Mortal

Chapter 26

I sit in front of the fire, watching the squirrel cook. Once it looks done, I take it off. I'm so hungry that I take a bite without even waiting for it to cool. It takes sort of like pork. Overall, it's delicious. I could be saying that because I'm hungry, though.

Skylight has already eaten her squirrel. She ate it whole, fur, bones and all.

I take a sip from my canteen, and realize that it is half empty. I will have to refill it somewhere.

"Skylight, we need to find water," I say.

"I think I saw a creek nearby."

"Let's go," I say.

I try to get over to her, but my leg hurts too much to walk. I start to fall but she catches me.

"Shadow, you're injured! You should stay here."

"Skylight, I can't just stay in this cave forever. We could be stuck here for a very long time before anyone comes to rescue us. I need to be able to move around," I say.

She leaves the cave. She flies over to a tree, and picks up a stick from the ground. She trots back over to me.

"Here. Use this stick as a cane." I take it from her.

"Now, let's go find water," I say.

I scan the area, but all I see for miles is barren land.
Skylight opens her wings, as if stretching them.

"I'll scan the area from the sky. I'll let you know if I see something."

She takes to the air.

I try to use my vision to see if there is water nearby. Not for miles. I see a small creek about three miles away. I also see fish swimming in it, which I could catch for food.
Skylight seems to see it, too. She squawks in my direction.

"I found a creek!"

She dives over to me and lands. She kneels down so I can easily get onto her back despite my injury. It still hurts as I climb on. I wince. I wish I'd opted for leg armor, but there's no use worrying about it now.

Skylight takes off. She is very fast, and we make it to he creek in no time.

I sit next to the creek. I want to dip my leg in to ease the pain, but I'm worried about the water possibly causing an infection. It probably has bacteria in it.

I fill my canteen, with the intent to boil it later. I decide I should also catch a few fish.

I remember the last time Skylight and I caught fish together. I couldn't hurt the fish. Like I've been told my whole life, I'm too sensitive.

I take my dagger out. Using my vision to help me, I stab a fish out of the water.

"I'm sorry," I say quietly.

I catch two more fish, and store them in a small bag that I brought with me.

Skylight bites a fish out of the water and swallows it whole. She drinks some water.

"It's okay, Shadow. That's how nature works. You have to kill to survive."

I don't feel too good about that. I feel a little sad, actually.
I use the stick to help me stand up. I climb onto Skylight's back again, wincing.

As we fly, I decide I should probably see what Thermapondreix is doing.

I try to imagine him. I see an image in my mind of him outside, on his horse. It looks like he's looking for something. Or someone. Me.

"Skylight, we need to hide. Thermapondreix is going to find us," I say.

We fly back to the cave. I sit against the wall, holding my leg. It's throbbing from moving around so much. To distract myself from the pain, I decide to text Phareth to ask where he is.