OMK, CL this is AMAZING! *guiltly looking at my deserted single write* (I'll continue, guys! Promise! I just have to think of a good plot to carry out for the next part *evily smiles*) I LOVE IT! What happened to Icy? Will LR die?! What is Ember and Vox enfected with? Are they going to infect everyone else? What is wrong with the coals? So many questions! Thats when you know you have a great story. ;) 

Part 9

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The only sound that could be heard was the crunch of snow as Kestrel made her way out of the cave, her foot sinking into the frozen crust. Shivering, she pulled her coat closer around her body and trekked onwards, thankful that the wind wasn’t blowing quite so hard anymore. She was out on a ‘patrol’ now, though in no way were they organized or regular. She was just out to see whether there was any sign of snow tempering down, or even the hopeful sighting of Icy. Unfortunately, she hadn’t seen Icy at all, but at least the terrible blizzard that had been storming for days was weakening considerably. Cheer filled her at the thought that they might be able to get out of that awful cave, where they’d been cooped for what must have been more than a week.

When she had found her way back in, she noticed that the rucksack containing their food had been packed up, and St Owl, though still wobbly and pale, was leaning against Scylla’s shoulder and standing on her good leg. “Are… are we leaving?” Kestrel asked, surprised. She knew they would leave eventually, but not at this exact moment. Scylla nodded in affirmation as Claaws swung the bag over her shoulder, grunting with effort.

“It’s pointless for us to stay here any longer,” Scylla replied, helping St to the entrance. “We were waiting for you to come back, actually. How is it out there?” Kestrel felt a little put out that the others had just decided to go without her, but still answered, yet she couldn’t keep annoyed note out of her voice.

“It’s fine, it’s fine,” she said back. “Snow’s definitely going down, and it’s a lot warmer than it used to be--still not balmy, exactly--and it’s walkable. I don’t see how Little Reader or St is going to be able to get out and go, though.” St Owl glared at Scylla with more fierceness than Kestrel had expected, and Scylla looked strangely uncomfortable.

“Well, there is one way I can get out, but I don’t think someone’s too keen on taking it,” St Owl said loudly, raising her eyebrow.

“It--it’s just that--” Scylla said, rising quickly to defend herself, but finally deflating. “Alright, I… I suppose it’d be fine.”

“Exactly!” St Owl replied, closing her eyes to finalize her point. “I was given the power; I might as well use it.”

“Use it to do what?” Kestrel snapped, even more perturbed that they had ignored her without answering any questions. Scylla turned to her, momentary shock flaring in her eyes, before she replied.

“Since St can’t move with a healing leg--”

“I really can’t,” St interrupted.

“--she suggested that she just stay in owl form, so she can fly instead of walking. Because she wouldn’t use her leg at all.” Kestrel’s eyes brightened.

“That’s a wonderful idea!” she chirped, wondering why Scylla was so opposed to the idea, until she thought she detected a hint of jealousy in the other girl’s eyes. Understanding flickered in her mind, maybe so easily because she had begun to feel some of the same, but… it would be helpful to all of them if St could easily move. “And I assume Little Reader wants to do the same?” Scylla nodded in affirmation.

“Yeah, but just until we get out of the arctic. She… well, she told me she feels less comfortable like that. Obviously I can’t relate, but I can only imagine the feeling when all of a sudden you don’t walk on two legs, you move on four, and your whole worldview has changed… it must be an odd experience.”

Kestrel hadn’t thought about it like that before. She’d just felt a bit jealous that these incredible things were happening to others, but not to her, and hadn’t considered that they might not feel comfortable in their new skin. “I guess,” she said, nodding slowly. “Then let’s go.”

The long line of people wound their way across the frozen landscape, one snowy-white owl soaring overhead and a glossy-pelted tabby cat walking below. “Are you sure you’re not cold, Ember?” Booksy Owly, asked, worried. “You looked so sick last night, with that headache and all.” Her friend just shook her head, the usual optimistic personality shining through her every word.

“Nope! Not at all! I dunno where that thing came from, but it’s gone away now, at least,” Ember smiled, rolling her shoulders. Personally, Kestrel couldn’t share any of the warmth Ember felt, and was more than glad to finally be on the way to wherever they were going. She knew it would be somewhere a lot nicer than this, too; whenever she tilted her face to the west, she could feel a draft of warm air blowing towards her. For a second the sultry air brought back sharp memories of a trip to the beach once, a beach with a certain sister… Kestrel hissed out loud, shaking her head furiously. No matter what she tried to remember, all that ever seemed to come up was Lily.

“Stupid--” she spat, but jerked up when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned her head to see Nebula standing there, one of her eyebrows raised.

“You alright?” she asked, falling into step beside Kestrel. Kestrel firmly nodded her head, unwilling to discuss the matter any further. No one needed to know about Lily, they had more pressing matters on their mind. “It’s alright to talk to me,” Nebula said, her voice gentle though not without humor. “I promise, I won’t bite.” Kestrel willed herself to hold her tongue, but somehow a few words escaped without her permission.

“I had a sister…” she said awkwardly, cringing at herself for letting that bit of information slip.

“Had?” Nebula asked, intrigue in her eyes.

