Wolf-Shifter

Dancing among the Stars part 11

The poem: Stargazing in His Eyes belongs to Jessica Olsen; I'm just using it. The song, done first in Ha'Shmla and then translated to English, belongs to me.

Later that day, they packed up and loaded everything onto a small covered wagon, pulled by the group. Lifting a rope and slinging it over his shoulder, Senka turned back, "Ready?"

The others shouted agreement and began pulling the wagon through the dense undergrowth, the wheels rolling easily over the bumps and dips of the land. Namid pulled her share as did everyone else and briefly glanced up at the hot sunlight that was beating upon her back. Sighing she grit her teeth and pushed.

A while later, as the sun rose higher in the sky and the heat worsened, they stopped for a water break. Rakab wiped his brow and accepted a ladle of water from Bialas and poured some on his head, sighing as the clean water refreshed him. The women had tied up their hair and loosened the laces of their shirts slightly to cool off. Namid laughed as Elita drank her share, the last to receive water, and dumped the rest on Bialas' head. With the bucket still on his head, Bialas tried to chase Elita around but instead accidentally bumped into a tree. The group had a good laugh after that.

Namid glanced at Rakab through her lashes and, quite embarrassedly, noticed how his well-muscled, and lean frame, showing under his loose shirt, looked rather good under the sunlight. She smiled as he grinned, her heart skipping a beat.

As they gathered up again to lift the wagon, Namid, who hadn't bothered with the water, stood but stumbled backwards to sit again. She took a deep breath and put her head in her hands. Sheila placed a hand on her shoulder, "You alright?"

"Yes." She mumbled, "Just…tired."

"Want to ride in the wagon?" the woman asked, her voice gaining a motherly tone.

"No thanks, I'll do my share." She mumbled, shakily standing.

Sheila nodded and went to take her side. Namid lifted the wagon with the help of the twin sparrows and as they began their walking to a nearby road, Namid felt her forehead grow hot and her grip loosening as the world spun a bit and her vision swam. She cursed as she stumbled and fell back into the grasp of Alida. "Elita, get Sheila and tell Senka." The twin ordered, "Hurry!"

As Elita rushed off, Namid felt herself being placed down into the soft grass and into some shade, provided by the wagon, "Sheila's comin' Namid. Just don't go to sleep, you hear me?" Namid nodded slowly as she heard footsteps coming.

"Alida, tell me what happened." Sheila ordered, slinging a bag over her head and placing it down. Kneeling to Namid's side she whispered, "You're going to be fine, Namid…"

As both Elita and Alida recalled what happened, Sheila nodded and turned to Yrel, who was holding Rakab back, to go fetch water. Rak glared at the crow's back and, as calmly as possible, asked the younger woman what was wrong.

Sheila, who worked as the healer in their group, replied, "It's just a case of dehydration, she'll be fine once she has something to drink and some rest."

"Rest?" "But we need to move the wagon!" Namid protested, but the emerald boa's sharp gaze silenced her.

"Fine. Just don't overexert yourself." she replied as Yrel came with the water. Namid took the ladle and drank its contents greedily. After about her second helping of water, she sighed, "I feel much better now."

Sheila frowned, "Don't scare us like that again!"

Namid nodded, "Trust me, I don't plan to."

The woman stood and Senka told the others to regain their positions, including Namid. Senka, while explaining to Namid about their journey, grinned and remarked, "You aren't what I expected you to be, princess."