The House in the Crags (Sockathan)

Two ~ Morning Mishaps

The sun rose in due time, its light painting the sky with a beautiful array of soft colors. The valley lit up slowly, more and more of it being brought into the light as the fiery sun rose behind him, heating his back and dispelling the chill of the night before and replacing it with loving warmth.

Jonathan stood right on the edge of the cliff, staring downward through the wall of jagged rock and to the grassy plain beneath. It glittered as more and more of it was thrown out of the shadow of the night as the sun traveled upward quickly, burning so brightly that it hurt when Jonathan glanced at it.

Wind blew around him. It teased his hair with ribbony, tickling fingers, brushing up against his body like river water. It blew in small gusts that pressed against his back, smashing his T-shirt up against his skin. When Jonathan inhaled, he detected a subtle floral scent that had him relaxing instantly, as it reminded him of all the mornings spent there and elsewhere with his family.

A shriek of 'kraaaa!' alerted him to the soaring hawk that rode miles above his head. He squinted up at the silhouetted creature as it beat its wings, releasing another shrill call. He couldn't help but admire it as it boldly claimed the skies, each swish of its wing feathers burning it into the blue.

It was as he was distracted by the raptor that a particularly strong gale slammed against him, sending Jonathan sprawling over the edge, arms splayed and eyes wide. Dirt flew from the precipice, and flying chunks of it hurtled past him as he feel. He heard the wind rushing and his heart hammering in his ears.

He opened his mouth in a scream that never left his throat, his horror too great to even make the smallest sound, let alone the ungodly shriek that he imagined was coming from his body. The wind was strong now, pummeling him with hard, strong fists instead of motherly fingers. He could see the ground many miles away, and what an unpleasant, jagged ride it would be to get down there.

With an unpleasant snap from his left leg and a popping sound from below his neck that he could only assume was his shoulder being rolled out of place, Jonathan landed, feet-first before tumbling onto his side, on a ledge. He winced, but he felt no pain, and he thought he was uninjured for a small stretch of time. However, he loosed a pained groan as the initial shock faded away.

Jonathan pinched his eyes closed and hissed in a breath, hoping that the throbbing pain would dissipate. He waited for several eternal minutes with his teeth clenched tightly, his ears still ringing from the rude impact and his shoulder sending out spikes of pain in awful bursts, like the hellish heartbeat of some demonic beast.

When the pain refused to numb, Jonathan peeled his eyes open and was less than surprised to see a thin film of tears blurring his vision. He blinked rapidly until his eyesight cleared, then propped himself up on his good arm, thinking blearily through the sharp spurts of pain. His body shook, and whether it was from the terror of the fall or the awful pain itself, Jonathan didn't know.

Flecks of light danced in his eyes, and he could barely see the rocks in front of his face due to the unwanted liquid obscuring his vision badly.

He was trying to remember something his brother had told him when he was studying to be a doctor (which was fortunate for Jonathan); something about dislocated shoulders...

Ah, he thought. I just have to...put my hand...up to my head...and push my hand toward my other shoulder.

As he thought out his brother's instructions, he slowly copied them, first reaching his hand up as if to scratch his ear, then bending his hand to his opposite shoulder so that his elbow was almost behind his head. With an odd grinding sensation, Jonathan felt his shoulder slide back into place and immediately the pain dulled.

He sighed, enjoying the momentary relief.

Still babying his arm, though not quite as much, Jonathan pushed himself to a standing position (although his left leg was instinctively raised from the ground), and tried to get a good idea of where he was in the crags, and how he could get out. He braced one hand on the rocky wall in front of him, supporting himself while he tried to ignore the fact that he couldn't feel his foot. His leg felt like it had been crushed by a sixteen wheeler. It wasn't a good sensation.

Then he looked up and saw the towering rocks on either side of him and sensed the steep fall behind him, and his heart dropped. The fact that his leg was probably broken seemed to pale in comparison to the issue presented. There's no way I'd be able to get out of here before I died, he thought, his body feeling devoid of blood. And that was definitely not how I thought my life would end.

~

A/N :

Thank you if you've proceeded into the second chapter! Please consider giving that little star a bop if you've enjoyed it, and any and all feedback would be fantastic!

Ciao!

~Fluffy

(Expect the next chapter within a week or so. I try to keep a schedule [I tri I cri].)