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Chapter 7

What was his name? Stone? I've decided to call him Pebble. It's much less horrid, and it annoys him to no end.
"Hey, Pebble, how much longer?" I say for the fifteenth time. It was my way of getting back at him for ignoring my pain.
"I told you, it's a fortnights journey on foot. And that's if we're lucky." He adds for the umpteenth time. I've wondered what he meant by that, but didn't say anything.
We've been walking for an eternity. In my world. Actually, it had been about an hour or two. But my leg was killing me, the bullet wound sending waves of pain up my veins. Finally, I was forced to give into the pain.
"Pebble," I say. He ignores me. Can't blame him, really. "Stone," I call, and he turns with an exasperated look. "I can't go any further with my leg."
He sighs. "Cut it off then." It takes me a second to realize he's joking, because he doesn't smile.
"Is there anything you can do to heal it?" I say apologetically as he dumps his pack on the ground.
"You kidding? I can barely tie a bandage. No, I know a few pain relieving herbs, and that's about it." He begins to gather wood for a fire, even though it was barely mid-day.
"How long will it take to heal?" I pelt him with questions. Now I'm for once not trying to be annoying, but I'm actually curious.
"It wasn't a bad wound. Scraped a good chunk of flesh from your calf, but it didn't get the bone, and the bullet didn't stick in the wound. Just your average flesh wound. Should be a week. Or two. And that's before you can walk comfortably again. The scar may never go away." Stone began rummaging through his leather pack. He pulls out a large hunting knife, and I edge away a bit, but he stuffs it back in.
"It's going to take us more than a week to get to the mountains, then." I sigh. I had been hoping he might know some miracle herb that could heal me instantly.
"No, it's going to take you more than a week. I could leave you at any minute. Remember that." He pulls out a string and sighs. "There is one thing, though. I know one guy, a Third Generation, who may be able to help you. He used to be a doctor in the First City. Works wonders with that kind of thing." He says as if he's going to regret it.
"Used to? What do you mean, 'used to'?" I frown. He continues as if I didn't say anything.
"He doesn't live far from where we are right now. I could probably take you to him, it would only be about a day out of our way..." He says, looking off into the east, as if calculating the distance.
"Why didn't you tell me about him before!? Let's go!" I say, wondering why he wouldn't have told me if he wanted us to make the journey quickly.
"I-it's more complicated than that." Stone says, grabbing my arm and pulling me back.
"How can it be complicated? He can fix my leg!" I say, still overjoyed that I might not have to spend the next couple weeks like this.
"He-he's my grandfather." Stone says, as if it's an embarrassing fact.
"So?" I shrug, still wanting to go. Suddenly my leg doesn't seem to hurt as much.
"So, he thinks I- Never mind. The point is, he doesn't like me." He sighs, sitting down on a log, and pulling a flint-stone from his bag.
"Can't blame him," I say. He glares at me, pulling the knife back from his bag. "Kidding," I say hastily. He turns and scrapes the blade down the flint. Sparks fly into the leaves. "But why doesn't he like you?"
"I can't-"
"You can't tell me?
"Exactly."
"Exactly why?:
"Because."
"Fine," I say, frustrated that he could actually win an argument against me. I turn away. "But this isn't getting us any closer to the mountains." There's silence. I hear the knife strike the flint again, and mumble something about fruit, traipsing off through the brush as fast as I can with a bullet wound.
I'm mad at him. Very mad. But why I left, is not because I couldn't stand him anymore. But I had gotten this funny feeling in my stomach when my eyes met his, like a fluttering. I wasn't completely sure what this meant, but I wanted to be alone for a while.
But what did it mean? Suddenly I was struck by a horrifying thought- Did I like Stone? Like what? But I had barely known him for a few hours. Still, he wasn't bad looking... But that was silly. I had only met a couple Predators in the woods, and they hadn't been much in that way anyways. But-
In my distracted mindset, I don't see the tree root, and suddenly I'm lying on the ground, staring at the lush green moss crushing my nose. I carefully pick myself up off the ground, minding my leg.
There's a crashing sound in the brush behind me. I turn my head to face the disruption, and quickly turn to face the tree that tripped me.
Cat claws shoot out from beneath my fingernails, on my feet and hands, and I leap at the rough bark. Too late I remember my bad leg, and hit the tree hard, sending a pang up through the wound. My claws dig into the bark, and quickly I scurry up the tree, crouching on a branch maybe ten feet off the ground.
The crashing sound is growing closer. My dark tail beats against the tree trunk. I tense up, like a cat preparing to spring. Suddenly the Beast emerges into the clearing-
"God, Stone! You scared me!" I cry, as Stone looks around wildly, trying to find where my voice is coming from.
"You scared me!" He gasped, seeing I was above him.
"How does that work? By the way, you need to be more quiet in the woods. Any old Beast could have heard you a mile away." I say, swinging down from the branch. I drop to the ground, tucking and rolling to take the impact off my legs.
"You cried out." He says. I did? Must have slipped out when I tripped. I couldn't let him have the satisfaction of knowing that.
"I tripped. Why did you come find me?" I ask, anxious to put him in the spotlight.
"I- Oh, yeah, well, I was thinking... We're going to my grandfather's." He scratches his head, looking at our bare feet.
"We are?" I say blankly. I'm staring at his eyes. They remind me of a frozen ocean. Infinitely deep underneath, full of emotion and secrets, but covered by a thick, icy shell. If I could break through...
"Yeah. We need to get to the mountains quickly. The less time we spend alone in the Wold, the better. There are-" He winces as far off an animal screams, and there's a horrid ripping sound. "Lots of Beasts in here, and we don't want to become their next meal."
"Uhuh..." I say, still staring into his eyes. He looks up and frowns at me, and I quickly observe the tree next to him.
"So?" He raises an eyebrow.
"So we leave now!" I jerk myself out of my trance, heading back the way I came from.
"W-wait, Ash! What about your leg?" He grabs my shoulder, his skin warm through my shirt.
"It's fine. At least until we reach your grandfather." I say, eager to go. I hate feeling handicapped.
"So we're going? Now?" Stone turns me to face him, eyes examining my face closely, as if he's concerned for my mental condition.
"Yes!" I pull away. I'm confused about him, so it's best to avoid him. That's my theory.
"Alright then," He grabs his pack at the almost-campsite, and we set off, him in the lead, me staggering behind with my crippled leg.