Each of us wore large leather packs, strapped with a bedroll and with our respective weapons (my spear, his bow). I wore my usual outfit –a cloak and linen wraps. I’d also wrapped my talons, for a little bit of extra protection during the long journey. Windthrow had on his tunic, leather armor, and boots.
Together we met by the exit of Sapwood; from here we’d walk south to the abandoned village of Tangle.
Cleyre was leaning against the wall waiting for us, she stifled a yawn. She was half-naked, her old “sleep clothes” barely covering her muscular thighs. Her improbable partner, Gorefang, also was here to see us off. His head barely reached Cleyre’s knees; I was glad that he made an effort to get dressed at least.
“Morning Cleyre, Gorefang,” I said, as we approached. “You two could have slept in ya know?”
“Nonsense! We wouldn’t let you leave without saying goodbye. You have everything?” Cleyre’s voice was huskier than usual, she must be tired.
I mentally reviewed what Windthrow and I were bringing:
- 10 Rations (5 each)
- 2 Waterskins
- 2 Bedrolls
- 1 Flint and Tinder
- 20 Arrows (for Windthrow)
- 2 Blankets
- 1 Vial of Ink
- 10 Sheets of Parchment
- 1 Pot and 1 Pan
- Telar’s Crystal (just in case)
- 1 Figurine of Wondrous Power (Silver Raven)
It didn't seem like we were forgetting anything! Sure, we were light on rations, but we could hunt and resupply at the settlements along the way.
“I checked our supplies last night, and again this morning,” Windthrow said, his voice strong and clear.
“Remember to take careful notes when you encounter anything important, and don’t forget to report every other day using the Figurine,” Cleyre said as she circled and examined us both. “And Windthrow…remember what we spoke about, you need to be careful in a different way.”
What did Cleyre mean by that? Maybe something about Windthrow’s bow? Careful not to hit me with an arrow while we fight together…?
Gorefang chimed in, “Aye, an speakin of carefulness- know when to fight and when to leg it. When in doubt, run!”
“Of course, even when Vylet wants to charge in, I’ll hold her back!” Windthrow said.
“Hey! I’m the most cautious one here!”
All three of them gave me a skeptical look. Maybe I was slightly reckless.
“Whatever, we’ll see you in a few months, might even bring a flag from the new Federation,” I said. “Let’s get going, lead the way Windthrow.”
“Goodluck lovebirds,” Cleyre said.
She ran over and gave me a big bear hug. Squeezing the breath right outta me, before pushing me away.
We hiked into the Weald on the first leg of our journey. The 2-day walk to Tangle.
After my initial sleepiness faded, it sunk in that I’d really spend the next few weeks traveling with Windthrow. I wasn’t nervous! Instead, I was focused on protecting my “mate”. It’s weird but, if my instincts wanted me to be vigilant because I was alone with my mate…I can work with that!
While I was busy scanning for threats, Windthrow led the way. Where I was dominated by my wild woman instincts, he relied on experience.
He would often hold up a single hand, signaling for us to stop. Then he would examine near imperceptible tracks, darker damp mud on slightly less damp mud. He’d adjust our route depending on which creature he identified.
Even more impressive, he would grab herbs, flowers, and fruit without more than a quick glance. Only saying something like: “This helps with fever” or “These could add some flavor to our rations”. No wonder this guy made me feel things, competence was hot.
Our pace was steady, efficient, and most importantly, safe. Eventually, I lost track of time; only knowing that evening was approaching.
You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.
Windthrow stopped and stretched his arms upwards. Damn, this man was tall. Then he briefly paced around, feeling the nearby darkwood trees and kicking around their roots.
“We’ll spend the night here,” he said.
It looked like any other spot to me.
“But why? I thought we’d reach the river today?” I said. “Don’t worry about me, we can keep going!”
“Vylet, we ARE at the river. Try using your nose,” he responded.
I lifted my head and focused on smelling the air. Trees, dirt, Windthrow’s intoxicating scent…focus Vylet! There was something else, humidity, sand, eroded stone, like that mineral smell of certain tap water. The river!
“You’re right! I didn’t know that elves had such a good sense of smell.”
“Oh it’s okay. But yours is probably much better, you’re just less trained,” He’d gathered a small pile of twigs and deadwood. “If you’re like other reptiles, you can probably taste the air too, not that I’m calling you one”
“Don’t worry, I kinda am a reptile! Let me help set up, we probably need more wood right?”
