Hero's Journey

Chapter 4

Warmth.

Hot, tickling, warmth like a winter day spent by the hearth. It's the first feeling to touch Delia's body since cold. A kind of cold she will never forget. A chill that will always haunt her.

Delia shivers, it's her first movement. Her eyelids flutter and then finally open to a gentle, flickering light.

A fire, she realizes with a start.

As the numbness leaves her body Delia is able to sit up from her place on the soft, dark soil.

She rubs at her eyes to still find her hands clammy and wet. Her whole body is that way. Delia huddles closer to the fire before finally looking around.

Where am I, she wonders.

A boy sits, tending the fire. She can scarcely see his features by the firelight. Light brown messy hair partially covers his amber colored eyes. His skin is tanned. At first glance the boy seems to look healthy but on a closer look she can tell that he definitely isn't.

Droplets of sweat bubble on his brow. His clothes hang on his skinny form. He looks to be a little shorter than Delia and about a year or two younger.

"Excuse me?" Delia pipes up, "But where am I?"

The boy startles, peering at her with wild, frightened eyes. Delia's heart sinks. This isn't just some hungry boy. Adrenaline pumps through her and she forces herself to stay calm.

Delia's seen people with those eyes before in her village. They wander in half dead and starved then they ransack the village until someone cuts them down. No amount of talking to or comforting can stop them. If someone is in their way they'll kill them.
Delia's seen it, it happened to her own Uncle.

"I won't hurt you," Delia amends cautiously.

The boy seems to relax the wild look in his eyes shrinks but is still there.

Thank the fates he isn't too far gone yet, Delia thinks.

"Do you know where my friend is?" Delia asks softly.

The boy nods and juts his chin at pile of blankets. Delia can just see a face peeking out from under them. Kagon.

Delia sighs in relief, she'd hate to admit it but she wouldn't be able to survive without him. He'd saved her life, she'd never be able to repay him.

"Who are you? And where are we?" Delia asks, eyes searching the area they are.

The air is chilly but the fire keeps her toasty. Stars glitter above her. She can almost imagine them smiling at her. Delia nervously presses her palms into the spongy soil. And what of the monster and the icen cave?

The boy coughs and stares unnervingly at her. Delia shifts uncomfortably under his stare. She feels like a bug caught in the amber color of his eyes. She wishes he'd say something, anything even if it were nonsensical.

Delia looks away and down at her hands. She makes small figures in the earth, it helps to calm her down.

She looks back up at the boy and stares at him the same way he is to her, "Please."

The boy coughs again and his voice comes out hoarse, "I'm Kipdale of Lanthos and you are at the summit of Mount O'Haire.

Delia looks around confused, "Then where is the tunnel?"

"Melted. When the ice creature died so did the ice and snow caused by it. I was rummaging when I found you and that man frozen in blocks of ice."

Delia can see that it takes effort for him to speak, her eyes soften. "Thank you for thawing us. You did a good deed. I don't know how I can repay you but for starters would you like a bit of food?"