavern or the fact that part of her was considering the notion sodispassionately it made her a little sick.
“Dinar for your thoughts?” Xena said, after a lengtheningsilence.
“You don’t want them.” The bard murmured. ‘I don’t think Ieven want them.”
“Mm?” The warrior turned her full attention on Gabrielle.
“Mm.” Gabrielle grunted softly in return.
Xena seemed to guess them anyway. She released her grip onher ax and let her elbow rest on Gabrielle’s shoulder, brushing her knucklesagainst the bard’s cheek. “Hang in there. We’ll get out of this.”
Isn’t that my line? Gabrielle wondered. Aren’t I supposed tobe the optimist of the two of us? She leaned her head into Xena’s touch anyway,acknowledging a wry pulse of affection for a soulmate who had grown to be farmore perceptive than Gabrielle had ever expected.
She’d been in love with Xena for ever, it seemed, and evenwhen Xena began to return her affection, she never really thought.. well, notthen anyway, that it would ever be a case of the warrior caring for.. doting onher the way Gabrielle did for her.
She’d timidly came to accept and cherish the fact that Xenaloved her, but she never imagined Xena understanding her, much less helping herto understand herself.
Life was funny, sometimes. Gabrielle glanced up as she felta gentle nudge, seeing those blue eyes studying her intently, expressively, theintelligence behind them peeling away all her dissembling. “I know we will.”She replied. “One way or the other.”
A gentle raising of one dark eyebrow, and a slight frownappeared as Xena acknowledged the double meaning in her words she hadn’t reallyconsciously intended.
Or had she? “We’ll be all right.” She said. “I just wish wewere out of here.”
“I know.” Xena replied briefly, giving her shoulder asqueeze. “I hear ya.”
I hear ya. It was such a relief sometimes to have someonewho she could depend on to just be there for her when things got tough. Even ifXena wasn’t the unspeakably brilliant fighter she was, or as capable as shewas, or as dependable - having that someone was a wonderful thing.
It was a wonderful thing. The bard rested her head againstXena’s shoulder and smiled faintly. If you had to be in Hades, it certainly wasnice to have someone there with you, wasn’t it? “Boo, boo boo.” Gabriellemurmured under her breath. “What would I do without you?”
“Beats me.” Xena sighed. “Same as I do without you, Iguess.”
Gabrielle glanced outside, willing the darkness to lighten alittle with the coming dawn. “Are we just going to run?” She asked softly.
Xena let her eyes drift across the watching hooters. “That’splan A, yeah.” She admitted. “Light something on fire in here.. maybe scatterwhat we’ve got across to where that garbage pile is. Keep em occupied.”
“Mm.”
“Then get the Hades out of here.” Xena exhaled. “I don’tgive a damn if we have to run all day and end up back in that waterfall.”
“Go back the way we came?” Gabrielle sounded incredulous.“You said there was no way out that way!”
The warrior was silent for a moment. “I’m not sure there’s away out ahead of us either.” She said, after a few short, quick breaths.
“Gods.” The bard whispered. “Xena, what are we going to do?”
For one of the few times she’d known Xena, the warriorlooked as uncertain as she felt. “I’m not sure.” She said carefully. “We’lljust have to do the best we can, Gabrielle.”
“Poop.” Gabrielle wasn’t sure now that she wanted morning tocome. “Boy, this sucks.”
“I know.” The warrior put her arm around Gabrielle’s waist.“Trust me, I know. I’d give my damn chakram to be at home right now.” She said.“I’m as miserable as you are, sweetheart.”
Gabrielle shifted a little and laid her staff down, restingit on one knee. She reached over and picked up their skull, lifting it andtaking a sip of water, and then handing it over to Xena. “Every storytellingbone in my body for a waterskin.”
“Keep your bones inside you, bard.” Xena was glad for thebanter. The night had been getting so long, and the scary, staggered mockattacks by the hooters so frequent, she’d been nearly ready to lose her mind.“Hey, Gabrielle?”
“Yes, oh love of my life, and focus of my dreams?” Gabrielleknew one way to make herself, and also Xena, feel better was to dive headfirstinto glorpy romanticism. “Please tell me there’s something I can do for you?’
Xena’s face scrunched up, a mixture of embarrassment andpleasure.
“Weeel?”
The warrior cleared her throat. “Got a story handy?”
Ah, an appeal to her muse. Gabrielle allowed herself to bequite charmed. Xena didn’t ask her to tell stories often, though if she wasthere when the bard was telling them she always listened in, even if they werestories about her. “How about a new story?” She suggested. “I was thinking ofone the other day.. mind if I try it out on you?”
Xena’s eyes widened slightly. “New?” She repeated. “As in,no one else’s heard it yet?”
“Mmhm.” Gabrielle had to smile at the pleased expressioncrossing her partner’s face, as she could clearly remember the days when askingXena to be an audience for her new and uncertain talent had gotten a much lessenthusiastic response. “I haven’t had much time to work on it the past fewdays, so it’s rough.”
Xena shifted a little, so she could both see the inside ofthe cavern fully, and also watch Gabrielle at the same time. They had a whilebefore dawn, and she could really think of no better way…
Wait, yes she could. However, wrong time, wrong place. Thewarrior cocked her head a little and waited, watching Gabrielle’s eyes shift abit off to one side, going a little unfocused as she ordered her thoughts.
As Gabrielle’s skill at storytelling matured, Xena haddiscovered an almost childlike pleasure in being the first one to hear one ofher new tales. She enjoyed listening to her older ones too, though some of theones about her she wasn’t too fond of – but hearing a new bit of her partner’simagination brought a special warmth to her.
She remembered with brief, stark clarity what life was likewithout that. During their estrangement that shut off all the sweetness betweenthem and replaced it with chill uncertainty. Maybe that was why they were bothso very conscious of each other, and they worked so hard to keep things at aneven keel.
Neither of them wanted to risk that again. So they paidattention now to the little things, and to each other, and they took thesesmall moments when they could and savored them.
Gabrielle’s sharing of her talent was an example of this.Often at night, in the small hours when Dori was asleep and they were alonetogether, there was an easy intimacy in the act that touched something deepinside her. And so now, even though there was nothing in their currentcircumstances that was either easy nor intimate, Xena more than welcomed thediversion.
“Remember that flock of birds we saw when we were travelingback home?” Gabrielle asked, suddenly, looking up at her in question.