I went on a short walk and gathered more wood, while Windthrow struck up the fire. By the time I returned with armfuls of firewood, he already had a pot set over a blazing campfire.
“Remember how I said I’d cook for you? Bad news is we only have oat rations for porridge. Lucky for us, I know how to make it delicious.” I watched as Windthrow took a handful of mint green leaves and rubbed them into a fine paste, before scraping it into the now boiling concoction. “It’s called Olo Leaf, it adds this deep savory flavor.”
As we sat together by the fire, he served us two bowls of dark green porridge.
“This won’t poison me, right?” I asked.
“Trust me!”
I took a tentative claw-full and scooped it into my mouth. Umami! That’s the word he was looking for, like a savory, meaty taste. How the hell did he manage to make porridge taste this good!?
“So, how do you like it?”
I nodded as I continued to eat.
“How the- this is so delicious!” I said between bites.
After dinner, I sat close to Windthrow and we watched the flames, it was dark now. Our fire cast twisting shadows against the canopy above us; we were in a cave of leaves and trees instead of rock and stone. Alone, together.
“Right! Almost forgot!” I dug around my pack for a moment and took out the Figurine of Wondrous Power.
I felt the cold metal against my hand, the light reflected off the precious silver. I just had to say the command word: “Sapwood!”
The figurine grew to the size of an actual raven, its silver coloring morphed to a pitch black. It clung to my wrist, looking at me expectantly with its beady eyes.
“Find Cleyre in Sapwood Village, tell her the following: Our first day went well. We’ve reached the river. We’ll be in contact again in two days,” I said. “Then return to me.”
It took off, flying silently into the night sky.
“I really hope I didn’t screw that up.”
“You did great, maybe you have a talent for magic?” Windthrow said teasingly.
I tried to hide my smile, “Shut up, you know I don’t.”
We continued to watch the flames as they curled upwards. Occasionally, one of us would throw in another log, creating a shower of embers.
Fuck it, now was as good a time as any.
“So, Windthrow. We should finally talk- about what happened between us,” I said.
“I suppose we should,” he responded. “I think I know what’s happening.”
“What do you mean? You do?”
“It took me a while to figure it out: You’ve lived alone in the wilderness for a long time, and your species has strong…instincts.” Somewhere in the forest a flock of bats, or birds, took off. “I may have accidentally taken advantage of those instincts, for that I’m sorry.”
“You’re right, I do have instincts. They tell me to protect you, and to do other…things with you.” I caressed his arm –always careful to avoid scratching him, always. “But, I do like you…a lot.”
He blushed and I felt him tense up, but he maintained eye contact.
“And you know, my instincts aren’t all bad. They haven’t let me down so far,” I added.
“Can I, Vylet, may I kiss you?” Windthrow asked.
I gave him a fanged smile and nodded.
Windthrow ran his hand through my long black hair and slowly moved his face towards mine. I felt my heart beating out of my chest. I gazed into his emerald eyes, then I shut my eyes tight. Was this the right thing to do? Did I even like men? Finally, his soft lips pressed against mine; our tongues briefly intertwined. I tasted his lips, slightly salty. My entire body tingled. Then it was over.
I’d had my first kiss. Ever. I felt drunk.
When I opened my eyes Windthrow was softly smiling at me. I reached towards him and stroked his short blond hair.
“Don’t you think I’m –I don’t know– weird? My horns, my tail. I’m not beautiful like you are.”
He caressed my back, slowly tracing his finger across my scales.
“I think you’re lovely, and I love your horns-” He rubbed one of my curved horns. “And your tail-” He gently touched my tail. ”And your claws-” Then he softly held my wrist and rubbed his cheek against the side of my claws.
This wasn’t fair. This wasn’t fair at all! I pulled Windthrow into another kiss, and then another. I felt my instincts nipping at the edges of my mind, telling me to “get” his genes. I ignored them; this was nice as it was.
We decided to call it a night as the long ignored fire started to stutter. Windthrow took the first watch, he’d wake me in about 4 hours. I watched him as I laid on my bedroll, the way the fire’s light danced over his dark skin. I felt safe, then I fell asleep.
I dreamt of my past life. The stress, the work, the crowds. In the dream, I knew that it was all temporary. That in the real world I was asleep, and that Windthrow was protecting me.