A walk

In the light air of morning the mountain's silence was hushed and still. Only interrupted by the potent chirps of birds and the quiet rustle of insects in the thicket.

It made the blood dripping from him even harder to ignore. Like a tiny storm was over his head and drops of blood were the rain following him on his trek, marking the land for only a second before a heavy foot would crunch it underfoot.

Ears lifted slightly as a tired head tilted to the side and a face fell into concentration.

The ragged breathing slowed into a steady focused rhythm.

The tattered figure suddenly ripped his hand forward quickly and a shadow darted across the earth.

A small shriek marked the shadows landing on its mark.

A calloused hand withdrew his dagger from the lizards body and removed a pouch from somewhere within his tattered cloak.

With a small plop the lizard fell in and in quick order the pouch was filled to the brim. The lizard would end being accompanied by , berries , acorns, minty grass, folded leaves wet with water and bark caked in a thick sap.

The boy stopped.

He took out the bark and with a hand rinsed in the water of a running river began to smack the sap upon the wounds.

First he carefully filled in the ends of a wound then he carefully pushed it together and globbed up it's middle. The deep gouge of his left shoulder attended to, he turned his eyes to the smaller wounds. Quick dabs of the sap filled open his chest and was quickly filled by a pop on his remaining ear half.

He did this with one arm while slowly feeling for response in his left hand, fingers tapping rhythmically but failing to clench into a grip. He frowned and added a larger swab of sap to the shoulder wound.

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The Open flesh burned, but with the adding of the wet resin he got by squeezing the mint smelling grass between his fingers, he felt it ease.

With a measured mind he let the pain roll pass and when his body felt steady began the making of a small fire. Soon the sizzles and pops of opened acorn and ripe lizard were fresh in the air and the pain was forgotten as he wrenched into his meal.

The smells of ripe mint and syrup accompanied by the smoke of lizard rose into the air like smoke.

It wasn't too surprising then , Spider thought when he heard footsteps approach.

He kept eating.

They came closer, the cloaks in the shadows, until Spider counted three. He paused then, putting his fish in the leaf of grass he used as a plate and took his hand and placed it on his sword.

His head fell back as he recalled the feeling from hours before.

The feeling between consciousness. Where his toes felt the ground beneath his feet and his breath felt fresh on the air. Loosely he felt the connection to his body and found it ready to jump.

It was a good feeling. He clenched his working hand. He would have to think that woman later.

She had made him improve.

"Do you guys. " He said to the encroaching cloaks.

"Really want to die here? "

He let the words fall into the air and decided he would try for his left arm again.

Fingers gently raised, but didn't fully respond making him sigh in response.

One armed it was.

The cloak furthest away from him made a sound then. Between a whistle and a chirp and together the encroaching stopped.

Slowly they retreated into the brush and were gone.

When the last sound was gone Spider let go of his sword and grabbed his fish.

Shame.

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It took Spider four hours to catch up to them. Four hours of walking through the sun with Sap and grass stuck on his body, but eventually he made it into the forest of large trees.

On his arrival Nella was upon him with a quickness, wrapping him in a hug and looking him over. Vienna and Roger were just behind with eyes of surprise.

"Hey. " He said simply.