Flock of birds. “Any… particular.. flock of birds,Gabrielle?” The warrior probed. “We went a lot of places this last time.”
“The ones near the lake.”
Was that a twinkle of mischief in those green eyes? Gods.How many lakes had they passed? “Um..”
Gabrielle chuckled. “The ones you told me.. they flew allthe way to one place in the winter and then someplace else in the summer.”
“Right.” Oh, those birds. Xena half smiled. She’d thoughtGabrielle had been too quiet for too long a time after they’d seen the largegroup, all headed back to their winter range. “Sure, I remember.”
“And then they all flew away, but that one?” Gabrielle wenton. “That one stayed, and we watched it until the sun went down?” She said. “AndI asked you why it did that?”
“And I said maybe the bird was a little like you, yeah.”Xena agreed. “Never wanting to follow the flock.”
Gabrielle smiled, her eyes lighting up a little. “That’s theone, yeah.” She cleared her throat. “So I thought of a story about that bird,and how it lived, and how it was a part of a big family, until one daysomething happened.”
Ah. Xena settled down to listen, her peripheral sensessweeping the cavern around her, taking in the tense, glowering hooters and thequiet figure of the woman, slumped near the wall apparently taken toexhaustion. “Gwan. I’m listening.”
“What makes birds do that?” The bard asked, after a second.“Stay all together like that in one big group, I mean?”
Xena wasn’t sure if that was the beginning of the story, butsince Gabrielle was apparently waiting for her to answer, she did. “Safety.”
“That’s what I thought.” The bard replied. “So here’s thestory of why sometimes life is worth giving up safety for.”
And they wouldn’t know anything about that, would they?”Xena felt her lips tightening into a smile. Outside, she heard the firststirrings of birds, a definite precursor of the dawn and she knew the longnight was coming at last to an end.
The day might bring something even worse, but at least,they’d go into it smiling together.
**
“So, what do you think?” Eponin took hold of a branch andpulled them out of the current again. “I ain’t seen any more stuff that looksfamiliar for a while.”
“Me either.” Granella paddled her end of the canoe in andstudied the underbrush. “And it’s getting dark.” Her brow creased in worry.“Damn I figured we’d see some sign of them or something by now.’
Pony had figured the same thing. “Okay.” She pondered theirsurroundings. The ground sloped up from the flooded riverbed to a craggy bit ofrock, topped by thick bushes. “Let’s get out here, and make camp. There’senough light to look around up there a little bit.. maybe we’ll spotsomething.”
Granella held on to the branch and kept the small craftsteady as Pony climbed out, a thick pack slung over one shoulder. She waitedfor the weapons master to tie off the canoe to a half sunken trunk before shecarefully got up and followed her.
They pulled themselves up through the branches until theycould see ground under them instead of water, and then they descended to theearth, dropping out onto the rocky, sparse turfed surface as the sun started todip behind the treeline.
It was quiet, and wild here. Eponin lifted her head andlistened, hearing animal life nearby in the brush and calculating they wereroughly halfway between Amphipolis and the hillsides where Potadeia was tucked,a mostly uninhabited patch of lands that had little in the way of resources.
For townies, anyway. Eponin smiled, knowing Amazons wouldview the area quite differently. She indicated a bend in the rocks, which helda pocket of dead leaves in it’s embrace. “Let’s use that. I’ll get somebranches.”
“I’ll get some firewood.” Granella agreed, carrying her ownpack over to the crook and setting it down. She examined the alcove, dustymemories surfacing of many nights spent out during her Amazon apprenticeship,and the years after when she’d been a scout and guard around the village.
When she told the townsfolk about those times, they lookedat her like she was nuts, Granella recalled. Spending time out under the stars,surrounded by wild forest and even wilder animals was something none of themwould do by choice, and that was just the mildest of her rememberances.
She never told them about learning to hunt. Or the firelitharvest festivals. Or how her sisters had taught her the pleasures ofwomanhood.
With a chuckle, Granella dusted her hands off and moved offunder the trees, glad the rain had slacked off the last day or so and the woodshe picked up was mostly dry. As she collected it, she kept her eyes open forsigns of Xena and Gabrielle, though after a moment she realized there probablywouldn’t be any.
“Hey, Pon?” She called over her shoulder.
“Yeah?” Eponin appeared, climbing up the gentle slope behindthem to join her. “Find anything?”
“I was just thinking.” Granella picked up another brokenlimb. “They didn’t have much to lose on the way. Xena was in… gods, a shirt Iguess, and Gab had her usual number on.”
“Huh.” Pony used her sword to hack off a leaf laden branch.“I was thinking more of stuff like… broken camps, that kinda thing.”
Granella took her armful of wood back to the crook andknelt, laying the pieces down in a pattern. “Anyone could make fires, yeah?”
“Yeah.” Pony was laying her branches over the top of theangle to make a shelter. “But Xena does hers in a special way.” She said. “Or..eh, not special, but different.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah.” Pony surveyed her work, then walked back over to thetreeline for more branches. “Always the same size.. always built the same way,put just so between where she and the Maj are bunking.. woman’s a freaking analretentive freak when it comes to that stuff.”
“Only about that?” Granella chuckled, as she drew her flintand striker out, and set to work over a ball of moss tinder. The sun was behindthe trees now, sending thick, golden stripes to trickle through the leaves,dusting the ground in front of her with molten speckles.
The spring air was cool, and full of the scent of the riverand forest around them. She drew a breath in and realized then how she’d grownused to the smells of humanity around her.
When Gabrielle and Xena had first come back home, sheremembered Gabrielle collecting Dori one late afternoon, wryly telling her shewas taking the kid, and Xena and going up into the hills for dinner, since thestench made her stomach turn. Granella had thought she was being wayoverdramatic, and dismissed the argument, accusing her sister in law jokinglyof just wanting the excuse to be alone
Now, she wasn’t so sure. At any rate, it was nice to be ableto hear herself think out here. She blew gently on the tinder and watched itcurl and blacken as smoke drifted up from it, tickling her nose with it’s quietpungency.
A few leaves rattled over her shoulders, as Pony put thelast branches into place and completed their rude shelter. She looked up,seeing flickers of light through the layered foliage, and sat down crosslegged, nudging the tinder into the center of her newly built fire, feeding itwith twigs as it caught.
“Didn’t forget how, huh?” Pony joined her a moment later,settling down on the ground and dragging her pack over.
