Chasing the Suns

More ice

We split an oat biscuit for breakfast, the taste growing on me with eat bite.

Despite being well-rested, we moved slowly, taking our time packing our things. I wondered if he, too, was thinking about last night. Or maybe this was just me overreacting to the first shred of human contact I'd had in months, maybe even years.

Who was the last person to hug me? Was it Ana? Unlikely. While I'm sure she loved me like a daughter, physical affection wasn't common at the Abbey. Mama, then, maybe. Although even then, her embraces were short and sweet.

I mentally shook myself. Now was not the time for childish crushes on strangers.

As we began that day's walk, I marvelled at how the ground changed so quickly. Two days ago, it'd been well-paved, well-worn. Yesterday, it'd been and iced-over vertical challenge. Today, all signs of human wear were gone. No more pavestones, or tracks in the ground.

No, we were well and truly in the wild. We weren't following a path anymore, just the natural curve of the mountain.

"How do we know when we're there?"

Jjin deliberated before answering

"It's hard to explain."

I raised my eyebrows

"It's different each time, because of landslides, falling rocks, etc. We're following a vague route, but the only guarantee is the end point, up there."

He pointed to the next mountain over, the tallest one, at a dark entrance barely visible from where we stood.

"If we're lucky, we're looking at maybe a week, slightly less. If we're unlucky..."

He didn't finish the sentence.

In hindsight, I'm convinced that Gods hear him. I'm certain they heard, and jinxed us, because that afternoon we came across out first big obstruction.

A pile of boulders, taller than two houses stacked on top of each other, lay across the way.

I looked at Jjin, who was sizing up our options.

"What are you thinking?"

I was still learning how he made decisions, what information she considered. While Venefica focused on the known, the facts, Jjin considered past experiences, potential futures and outcomes, as well as the surface facts. It intrigued me as much as it confused me.

"I'm thinking...we could go through, but we've got no way of knowing how stable it is, how much weight it'll be able to handle."

"So?"

"So I reckon we go over it. I've got some ropes in the bag, we should be okay."

I didn't like the uncertainty in his voice, but he was already crouched, pulling thick lengths of ropes out.

First, Jjin tied one length of the rope around his waist, then spooled out about six foot of it, and looped it around me, tying it off again. With us effectively tied together, he began looking for what he called an 'anchor point'.

A large boulder, set behind and apart from the main mass of the rockslide, ended up being our anchor. As Jjin circled the rock with our rope, and tied it off, he explained

"This way, if we fall, we don't drop to our deaths."

"But when we reach the other side, the rope will be stuck here. How do we get back across on the way back?"

"We leave this here, and get it on the way back. On the other side, there'll be a length waiting, from the last person to cross."

He paused, as if an unwelcome thought had suddenly occurred to him.