“It’s fine,” Kestrel said curtly, cutting off the conversation. For several long minutes that seemed to last an eternity, neither girl spoke, though sounds of chatter floated back from up ahead.

“Well, I can see it’s a bit of a touchy subject,” Nebula finally said, over Kestrel’s spluttered protest. “I won’t push, ‘kay? But it’s nice to have someone to talk to, every once in awhile.” Kestrel looked at Nebula, thoughtful. She sounded wistful, and like an old pro on the topic. But before Kestrel could think of anything to say back, a blast of warmth hit her in the face, and suddenly there was no longer any snow beneath her feet, only damp earth. Looking ahead, what she saw made her stop short in wonderment, this place never failing to amaze her.

Tall, leafy trees towered from the earth, creeping vines hanging lazily off them. As she watched, an iridescent insect buzzed from the jungle, its back shimmering in all hues of blue, green, and gold. Tropical heat hung over the group like a blanket now, almost making Kestrel wish she were back in the cool (but not much, really). Wiping her brow, Scylla turned to the group with a grin on her face, her hair sliding over shoulder. “We made it!” she announced, to raucous cheering from the group. “...but maybe we’d do best if we moved back a little bit. Night is falling, and I don’t know whether I’d want to sleep in this heat right away, but I think if we’re back a bit it’ll be cooler, though not icy cold. Sound good?” Waiting for a few head nods, she turned and gestured to Joan, who dragged the bag back a few paces, dumping it on the ground with a huff. Kestrel, who was silent at the back of the group, marveled at how far Scylla had seemed to come since the start of their journey, since the explosive fight between her and Icy.

“Ow!” someone suddenly called out, and Kestrel looked to see a coal sitting next to Ember as she rubbed her head. “It just hit me on the head!” Danie reached over from where she was kneeling and picked up the coal, turning in over in her hands with a thoughtful expression on her face.

“Ah, jeez, and now I’m bruising,” Ember said, wincing as she tapped the top of her head. Booksy Owly put her hand on her shoulder to comfort her, but jerked away when Ember let out a huge sneeze, a cough accompanying it.

Scylla looked over at Ember, seeming to have something on the tip of her tongue, before Little Reader cut back in, now in her human form. “Are you getting sick?” she asked Ember worriedly. Ember shook her head, but it was clear to everyone that she didn’t feel well.

“I bet it’s just the change in temperature, from so hot to so cold that’s making me sneeze,” Ember said. Kestrel glanced at the other members of the group, none of whom were showing any signs of fever. Sighing, she put the mystery out of her head and closed her eyes.

Suddenly, as she lay down on the cool grass, dew slightly wetting her back, she felt the exhaustion of days without proper sleep and long trekking in between come rushing down on her like a black wave, and she immediately collapsed into a heavy sleep.

She woke up earlier than anyone else, though, for all of that. Kestrel blinked open her eyes, the sun bleary with dim light. Standing up and stretching out her arms, she noticed that no one else had awoken yet, and for a second it felt a bit ridiculous, being the only thing breaking the silence. Then something in the distance drew her attention, perking her interest. Out on the snowy plain, a tiny flash of silver glistened in the snow, dropping from the sky down to the tundra. Curious, she broke into a run, dashing out to investigate the shiny thing.

Her breath puffing out in clouds, she reached the spot where the object fell and leaned her hands on her knees, momentarily out of breath. Shaking her head, she looked down at it, squinting her eyes, and saw that it was a tiny loop of silver grain, with an bird-like animal charm on the end. With a bolt of shock she recognized the make and look, having seen it many times on her friends.

But what was it doing out here?

Flexing her fingers in the cold, she reached down to grab it when she saw a shape flash towards her out of the corner of her eye. Dodging back, she watched as a blue jay, with feathers a clear blue and a strange violet mark on its chest, came rushing towards her. At first she was confused by why such a bird would be out here, but her perplexion deepened considerably when there was a rushing of wind, and then a dappled gray fox stood there, the same mark on its shoulder, and grabbed the charm in its mouth, the carved animal figure swinging below its jaw. Kestrel stood still as a statue, not daring to move a muscle for fear of waking up to find this a dream, and the fox looked up at her, its eyes wide as plates and a vibrant orange.

Pausing, Kestrel hesitantly reached out to touch the fox, to perhaps clarify it was real, but the moment her finger brushed against its forehead the fox whipped around and sprinted away from Kestrel, faster than the wind, and sprung into the sky, immediately evaporating into thin air.

Kestrel was frozen there, her heart pounding wildly, as she attempted to process what she had just seen. Her mind was working frantically, she tried to think what--or who--that had been, but was jolted from her thoughts by someone calling her name.

She spun around to see Nebula standing there, waving both hands and shouting loudly. “Hey, Kestrel, what’re you doing over there?” Kestrel hesitated, staring back at the indent the charm had made in the snow. Then she slowly turned and walked back to the group, the strange creature fading the back of her mind as she talked with her friends as they eventually plunged into the rainforest.

High above them, someone breathed rapidly, their chest shaking, from a recent encounter, a charm swinging in their hand.

I love this story, and what  you are doing with it CL! Please keep it going! TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP!!!!!