“Who do you think makes the fire in our cabin?” Granellaasked, dryly. “I love Toris to death, but he’s got two left thumbs when itcomes to this stuff.”
Eponin chuckled softly, removing a packet of dried meat andlaying it on one knee. “He’s all right though.” She said. “For a man.”
Granella’s lips twitched, but she refrained from responding,concentrating on the fire instead. The sun’s rays had faded, and the wind hadpicked up bringing a cool breeze across them. She was glad of the warmth as theflames slowly built, and she pondered a moment what her husband would be up toback home.
Dinner at the inn, most likely. One of the few traits Torisshared fully with his sister was the ability to cook or lack thereof, andserving the twins half boiled tea and hard cereal would guarantee their protestand he knew it. “You know what Cyrene told me the other day?”
“What?” Pony asked, chewing on the dried meat.
“She told me the only hope she had of passing the inn downin any respectable way was if Gabrielle settled down and took it over.”
“Huh?”
“She figures Xena could manage it maybe as a bar, and Toriswould probably turn it into gambling den.”
Pony chewed her mouthful for a moment, a frown on her face.“Oh.” She finally swallowed. “The cooking thing.”
“Mm.”
“What brought that up?”
Granella shrugged. “I was just thinking of what was going onback home.”
“No..” Pony waved a stick of meat at her. “I mean, what madeCyrene bring that up? That why she’s so pissed off at her Maj? She wants her tobe an innkeeper? She’s nuts.”
“Mm.” Granella removed some waybread from her pack and aslab of hard cheese. She put them together and nibbled on them. “There’s worseways to live.” She leaned back against the rocks and watched the fire crackle.“They can’t wander around forever, y’know.”
Pony took a swig from her waterskin. “Know what I think?”
“What?”
The weapons master wiped her lips with the back of her hand.“They’ll never settle down there. Not for long.”
Granella looked at her. “Pon, they’ve got a kid, and a houseand a family there.”
“Doesn’t matter.” Eponin shook her head. “They got thatitch. Gabrielle’s got it worse than Xena does… wasn’t all the noise and crap intown that drove her nuts, it was all the boring crap that goes on there day inday out.”
Granella pondered that as she ate. “She’s a dreamer.” Shefinally said, in a quiet tone. “She’ll never be Queen, not really. You knowit.”
“I know it. Eph knows it.” The weapons master said. “Onlychance she’d have done it was back when.”
“The first time.”
Pony nodded, understanding exactly what Granella meant. “IfXena hadn’t come back, then yeah, maybe. But I’m not sure I’d have liked whatkind of Queen she’d have ended up being.”
She’d just gained her feathers then, Granella remembered,and she recalled the horror and the sadness of that time, and how frightenedshe’d been of Velasca. She’d thought Gabrielle was insanely brave to face offagainst her, but she’d heard Ephiny say something like that to her and whatGabrielle had answered had scared her even more.
“Worst she can do, is kill me. It would probably hurt less.”
“Yeah.” She agreed somberly. “That woulda been tough.”
They both remained quiet for a while, absorbed in their ownthoughts as the sky turned to black over them and the fire’s golden light edgedout into the darkness. Granella finally cleared her throat, and glanced at hercompanion. “You think they’re okay?”
Eponin returned the look, her hazel eyes reflecting theflames. “Truth?”
Granella nodded.
“I think they’re in big time trouble.” The weapons mastersaid. “Cause if they weren’t, no crap, they’d be back already. Even if that kidwasn’t waiting on them, they had tons of family in the way of that flood and nomatter how pissed off Xena was at her mom and all that, they’re family, youknow?”
Granella nodded seriously. “Toris thinks the same thing.”She said. “That’s why he wasn’t torked at all about me coming out here withyou.” She went on. “He’s really worried.”
“But he said..”
“I know.. I know.. all that stuff about them being who theyare and all that. But what he tells me is the truth, you know?” Granellainterrupted her. “And even though they fight, he loves her, and you know heloves Gabrielle.”
“Yeah.” Pony stared pensively at the fire. “You know, Ilearned a lot from Xena that way.”
“Huh?”
The weapons master remained quiet for a moment, then sheexhaled. “My mother was going to sell me to a whorehouse.” She remarked, in anunemotional tone. “That’s how I came to the Amazons. Couple of em.. Renas, herbuddy Liv, and a few others, happened on the place and took me instead.”
Granella blinked, startled. “Oh.” She said. “Sorry.. Ididn’t know that, Pon.”
“Most don’t.” The woman shrugged. “Old history, but youknow, after seeing Xena with Cyrene, makes me believe if I ever did see the oldbitch again, I probably wouldn’t kill her.” She concluded. “Family’s family.”
Granella thought about her own mother. She’d been born intothe Amazon nation and had grown up a part of the nation. She’d always assumedPony had done the same, as she’d always seemed so natural an Amazon to her.“Yeah.”
“So that’s why I think they’d be back already.” Pony said.“They didn’t know how high the river’d go.. Hades, it coulda taken out theupper town.”
“Coulda.”
“And they’d never leave that kid.”
“No.” Granella agreed quietly. “You think we can find them?”
Pony drew out her sword, and her sharpening stone, and begana rhythmic scraping. “We gotta.” She said, her eyes on the blade. “Ain’t nochoice, y’know?”
“I know.”
Pony looked out into the darkness, her hands working at hertask automatically. No choice, true.. but where to start looking?
That was the question she really didn’t have an answer to.But by daylight, damn it, she’d have one.
No choice.
**
It was just before dawn, and at last Xena knew a moment ofpeace. The hooters had all hunkered down in silence finally, after Gabrielle’sstory was over and the bard had slowly relaxed, her head coming to rest againstXena’s collarbone.
The blond woman wasn’t quite asleep, but her breathing wasslow and steady, and Xena knew she was in that twilight state between wakingand dreaming and wasn’t really conscious of her surroundings.
Outside, she could hear the faint buzz of crickets and thetentative chirps of early rising birds, and further out the sound of waterrippling from the creek. There were no noises she could identify as belongingto large animals around, and she started planning in her mind the steps they’dtake to escape from the cave.
Her pack was already knotted, and at her side, with her axand Gabrielle’s staff.
In a moment, she would nudge Gabrielle into alertness. In amoment, she would ready herself to stand, and kick the fire into the cavern andrun, her mind already going over the route they’d take and anticipating boththe smooth points and the rough spots.
