Embers of Fall

Fever Dreams

The journey was slow and cold across the wide, snow-covered terrain and they grew further away from their home with every passing minute. Her soul wanted to weep bitterly over leaving their land and her mother's cave, but they would die there if they did not move somewhere warmer or find a safe place to hole up until winter was over. That winter would be one to be remembered as it carried its own painful story of life and death.

Kotve seemed like an entirely different person to Navati when he was around the foreign men. He spoke with a distinguished grace that came from speaking their language often. He even understood their jokes and his posture became less rigid. Navati could not understand why he was so close to them and hung back to herself, wishing the trek would end. They were all hungry and freezing and the children kept sneezing and yet they hadn't rested.

They had not stopped once and kept on through a trail paved around the mountains. With little to eat, her own stomach growled and she felt stiff and sore in the saddle.

On occasion she would shiver and release the reins of her horse and try to lay upon it, but the trail was ragged and her horse too nervous to relax. The Olabi tribe was deeper in the mountains and would not go as far to meet them in the cold. That was one less thing to worry about. But still her mood and state only worsened.

As her head grew light and her heart fluttered, she forced cold air into her lungs and closed her eyes.

"Almost there," she kept telling herself before she leaned forward and held onto her mare's neck. But she still felt weak and couldn't tolerate the cold, pain in her hands, and the dull ache in her stomach anymore. She closed her eyes and took in soft and slow breaths, hoping to gain some relief, but her weight started to slip before she could readjust.

Navati nearly plummeted into the snow as a result, but arms secured her and a warm hand pressed against her cheek. She drew in another breath and felt the world spin and gagged once, then twice but nothing came forward. A shiver followed. She felt cold despite being held and laid there.

"She's burning," A gruff voice said above her before she was moved and set carefully down.

She struggled to make sense of where she was and who the voices belonged to as she turned and folded her arms around herself. She felt so sick and coughed, heaving again. Then hot water was pressed against her mouth and slowly it trickled down her throat until warmth covered her.

She laid still, slipping in and out of consciousness, seeing images of her father and blurred ones of her mother. Then there was the boar and the tusk and their tribe burning.

Kotve lingered beside her, pressing the soaked cloth again to her mouth and felt a wave of guilt upon knowing it was Jack who had noticed her weakened state and caught her. He could only stay close to her as Jack brought a bottle and spoon over, pouring some form of amber liquid before he placed it in Navati's mouth. "This should help break her fever. But she needs food. We can set up tents here for the night and depart again in the morning, we should still make it to Dallen before noon."

"Alright, I'll hunt." Kotve pushed off the fur blanket and urged his men and Pata to watch over Navati until he returned. He hated to leave her, but it was better for him to hunt and find them food, than to let them starve and helplessly wait. He'd do anything to take care of her and what remained of their tribe.

He took off through the trees silently as if he were again a shadow. The only thing on his mind now was getting them fed.

His horse stomped and tread through the snow, while he raised his arms and readied his bow.

-

In his absence, Jack and the others had set up a few fires and several tents made up of canvas cloth. They packed the ends of each with snow to hold them down in case any harsh winds blew through and mainly to keep out the cold.