Leatherwing ... Chapter 5

5.

Vrik was so happy to see his mother he almost forgot about the pain in his own body. And as she raced over to him and K’trina, he knew everything would be alright. His mother looked at him first.

“Are you alright?”

“Yes,” he lied “but the lizard threw her hard against the tree, and I can’t get her to wake.”

He then watched as his mother went to work. She knelt down beside the girl and quickly scanned her body, touching her forehead as she muttered strange words. Vrik could see that his mother was scouling, but he did not disturb her with questions about K’trina’s condition. His mother would save her if she could.

“What happened here?”

It was Tal’ik who spoke, a powerful hunter who stood closer to two feet than to one.

Vrik gritted his teeth and turned from K’trina as a soft blue glow began to encompass her and his mother. If his mother was using that much magic, her injuries were serious.

“I spotted the lizard as it leaped from the tree. I yelled for the others to run, but K’trina didn’t listen. It had me, but she didn’t run.” Vrik looked back to his mother and the girl. The glow was brighter now and sweat beaded on his mothers brow. He had never seen her use this much magic.

“And?”

Vrik again looked at the large hunter. “I couldn’t see what she did, but the lizard turned from me and I heard her scream. I think it tossed her into the tree. It was my fault.”

Tal’ik frowned, but it was Vrik’s father who spoke next. “We will deal with that later. For now it is enough that you are all safe.”

“Indeed, but you still have not explained yourself,” Tal’ik said. “How did you kill the creature?”

Vrik shook his head, “I don’t know.”

“What do you mean you don’t know?” Tal’ik asked “What happened after K’trina fell?”

Again Vrik shook his head. “I don’t know what happened. I saw her lying there, not moving, the lizard standing over her, and I knew she was going to die. She had stayed to save me, and had no way to save her.

“I don’t know what happened next. It’s a blur. I drew my knife and attacked. And then the lizard was dead, and you all arrived.”

Tal’ik looked skeptical, but again Vrik’s father cut in first. “We can discuss this later. It looks as though Tyrana has finished.”

Indeed, Vrik’s mother rocked back on her heals and looked thoroughly exhausted. Vrik however was focused wholly on K’trina. The girl who had saved him. He didn’t even breath as he watched her for signs of life. Her dark hair was wet with sweat and she looked pale, but her eyes began to flutter and suddenly shot open, momentarily filled with terror. Gasping in air, she sought to sit up, but quickly relaxed as she saw Vrik and his mother looking down at her.

“You killed it.”

Her voice was a whisper, she still needed to rest, but her words were not a question.

Vrik nodded. “You saved me. You didn’t run.”

“No.”

“You could have been killed.”

“Yes.”

“Why didn’t you run?”

K’trina smiled, “I would never do that.”

Vrik nodded and smiled, and they said no more. They both understood. She had stayed and they had survived because of that. She had given him what he needed to kill the creature. She had given him something stronger than a knife or spear. Her staying had meant that he fought for more than just himself. His death would mean her dead, and so death was no longer an option. She had stayed and she had given him a reason to survive.

Vrik didn’t fully understand what had happened that day between him and K’trina, but he understood that they had formed a bond, and he understood that he would never let her be harmed if he could stop it, and from that day one they were rarely apart. The others would still join them when they explored the forest, once they were allowed out again, which was not soon and would have been never if Vrik’s mother had had her way, but for Vrik there was only he and K’trina as they moved through the trees. K’trina, the one who stayed. The one who he would give his life for.


* * * *

K’trina woke again to the sound of Vrik’s mother’s voice. She was upset and K’trina soon realized why. Vrik had claimed he was uninjured so that she would tend to K’trina first, but the truth was that he had suffered serious injuries himself. Several ribs were cracked and his left arm was dislocated. And he could not support is weight on his right leg, it would be a dark purple by now.

K’trina couldn’t help but smile. He had hidden his own pain to protect her.

Vrik’s mother was too drained to do much for him, and so the group made ready to leave. Several hunters would stay at the site, but she and Vrik were quickly scooped up into to be carried home. Vrik’s father carried his son, and K’trian didn’t know the name of the hunter who carried her, but as he spread his massive wings and took to the air, she knew he could bare her without difficulty.

Like the hunter who carried her, Vrik’s father also had the large feathered wings like those of a great eagle, and K’trina felt a ting of jealousy. It was not unheard of for a girl to gain feathered wings, but it was not common. She knew that she was still years away from the swelling, the time in a yougling’s life when she would go through the transition to adulthood and her body would transform, but she still dreamed of the day she could soar above the trees. Then how she and Vrik could see the world!

Vrik. The thought of him pulled her gaze from the strong feathered wings that carried her. Vrik had refused to answer Tal’ik’s questions about how he had killed the Onyta. Did Vrik really not remember? Well K’trina remembered.

* * * *

K’trina knew that her body was broken as she fought to stay conscious. She had seen the lizard grab hold of Vrik and acted without thinking. Vrik had called out for the others to run and they had scattered. They had actually ran!

K’trina had done the only thing she knew would stop the lizard from killing Vrik. She had thrown herself onto it, wrapping her arms around its tail and pulling with all her strength. She had been far from strong enough to halt the beast, but her tactic had worked all the same. With her locked onto its tail, the lizard had begun thrashing to free itself from he grip. And K’trina had paid a heavy price for her foolheadedness. The much larger creature had slammed her into root, rock and tree before her body had failed her and she felt herself slipping from Onyta’s tail. Time had slowed then. The soft breeze blowing her hair across her face, the distant call of an owl out a little early for the night hunt, the red rays of the sun through the trees, and then the sudden contact with the earth. She was broken.

She fought to stay conscious as the shadow of the Onyta fell over her. Maybe she would rather not be awake for this!

And then she saw Vrik rise out of the brush where he had fallen, and what she saw took what little breath she had left away. His eyes burned with an inner fire that she could see even from across the clearing, and the lizard turned from her, seeming to sense the new threat.

At first she wanted Vrik to flee, to save himself, but that was because she did not yet understand.

Vrik had no intension of fleeing and instead he launched himself at the creature, his small blade his only apparent weapon. What K’trina saw next was unbelievable. Vrik’s eyes blazed with the fire she had seen and it seemed he felt no pain. The lizard continuously slammed him, crushed him and tore at him, but somehow his stayed on his feet. Stayed on his feet and kept fighting.

K’trina felt consciousness slipping and prayed that Vrik’s strength would hold out. She knew she would likely not wake again, but she smiled as the darkness took her. She had stayed when the others had run. She had stayed and Vrik would live even if she did not.

* * * *

K’trina smiled again as Vrik looked over to her. He fought to hide his pain even now, but K’trina understood. The fire was gone from his eyes now and he felt his wounds as acutely as anyone would. The fire was gone, but he still had an inner strength that was not common in one his age, and K’trina understood he would not complain about his wounds or ask for healing. She could not see the fire in his eyes anymore but she could see that he was happy.

In pain yes, but happy. For that pain was the price of her safety and he would pay that price without question. He had paid that price, and for that K’trina would keep his secret for as long as he wished. She would keep his secret and try to repay him for everything he had done.

to be continued...