Healers' Call

What Lies in the Mountains?

If Valda had thought their journey so far had been difficult it was nothing without the horses. She was used to walking for long periods of time when she went hiking with her Dad. But this terrain was different. It was steeper, rockier, which made walking more strenuous. Add that to the fact she often had a baby giant who refused to walk unless he was holding her hand, and the journey was proving to be difficult. Still, she and Tevin were both fairing better than her cousins, especially Mauve.

Her multiple skirts had made riding the horses a task, but trying to walk in them was proving to be worse. Small stones and clumps of dirt gathered between the layers, weighing her down even more. Occasionally, it got snagged on larger rocks so now the intricate design was peppered with tares.

The first day into the mountains had seen them all collapsing much earlier than they would have normally, even though they hadn't travelled as far as they usually did. Tevin had tried to urge them on half heartedly but he didn't try too hard.

"My poor feet," Mauve wailed. "Car, can you rub them for me?" She batted her eyelashes.

"No. I've got my own feet to worry about."

Mauve pouted but didn't argue. She lifted off her boots and squealed at the sight.

"What's wrong?" Valda called out, rubbing at her own aching calves.

"Just look at my toes." Mauve's voice wavered as she gingerly touched her feet.

The others couldn't help gathering round. Anything that made Mauve go quiet was definitely going to be something interesting.

Valda gasped, the two boys did a funny little motion over their hearts, as if warding off evil, and Nisog just continued bashing two rocks together completely oblivious.

"Are your toes usually that colour?" Valda queried, hoping that they had nail varnish in Adiocion.

Mauve looked down at her purple toes with apprehension before shaking her head. "Not usually. No."

Before anyone could react, Nisog lumbered over and covered Mauve's toes in some moss.

"What are you doing?" Mauve cried, kicking her feet out. But before the moss fell off, Nisog grabbed her legs to stop her moving.

"Nisog." He said unhappily before he pointed to the moss and back at Mauve. "Nisog." He said once more. His eyes continued to watch Mauve, to make sure she didn't move, before he went back to play with his rocks.

"What am I supposed to do now?" Mauve demanded, pointing to her moss covered feet.

At her disgruntled expression, Valda couldn't help but smirk. The boys behind tried to hide their chuckles, but a few escaped.

"Oh, you all think this is funny, do you? Well, you can set up camp without me then," she sulked.

The meal that night was distinctly quieter, with Mauve not talking to any of them. Her mood was only made worse by Nisog, who continually reapplied her moss dressing when she tried to take it off. Her annoyance and weariness meant that she was the first to fall asleep, leaving the others to gather around their meager fire.

The only things they could use for their fires now were the spindly bushes dotted across the mountain. As they moved further up, even those would be limited.

Tevin and Carrick now each carried a bundle of large sticks strapped to the top of their bags for when things got scarce. They'd also foraged for a few more things to eat, anything that would keep for a few days.

"Do you think she'll be able to make it through the rest of the journey?" Tevin tilted his head to Mauve, his expression serious.

Valda hadn't wanted to say anything, but she'd been thinking the same thing. Both Carrick and Mauve had only ever known life in the castle but Carrick had still trained a little with his father. Mauve had never been interested so hadn't bothered. She was having a rougher time adapting to her new conditions.