Her breathing started to deepen, and she felt blood move alittle more strongly through her, warming her skin and heightening heralertness. She drew in a lungful of the cavern air and regretted it, as theproximity of all the hooters in close quarters put a rancid taste on the backof her tongue.
A bird called outside, and Xena shifted a little, startingto raise her hand to cup Gabrielle’s face only to find it gently caught andheld, and then kissed. She glanced down to see Gabrielle looking at her throughthe gloom, alert and waiting, her thumb rubbing against Xena’s palm as they satthere breathing in each other’s rhythm.
“Ready?” Xena shaped the word silently.
Gabrielle nodded.
“Three.” The warrior added, hearing a soft stirring aroundthem, and realizing they were running out of time. “One… “
Gabrielle gathered herself up without moving, musclestensing all along her body as she slid one foot more under her.
“Two.”
The woman woke, looking around in sudden alarm, but relaxingonce she saw them there. She put her head down on her forearm and watched them,her eyes a mystery in the shadows around the fire.
“Three.” Xena surged upward, getting a hand on Gabrielle’ship as the bard uncoiled ahead of her and headed for the opening, her staffgripped firmly. “Go!” The warrior turned and with a sweep of her leg, bootedthe burning logs from the fire towards the center of the cavern as the hootersall started to scramble up, a howl rising even as she completed the move.
“No!” The woman got up and started for them, her handstretched out in entreaty. “No!”
Xena didn’t stop to argue. She saw the fire catch on theleaf litter as she bolted from the cavern, following in Gabrielle’s footstepsas the bard crossed the rocks and headed for the trees. The fresh air puffedagainst her face and she sucked it in gratefully, her eyes sweeping over thearea in search of threats.
She caught up to Gabrielle as they raced down the smallslope, her ears cocked behind her to listen for the hooters. She could detectsome kind of motion, but glancing behind her revealed only smoke coming fromthe opening to the cavern and she didn’t stop to ponder it. “Go!”
“I’m going!” Gabrielle tucked her staff against her ribs asthe morning air pushed the hair back off her forehead, her body almostshivering in the early chill after the warmth of the fire and Xena’s body.Despite that, though, she was glad to be moving, glad to be out of the cavernand away from the creatures and the atmosphere of fear around them.
The early morning forest was just waking as well, and shestartled a rabbit.. or what she thought was a rabbit as it scrambled out of herway and scuttled under a bush. There was no time to wonder, though, and theytore through the outer fringe of the trees side by side in silence.
“Anything?” Gabrielle asked, after a few minutes of running.
Xena risked a backwards glance, and saw only forest. “No.”
“We going to keep running?”
“Yes.”
“Okay.” Gabrielle concentrated on the ground, it’s unevennature making speed dangerous. She dropped back a pace behind Xena, letting thewarrior lead the way, shifting her staff from her right hand to her left tokeep it from thumping her partner as they ran.
She could hear birds all around her now, chittering and flappingin the leaves over their head as they darted up from perches in alarm. Her bodyhad warmed up by now, and she fell into a rhythm as Xena headed across a smallridge and down into a mossy dell.
It was damp in the bottom of it, her boots sinking in alittle and throwing up a few spits of mud as they turned and continued alongthe hollow instead of going up the other side. She realized they were headingtowards the other side of the valley, away from the cave they’d hid in before.“Thought you were going back.”
“Only if I have to.” Xena was running easily, her headturning to the left to peer through the trees. “We know what’s back there andit’s not good.”
“Right.”
“We don’t know what’s ahead of us.”
Could be better or worse, Gabrielle mused silently. Shewasn’t unhappy about it though – any unknown area could hold a way out.
“Damn.”
Gabrielle looked quickly to the left, and saw faint shadowsat the edge of the trees back the way they’d come. “Well, you figured they’dcome after us.”
“Figured we’d have more time.” Xena sighed, wishing silentlyshe’d had a bigger fire and a pair of much sturdier boots. “Run.”
“Hon, I’m running.” Gabrielle increased her pace to keep up.“Are we running someplace in particular or what?’
Good question. Xena scanned the old river bed they werecurrently heading down, feeling the ground sloping a little under her feet. Shedidn’t want to get into a gully, and have the creatures come down on top ofthem from the banks, and yet being a little below the level of the ground meantthey might not be noticed for a little while longer.
She glanced at Gabrielle, gauging the blond woman’s energylevel. Despite the lack of sleep and the rapid escape, the bard seemed to be ingood form, her powerful strides easy and unstrained. “Let’s see how far we canget in this.” She indicated the creek bed. “If they get too close, we’ll goup.”
Gabrielle looked up in reflex. “Up out of the ditch?”
“Up in the trees.” Xena muffled a smile, at her partner’sgrimace. “C’mon.. Amazon tradition.”
Yes, Gabrielle knew that. She knew the Amazons werelegendary for their ability to travel through the trees, and she knew herpartner enjoyed doing that herself.
Gabrielle did not enjoy it, and Xena knew that. She climbedtrees when she had to, but her fear of heights made travel through themuncomfortable at best and nauseating at worst and so she hoped like Hadesthey’d find a better path down the gully. “Great.”
They went a little faster, as the ground sloped a littlemore and the tops of the gully rose up near their eye level. The ancient bankhere was undercut, and went back into the ground quite a bit, revealingminiature caves that sprouted the occasional bush.
Xena kept an eye on the shadows between the trees, her earscocked as she caught the hooter’s yells on the air. She saw the gully bendingto the right ahead of them, and she picked up speed, the pack bouncing a littleon her back.
As she rounded the bend a flash of motion caught her eye andshe blinked, as part of the wall seemed to separate and move into the middle ofthe gully, resolving from a dark shadow into a huge wolflike creature.
“Xena!” Gabrielle yelped automatically, slowing as thewarrior threw out her arm to block the way.
“I see it.” Xena looked hastily over her shoulder, then she studiedthe animal. It’s hackles were up and it was growling - it’s head roughly evenwith her shoulders. She shifted her grip on her ax and raised it. “Yeahh!”
The animal opened it’s mouth and showed it’s teeth, thenadvanced, it’s legs stiff and it’s hair on end. Xena took a step towards it andbrandished the ax, spreading her other arm to make herself appear larger. “Getoutta here! Yah!”
The animal’s growls deepened and it rushed a few stepstowards them, then stopped, it’s paws sending bits of shale spitting towardstheir legs.
As a counterpoint, the yells of the hooters got louder, andmore insistent. Xena looked behind her, then she stooped and picked up a rock,throwing it at the beast. “Move!”
