Mother of Magic

Necessary Adjustment

When Stephanie next awoke, she was in a new and very different position.

Stephanie was laying down. The ground beneath her was covered in a thick, downy feeling blanket. Another thick, soft, warm, and very fluffy cover was over the top of her. Her head was on a small but well-stuffed pillow. Pulling back the top cover slightly, the cold night air hit her face and invaded her warm cocoon.

Tilting her head back, Stephanie could see a pile of cloth near her head. Shaped like feet. Big feet. That had to be Le, similarly ensconced in large comforters. The outside of the cover looked like dark-colored canvas. At some level, this made sense to Stephanie. If one was to sleep outdoors like this then having rugged on the outside, and soft on the side covers in this climate was required. Maybe it was some massive sleeping bag?

Whatever it was, it was warm, comfortable, and welcome after the sickness. It also lent comfort in a different way. However she got here, she was not being abused. Not yet, in any case. There was no scent of her vomit, but it likely froze if enough time had passed. The air she breathed was cold night mountain air. The same air she had breathed from her porch many times when she had wanted to run out for a quick breath of fresh winter air before settling in for the evening in her lodge. Her and Le's lodge.

Stephanie looked about her. She was not quite as unable to move as she had been before. She lay in the same circle of boulders. Same firepit. There was another human-length mound of thick batted dark canvas-looking cloth over on the opposite side of the fire circle.

The ground beneath her was not comfortable, even with the underlying deeply quilted fabric. The insulation kept the cold at bay but did not completely disguise the firmness of the flat ground. Stephanie had camped out as a child and remembered this feeling clearly. Even as a child it had been uncomfortable, but her father thought camping with foam pads or air mattresses was not real camping.

This was real camping. Not counting the abduction aspect.

Stephanie had to admit she was warm enough, even if she was not sure how any of this came to pass. Not being clothed. Not being put to bed.

It was easy to see the nearby outcropping she woke up against nearby in the firelight. The twin pools of sick were in fact frozen solid. 

Time had passed. Long enough for whoever the woman is to completely rearrange the campsite, and tuck them into their bedrolls. It made no sense. None of it.

Stephanie decided as weak as she felt she could manage one operation. She flipped back her cover, stood, and swayed. Not a sleeping bag. Two large, thick blankets. Exactly as she thought. The outside made of tough fabrics to stand up to the elements. The insides a soft flannel-like material. They were at least four inches thick and heavy. No wonder she had been warm.

Stephanie dragged the two thick and fluffy quilt-blankets-covers up next to Le. She draped one on the ground directly next to and aligned with Le's length. She lay down and covered herself with the other. Still warm but already cooler despite how short the trip up to Le had been. It was a cold night. 

Careful she worked to drape her top cover over both of them. Once everything was aligned and sealed against the night air, Stephanie burrowed under his cover to reach him. Snuggling in close. He rolled over to face her, wrapped her in his arms, and with a few more wordless adjustments, they passed out once again.