The Autumn Mage

Chapters 3 & 4

Chapter Three

     Aki groaned as he awoke to the faint sound of singing. He felt sick; he certainly did not sleep enough and his body ached from the journey thus far. He laid his head down again and defiantly tried falling back asleep but it was too bright and he could not stop focusing on the song. He forced himself out of the tent and shielded his eyes from the searing sunlight. He blinked several times in pain, finally shaking off the brightness and bringing the world into focus. He followed the singing in an attempt to find the source, which was Minda washing her robes in a cold mountain spring. He tried to silently turn away before she realized that he had caught her in another state of undress but she heard his boots scrape against the gravel.

     "Aki! You are awake! I was afraid that you had fallen ill." He sheepishly swiveled back around to face her.

     "Yeah, I kind of stayed up too late last night reading." Minda chuckled as she shook her head.

     "It is alright; it gave me a chance to wash the road smell from my robes." She griped the wet robe and flicked her wrists thrice, sending water flying from the garment. She threw on the damp robes over her shoulders and walked closer to him.

     "Aren't you cold?" he yawned into his fist.

     "It is not so bad. Honestly last night felt colder than this to me." Aki glanced up at the sun which was hidden behind a thin veil of clouds and then looked around as if he were searching for something.

     "What time is it, anyways?"

     "A little more than half past ten," she said bemused. Aki's mouth fell open.

     "Ten thirty? I am so sorry. I'll grab the gear and then we can go." He was filled with guilt over causing such a late start. Aki walked in silence, constantly yawning and stumbling. Minda shook her head in annoyance each time he missed his step. She offered several times for them to stop and rest but he insisted on continuing to attempt to make up for lost time. It was not until after it was dark that he agreed to stop for the night. The temperature had plummeted and a flurry was whipping against their face like blades of grass. Aki set up camp and the fire, and they chewed their food in silence as they huddled next to each other. They turned in shortly after and collapsed into their sleeping bags.

     Minda startled awake in the early hours to the sound of something scraping against the rocky soil outside of their tent. "Aki!" she whispered as loudly as she could. He did not move. "Aki!" She rocked his shoulder until he stirred.

     "Hn, what?" he sneered as he finally awoke.

     "There is something outside of the tent," she said quietly but urgently.

     "So? It's out there and we're in here," he said rolling over.

     "It sounds like something big," she insisted.

     "It's just a bear," he groaned.

     "Bears eat people!" she said exasperated.

     "Only if they're hungry."

     "Oh, you are useless." She dug around in the dark for her sword as the scraping sound became closer. She paused as she heard a snort from the other side of the canvas. Her heart pounded in her ears as she tried to hold her breath. The creature finally shuffled away a few steps and she held a shaking hand out to grip the tent's zipper. She paused after each tick as it unlocked another notch, flinching at the noise each time. She almost yelled as the top of the tent was being pawed at curiously. She froze as the unzipped the last section and stared at it, unsure of what to do next. She slowly slipped her head out the flap and screamed. It roared and then swiped at the tent, causing it to flip over. Aki awoke as his staff flew into his head and found his bag on top of his stomach.