The animal snarled at her and ran a few steps closer again,growling hideously.
“Son of a bacchae.” Xena sighed. “Trade.” She indicatedGabrielle’s staff. “Lemme see if I can..”
“Xe, wait.” Gabrielle had spotted something. “Hold on a..”She reached for the warrior’s arm but found it yanked out of her grasp. “Xena!”
“Gabrielle!” The warrior yelled in frustration. “No wait!”
The bard backed up, grabbing hold of her partner’s belt andhauling her bodily along with her, catching the warrior off balance and makingprogress before she could put the brakes on and stop them.
“Gab!” Xena twisted around and took hold of her hands. “Whatin the Hades are you doing!” She dropped her ax and grappled with the bard, herboots skidding in the loose shale. “GABRIELLE!!!!” She yelled in anger.
“Shh!” Gabrielle hauled her against the bank and theyturned, with their backs protected. “Look!” She pointed. “Look under there!”She urged the warrior, whose eyes were boring right through her. “Xena!” Shereached up and took hold of her partner’s jaw, turning her head. “LOOK!”
The wolflike creature was still growling, but it had stoppedadvancing, and was merely standing it’s ground, watching them with intent,yellow eyes. After a moment, a smaller, furry body emerged from the undercut,staring at them.
“She has babies.” The bard whispered. “C’mon. Let’s get outof here.” She turned and looked for a way up out of the gully, her heartbeating double time in her chest. She reached for a root sticking out frombetween the rocks and started hauling herself up, only to be gripped around thewaist and thrown gently onto the mossy ground on the edge.
She rolled over and got out of the way, as Xena vaulted upto join her. They stood and started running along the edge, dodging between thetrees and following the creek bed as the wolflike creature turned to watchthem.
The ground became rocky and the ridge they were on angledupwards, as the creek bed angled downwards, moving towards a thickly forestedarea that overgrew the gully just ahead. Gabrielle was suddenly glad they wereout of it, the shadowed darkness making her skin prickle for no apparentreason.
“There.” Xena grabbed her shoulder and pointed. A rockslidehad happened, recently by the look of it, and several huge slabs of rock hadfallen down from the wall ahead and formed a roughly triangular shaped spaceamong crushed trees. “Let’s see if we can duck in there and lose them.”
Gabrielle followed her as they scrambled down a slope ofloose rock, almost skidding into the shelter uncontrollably. They passed underthe overhanging rock and skidded to a halt, turning to look behind them as theyducked around a waist high boulder and crouched down.
Shoulder to shoulder, both hand son the rock, fingerssplayed as they searched the forest. Neither of them said a word as the yellsgrew closer, echoing through the forest. The wind blew against their faces, andXena let out a breath, her nostrils twitching.
Gabrielle stiffened, as she spotted hairy figures lopingalong the top of the creek bed, the two nearest clutching branches. They weredefinitely being hunted. She dropped one hand off the rock and took hold of herstaff, her heart coming up into her throat.
Xena reached over and put a hand on her back, pressing hervery gently towards the rock. She put a finger to her lips and made the signfor ‘keep still.’, then she leaned against the rock herself and merely watched,only her eyes visible over the stone.
The creatures came closer, and Gabrielle watched them,forcing herself to remain calm and in place as the lead creature sniffed theair, and let out a howl, slapping his branch against a nearby tree. Two birdserupted from the bushes and the creature paused, listening intently.
Gabrielle was abruptly aware of her own breathing, whichsounded loud in her own ears. She opened her mouth and felt the air rush acrossher tongue, her inhale filled with the scent of stone and earth. Beside her,Xena knelt in utter stillness, only her eyes watching intently as the hunterscame closer and closer.
They made a huge amount of noise, hooting and smacking thetrees, shaking the branches and throwing rocks into the underbrush.
One of the rocks bounded into the shelter they were in andbounced against the boulder they were behind. Gabrielle heard her heart thunderin her ears and she shifted a quick look to Xena’s face in question. Thewarrior’s hand, hidden behind the rock made a slight gesture, and she turnedback around, remaining in place out of sheer stubborn will.
It was hard. But she trusted Xena.
She did. Gabrielle felt a tremor shake her hands as thecreatures climbed up the slope towards them. She really did.
**
Ephiny stared at the woman seated on Xena and Gabrielle’sbed, her arms folded over her chest. “You’re joking.”
“Not even slightly funny.” Cyrene replied. “He’s promised themtwo hundred dinars a piece.”
Ephiny blinked.
“Two hundred dinars, and there’s two score of them. Forty.”The innkeeper continued. “And he told us we just have to suck it up and givethem everything we’ve got.”
Ephiny slowly sat down on the chest. “Is he out of hismind?’ She asked. “You’ll be indebted to them for three seasons at least!”
Cyrene shook her head. “I don’t know what he’s out of, buthe’s run me out of patience and everything else, I’ll tell you that.” She said.“We just got out of that town meeting, and I walked up here so I wouldn’t gofind an ax and get myself in some real trouble.”
“Hm.” Ephiny laced her fingers together, giving Cyrene’sstatement the respect it deserved given her history. “You going to go alongwith it?”
The innkeeper snorted. “He’s given the town’s word.”
“And?”
Cyrene looked wryly at her.
Ephiny shrugged. “Sorry, Cyrene.. but no one in your family,blood or extended, that I’ve met yet has been much on obeying rules that aren’tto their advantage.” She watched Dori throw a stuffed toy at the wall, andcatch it as it bounced back at her. “No offense.”
The innkeeper got up and walked over to the window, leaningon the sill and looking out. “It’s not that simple.”
“Why not?” The regent asked. “Let me tell you something.. ifsomeone came and told me I’d have to give up our whole year’s income I’d kickem in the shins and tell them to kiss my ass.” She got up and walked over towhere Cyrene was standing. “You’re going to tell me that council of yours votedto agree with him?”
“Apparently.” Cyrene turned and leaned against the sill.“They think it’s fair… but then, most of them are making all their income offthe lower town.. the markets there. If they don’t’ rebuild, they’re sunk.”
“Ah.”
“Where as the rest of us… well, sure, I make coin off theplace, but..”
“But you have the best inn in town anyway, and you’d getbusiness regardless.” Ephiny completed the thought. “You mean to tell me youlet those speculators take over the town?”
Cyrene had the grace to look abashed. “We didn’t realize itwas happening.”
“Until they kicked Gabrielle out.” The Amazon snortedsoftly. “That should have clued you.”
The innkeeper frowned.
“You know, I never did buy that whole line about how she haddivided loyalties.” Ephiny continued. “I think they just wanted to make theirscummy deals and they were afraid she’d kick their asses.”
Cyrene opened her mouth, and then after a moment, closed itagain with a faint half shrug. “Well, I’m not sure what we’re going to do.” Sheadmitted. “Of course I don’t want to go along with it.. but I don’t want tomake an enemy of the whole town either. I do have to live here.”
She pushed away from the window and went over to where Doriwas sitting. “Hey, cutie pie. What are you up to?’
“Gramma, hi.” Dori twisted around on the floor so she wasfacing her grandmother. “Is mama coming?”
Cyrene grimaced a little. “Soon, sweetie. Some of ourfriends went to go find your mama and Xena, and tell them to hurry up home,okay?”
Dori scowled a bit. “Boo’s gone too long.” She complained.”Nofun.”
Ephiny crossed back over to the chest and sat down, watchingthe child pensively.
“Well, honey, do you want to come down and play with Solonand Lyceus?” Cyrene asked. “I’m not sure your uncle Toris would appreciateanother hellion to watch, but I bet you’d have fun.”
“Go down there?” Dori pointed in the actual direction of thetown.
“Yes.” Cyrene agreed. “You want to go?”
Dori considered the request. “No.” She shook her head with childishsincerety. “Too loud. Bring ev’rybody here now.. fun!”
Ephiny chuckled softly.
Cyrene frowned. “She learned that from them.” She muttered.“Little rascal.”
The regent remained silent for a moment. “You’re wrong.”
“What?’
“She’s capable of making up her own mind.” Ephiny said, in asharper tone. “Just like her mothers are. And for the record, I think they madea fine choice moving up here.”
Cyrene rolled her eyes. “You would.”
“I do.” The regent agreed. “You people don’t appreciate themin the least.” She got down on the floor. “C’mere, Dori… let’s play pattycake,like you do with mama.”
Dori agreeably crawled over to her and sat down.
“What nonsense. Of course I appreciate them.” Cyreneprotested. “They’re my daughters, for the gods sake.” She paced over to thefireplace. “Appreciate them? If I didn’t, would I give a damn if they movedhere, or some other town, or across the ocean?”
“Then why make them miserable?” Ephiny clapped her hands andpatted Dori’s. “Cyrene, you know Xena. You birthed her. You really think she’dcut out to live in the middle of a city?”
Cyrene exhaled audiby. She leaned her arm on the fireplacemantle and gazed into it. “No.” She finally said. “But I know something aboutthis mountainside they don’t. You don’t.”
Ephiny patted a few more hands with Dori before she lookedup. “Don’t I?”
Cyrene studied her in a silence that lengthened intodiscomfort. “I hope you don’t.” She said, at last. “I really hope not.”
Ephiny looked at her with an enigmatic expression, as Dori’sburblings drifted between them.
**
Gabrielle felt like the ground was boring holes in herkneecaps, she’d been frozen in position so long. One of the hooters had enteredthe overhang they were hidden in, and he was sniffing around. She could hearhim, but not see him as she had her cheek pressed against the rock they werebehind and her head down.
It was nervewracking. She heard, very faintly, the softscrape of the hilt of her knife against Xena’s palm, as the warrior’s fingersclosed around it and felt the rigid tension of the tall form brushing lightlyagainst hers. The urge to jump up, or run, or fight was almost irresistible.
There was a scuff of bare feet against stone right on theother side of the rock, and Gabrielle more felt than heard Xena draw in a deepbreath, more sensed than saw the shiver of energy she knew came just before thewarrior would surge into battle, a dark thrill running through their link inanticipation of it.
She’d finally gotten used to feeling that, and right now, inthis time and place – she welcomed it. The waiting was killing her.
A scream sounded outside, high and panicked. The scuff offootsteps and a grunt very close by answered, then she could hear the hooterrunning away, his feet slapping against the stone. She let out a breath, andmoved her hand slightly to rest it against Xena’s thigh.
“Okay.” Xena uttered softly. “He’s gone.”
Gratefully, Gabrielle straightened up, then rocked back ontoher heels to take the pressure off her knees. “Ow.”
“Mm.” Xena peered over the rock at the opening, which wasthankfully hooter free. She could hear a commotion outside, and found herselfhoping fervently that the wolf, and it’s mate, had come out to find lunch.“Stay here. Let me check things out.”
Gabrielle rose to her feet as Xena circled the rock andheaded to the opening, but she stayed where she was, stretching her back outand reaching down to rub her knees as she kept an eye on the warrior’s tallfigure. Xena moved cautiously to the opening, her ax in one hand and the knifein the other, her wrist cocked in a throwing posture.
She stayed still for an extended period, and finallyGabrielle gave in to her instincts and went after her, slipping up behind thewarrior and peering past her shoulder.
“Didn’t I say stay back there?” Xena asked, in a mild tone.
“Sure. You never said for how long.” Gabrielle replied,unperturbed. “Where are they?”
Xena edged outside into the open, her eyes confirming whather ears had already told her. “Gone.” She said. “They ran off back down thecreek bed… I think.”
“Thank the gods.”
“Thank the wolves.” The warrior observed. “Maybe they pushedthem too far.”
“Mm.”
Xena heard the layers of commentary in the simple sound, andthough she was facing away from her partner, she could see her expression in hermind’s eye with utter clarity. She knew Gabrielle would have her arms folded,and she knew one eyebrow would be slightly raised, and she knew her lips wouldbe tensed into a faint, wry smile.
She knew why. Xena turned, to find her mental image facing her.“Guess they didn’t have you to stop them.”
The faint smile spread easily into a warm grin at theacknowledgement. “Hey, I gotta be good for something, right?” Gabrielle walkedover and bumped her gently, moving past and peering across the rocks towardsthe dry creek bed. “So, now what?” She asked. “Think they’re gone for good?”
“No.” Xena shook her head. “But I think we’ve got a chanceto find a way out until they get up the guts to come back after us.” She lookedaround. “Let’s head up there. See what we can find.”
“Lead on.” Gabrielle ran her fingers through her hair. “Benice to stop for a drink of water, though.” She was aware of her partner’s eyeson her. “Boy, I’m glad to be out of that cave.”
“Me too.” Xena agreed, apparently satisfied with what shesaw. She started off across the rocks towards a forested ridge above the oldcreek. “Damn glad, in fact.” She waited for Gabrielle to catch up, and theyclimbed together across the slanted ground. “We’ll look for water. I need tohunt.”
“Hungry?”
“Starving. You?”
Gabrielle paused, and put her free hand over her stomach, abemused expression crossing her face. “Actually.. .I”m a little.. um..”
Xena looked at her, an eyebrow cocking significantly.“Sick?”
“A little queasy.” The bard admitted. “But that could bejust all the stuff that happened and not sleeping.”
“Could be.”
They both smiled, and kept walking.
**
The area around them had gone from open and somewhatscrubby, to a deep, thick forest. Gabrielle found herself falling behind herpartner as she followed her through the trees, the gaps between them unable topermit them to walk side by side.
The sun filtered only fitfully through the leaves, and shefelt an occasional damp chill as the air brushed across her bare midriff. “Knowwhat this reminds me of?”
Xena looked around, tossing her head to move her hair fromher eyes. “A forest?”
“Xena.” Gabrielle laughed. “Go with me, here, huh?’
“Sorry.” Xena reached up to rub the back of her neck with asmall grimace. “Headache.”
Hm. The bard caught up with her and hooked a finger into herbelt. “It reminds me a little of Britannia.” She went on. “Just that… I alwaysfelt things were old there, you know what I mean?”
Xena did her best not to think of Britannia at all, so infact, she didn’t. “Mm.” She made a noncommittal sound. “To me they’re justtrees.” She admitted. “I’ve seen forests like this before.. up north, places.”
Gabrielle casually leaned against her as they walked, herfingers still tucked in Xena’s belt. “I didn’t mean that in a bad way.” She said,after a moment. “It just struck me, when we were there, that there was thisfeeling of.. I don’t know, ancient mysteries around.”
Xena eyed her.
“You didn’t think so?”
“No.” The warrior replied. “They were just trees.” She said.“In a hateful place.” Her voice dropped a little on the last words, and endedin a sigh.
Gabrielle let the silence settle over them for a while,allowing the cool wind to brush over her as she walked along, using the staffto steady her steps. The leaves rattled around them, but instead of the vaguelyforboding feeling she’d had in the valley so far, here the effect was mostly asomber peacefulness.
After the past few days, it was welcome, and she was glad tosimply place her boots on relatively dry ground, in relatively dry air, with noodd creatures or hooters chasing her. It was nice to be able to let her mindwander, just a little bit, and she felt some of the past few days’ horrorleaving her.
Experience did that, Gabrielle acknowledged. She couldremember the times when she’d stress over something that had happened for days,worrying over every last moment of it, wondering what she could have donedifferently, and anxious about Xena’s thoughts and feelings.
Eventually, she realized Xena didn’t have thoughts andfeelings past the first quarter candlemark after something had occurred, andover time she found herself putting events first in perspective then in thepast faster than she could have ever imagined.
Living in the moment. That had been a hard lesson to learn,and sometimes, Gabrielle mused, she wondered just exactly how true it was thatanything ever got put totally in the past.
“Xena?”
“Mm?”
“Sorry I brought that up.” Gabrielle said. “Didn’t mean tobum you out.”
Xena kept on walking, her eyes flicking over the treesaround them as she pondered. Was she bummed out? She didn’t think so. It wasjust that Britannia marked one of her most profound, most damning personalfailures and she just didn’t like to talk or think about it. Natural, really,she sniffed a little, reaching up to rub her nose where it itched.
Gabrielle’s hand released from her belt, and dropped tocatch hers instead. She felt the bard’s fingers twine with hers and the simpleaffection in the gesture made her smile. “You know what this reminds me of?”
“If you say Britannia I’m going to bite your thumb.” Thebard warned her.
“Nah.” Xena swung her arm a little, moving their joinedhands. “It reminds me of that seaside area we went through on the way home.Where Dori found the little owl?”
Gabrielle shifted her thoughts to a happier memory. “Oh..where we came across that strange little village?”
“Mm.” The warrior nodded.
The bard looked around. “You know, you’re right.” Sheagreed. “It had that same kind of rocks, too. Over there.” She pointed at theground, which had thick, moss covered boulders coming out of it. “See thatone?” She indicated a truly large one, hunkered down in stripes of sunlightfrom above.
“Yeah, I..” Xena stopped abruptly, hauling Gabrielle to ahalt as well.
“What?” Gabrielle’s hand clenched on her staff. She followedthe warrior’s pointing finger and blinked as her boulder stirred, shiftingaround and standing up as it heard their approach. “By the gods.. what isthat?”
The rock like animal turned, a spine on it’s back rising inalarm as it opened it’s jaws and hissed at them. It was huge, it’s back wellover Xena’s head and it’s skin looked remarkably like the rock she’d mistakenit for.
Xena handed over her ax. “Hold this. Gimme that.” She tookGabrielle’s staff and cautiously moved towards the animal. It had a pointedsnout, and tiny eyes, and she racked her brains to figure out where it seemed alittle familiar from.
The animal hissed at her, stepping from foot to foot andrattling it’s skin.
“Gosh.. Xena, look at that.” Gabrielle murmured, fascinated.“It’s like it has armor on.” She edged up behind her partner and peered at theanimal, which showed signs of being more afraid of them than they were of it. “Idon’t ‘think it wants to hurt us.”
Xena studied it. “I don’t think it wants to eat us.” Sheclarified. “I don’t think it cares if it hurts us, long as we leave it alone.”She took a step back, and watched the spines arched over the animal’s headrelax a little. “Wouldn’t mind one of those, though.”
“The poky things?”
“Yeah.” Xena eyed the spine, which was easily the length ofher body. “Wonder if he’d give me one.”
“Xena.” Gabrielle took hold of the warrior’s belt again.“Don’t get any funny ideas.”
Xena sighed. “I’d probably end up poking myself in the asswith it anyway.” She started off again, sidestepping to put distance betweenthem and the bristling creature. “Wish I could find some some damn iron ore.”
Gabrielle kept an eye on the animal, which rattled it’s skinagain, but seemed to realize they meant it no harm and merely watched themwarily as they went by. “Why?” She asked. “What does that get us, a hotterfire?”
Xena chuckled wryly. She climbed over one of the smallerboulders and followed a small ridge downward, turning sideways to get between apair of huge trees. A stand of smaller trunks faced her, and she started tocircle them, stopping when her hand pushed against one of the trunklets and itsprang back to her touch. “Hm.”
“What?” The bard glanced behind them, at the animal, whichwas still standing up watching them.
Xena put her hand around the tree, a sapling really, andshook it. The foliage was long and thin, and her fingers fit neatly around it.Experimentally, she slid her hand up, braced her foot against the bottom of it,and pulled. The wood tensed and bowed, but only with a lot of effort on herpart, and she let out a soft grunt as she released it. “Might be useful.”
Gabrielle watched her. “Bow?” She guessed.
“Mmhmm.” Xena edged into a little clear space and startedchopping at the base of the sapling with her stone ax. “Gotta keep them backwhen they come after us again.”
“Hm.” The bard rested her staff against a nearby tree andstarted to look around the base of the nearby boulders. The pieces of stonewere mostly chips of slate type rock, but after a few minutes rooting around,she found what she was looking for. “Ah.” She straightened up with a roundriver rock about the size of her palm. “Xe, think you can cut me the right sizepiece of skin for a sling?”
Xena glanced up from her work. “Sure.”
“Good. I’ll find more of these.”
The warrior eyed her. “Not too many. We don’t have Argo,remember.”
Or her carrybag, Gabrielle mused wryly. “You know, that’sone of the ways I knew I was getting to you.” She picked up another stone,juggling it a bit. “When you let me put stuff on Argo’s saddle rings.”
Xena had knelt to get a better angle, one hand pushing thesapling aside as she chopped at the base with stolid skill. “Ahhh.” She edgedaround on her knees and started in another spot. “Yeah, that was a clue, huh?”
“Oh yeah.”
The warrior continued her work, standing as the sapling camefree and laying it on the ground. “You remember the night we spent in Thelus?Where they were having the races?”
“Um..” Gabrielle was a touch confused at the change ofsubject. “Yeah, oh, with the wagons. Yeah, I do.” She said. “When I bet allthose dinars on that pretty horse and he was losing and then all of a suddenthe winner tripped and fell and he won.. eyah. I remember.”
“Uh huh.”
“That was a long time ago.” The bard said. “But it was sortof cool.. it was nice to win.”
“Uh huh.”
Gabrielle looked up, cocking her head. “Why?”
“Why what?”
“Why did you mention that?”
Xena trimmed the last of the leaves off the sapling andstood up, measuring it against her height and studying her work. “Because Itripped the horse.” She said, glancing over at her partner. “So you could win.”
“You did?”
“Mm.” The blue eyes twinkled gravely. “That’s when I
Gabrielle sat back on her heels and remembered that moment,that small space of triumph in the early moons of their friendship when eventhe least smile from Xena had left her breathless. She remembered taking thedinars, and celebrating, buying Xena something.. what was it? The warrior haddemurred but she hadn’t cared.. oh, right.
The blanket. A soft, pretty one in wool that Xena had saidwould never last a fortnight but was still packed in their traveling gear tothis very day, tattered and patched but serving as Xena’s pillow anyway.
Gabrielle walked over and slipped the six rocks she’d foundinto the pack on Xena’s back, leaning close and giving her a kiss on theshoulder. “I wonder if everyone we knew was wondering how long it would take usto figure out what was going on.”
Xena started to answer, then she stiffened, as a sound onthe wind caught her ear. “Ah.”
Gabrielle sighed. “Don’t tell me.”
“C’mon.” The warrior pointed. “Let’s find some place we canhole up and get ourselves armed.” She sounded a bit more decisive now. “I’mabout over these guys.”
Gabrielle picked up her staff and followed Xena through thetrees, heading downwards towards a thicker part of the forest. It was stillquiet around them, but the peacefulness had vanished, and she was starting tohear footsteps in every brush of the breeze against the branches.
All at once, she was angry. Angry at the creatures, and atthe valley, that were putting so much pressure on them in such a mindless,unreasoning way. “Darn it.”
“What?” Xena turned to look at her in question.
Gabrielle noted the dark circles under her partner’s eyes.“This place is pissing me off.” She put a hand on Xena’s hip and urged herforward. “We need to do something about those guys.. we’ll never get out ofhere if all we do is keep running and hiding.”
Xena sneezed. “I know that.” She half slid, half skiddeddown a steeper slope, turning to catch Gabrielle as she almost flew past her.“So are you ready to do something about it?”
Gabrielle remained silent as they plunged deeper into theforest, passing tall columns of stone and moving into ground that was damp anddark, and brought a scent of earthy richness as their boots stirred it. “Youmean fight them.” She finally said.
“They’re not gonna negotiate.”
The bard looked inside herself, wondering if she’d find thebard or the Amazon looking back out. She found neither, truly, but an echo ofDori’s laughter tickled her ears and laid the stakes out neatly in her path.Was she ready to kill the creatures? That’s what Xena was asking her. Was sheready to cross that line, because she knew, and Xena had demonstrated, thatjust knocking them out did nothing but make them come back harder.
If she wasn’t, she knew Xena wouldn’t hold it against her.The warrior would just do what she needed to do, and there wasn’t anything inher heart that would think the less of Gabrielle for it.
But you know.. Gabrielle drew in a breath and released it.She was ready. She’d done her best to give them a chance, tried to communicatewith them, and put herself and her soulmate in danger doing it. Now it was timeto cut her losses, and find a way home. “Yeah, I’m ready.” She put her hand onXena’s back as the warrior spotted what she was looking for. “There?”
“There.” Xena slipped behind two standing stones, tallerthan she was and covered in fragrant green moss. Behind them was a dell, acurve of granite upthrust from the ground that arched over a leaf covered floorand gave them both shelter and place to defend. “Put that down, let’s see whatwe’ve got around here to work with.”
“Gotcha.” Gabrielle tossed her staff under the shelteringrock and took the pack off as Xena shrugged it, and set it down on the ground.“I’ll start making that sling.”
Xena nodded, dusting her hands off. “I’m going to findsticks for arrows, and see what sap’s around.” She sniffed the air. “Gatherwood.”
“I will.” Gabrielle patted her on the side. “Be careful.”
Xena put a hand on her cheek, gazing with brief intensityinto the bard’s eyes. “We’re going home.” She spoke softly. “Whatever thattakes”
Gabrielle nodded. “I’m with you.” She said. “Whatever thattakes.”
In the distance, a hooter howled, and they heard the soundof branches breaking.
**
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