Tel'ron and Jack worked together to secure Ger'ron to the sled, tieing him down as tightly as they could without cutting off any circulation. Jack left anything that wasn't necessary out of his pack, leaving little more than some nutrition bars, water, and a few spare heating pouches to swap out from Ger'ron's blanket from time to time. S'haar examined the load with expressions of doubt and concern. "I still wish you'd pack a tent, a sleeping roll, and the mobile transceiver at the very least. You might need them!"

Jack shook his head. "I'm going to make the trip in one go. We did it all the time during early winter. Even considering the dark and snow as factors, I'm still confident I can make it in twelve hours or less. If I'm going to succeed, I'll have to keep moving. I'm worried that I might pass out on my feet if I stop even long enough to set up and activate the transceiver."

As he spoke, S'haar looked less and less pleased. "You've already spent the whole day traveling and prepping the camp, and you're not even fully recovered from your deep sleep. Are you sure you can't wait until morning?"

Jack looked back at Ger'ron, who seemed even more pale than a moment ago. "I'm not sure that he's going to make the journey as is. If we wait, his odds will only fall further. Even if I tried, I wouldn't be able to sleep with that knowledge weighing on me."

Looking over at her, Jack gave her a more confident smile than he felt. "Listen, you'll have Angela's portable transceiver. Set it up and leave it on, and you'll know as soon as I get there."

S'haar looked down at the transceiver. Jack had shown her how to activate it, but she still wasn't convinced. Jack pointed out toward the door they'd come through. "Come on, you can see me off."

Tel'ron was kneeling next to his father. He seemed to be whispering words of encouragement and support as he gave him a final once over.

Appearing to have run out of things to say, the smith slowly stood and walked over to Jack. Several emotions were warring on his face as he took a moment to decide what to say. "Be careful out there. As much as I want you to succeed, you won't be doing anyone any good if you get yourself killed... Listen, whatever happens...I'm...just grateful you tried."

Jack's smile lost a little of its bravado, but he forced the last half of a grin to remain in place. "I can't guarantee how this will end, but at the very least, I'm going to get him there. S'haar will keep you updated, so stick close to her if you can."

Tel'ron had nothing more to say and instead gripped Jack's shoulder and nodded before letting go and backing away. As Jack and S'haar approached the door, a couple of the guards opened it for them, their faces an odd range of thoughts and emotions.

Jack and S'haar didn't get very far before they found another surprise waiting for them. B'arthon was waiting outside with a scowl on his face. He was wearing a thick coat, with an additional hide wrapped around that for good measure, making him look almost as wide as he was tall. S'haar's voice was practically a growl as she gestured sharply to him. "B'arthon, we don't have time for any of your trouble. Get out of the way and let us pass!"

The lord's son looked as though he'd swallowed something foul. "Listen, I don't like either of you very much."

S'haar took a breath to tell him off more forcefully, but he kept talking over her. "But my father was right. The village owes you a debt of honor, which means I owe you a debt of honor. I've already got honor debts up to my neck, so I'm going to pay both of you back right now."

Jack and S'haar were both shocked into silence. B'arthon almost sounded intelligent, a far cry from the petty brat they'd known up until this point. He turned to Jack first. "Up until now, you've been an outside influence. Sure, you've had a significant impact on the village, but you still weren't a part of it. That all changed when you two came and saved so many from this freeze. By earning the entire village's debt, you've become one of us, which means your influence is now a threat to those in power. You'd best use our debt to secure your position as quickly as you are able because you're about to find yourself in a whole different kind of battle than you've seen so far."

Jack couldn't do more than blink in stunned silence as B'arthon turned his attention to S'haar. "It might have been my lips that sent you to be sacrificed several months ago, but it wasn't my voice. Everyone in this village has a role to play, even me, and everyone plays their parts well. Everyone, except for you. Now here you are, 'Lady S'haar.' That's going to earn you far more enemies than friends."

Looking back and forth between the two of them, B'arthon turned his head and spit on the ground before walking back to the heated hall. S'haar called out to him as he walked. "If not you, then who's responsible?"

B'arthon didn't even turn his head, and Jack could barely make out his response. "I've already paid my debt. You figure it out from here." With those parting words, he walked up to the door and gave it three distinct knocks. As soon as it opened, he disappeared inside.

Jack and S'haar looked at each other, unsure of what to do with this development. Was the village lord's spoiled son just screwing with them in some new way, or was he serious? Looking back at the sled behind him, Jack sighed. "Well, I suppose none of that matters right now. I've got a journey to make, and you've got a village to save. We'll worry about strange warnings from unexpected sources when we get the immediate emergencies dealt with."

S'haar nodded, but the two walked in silence the rest of the way to the forest's edge. The atmosphere between them was thick with confusion, worry, and exhaustion. Once there, S'haar grabbed hold of Jack again, though this time, she was careful not to bruise him.

The silent hug lasted long enough to convey more than a few feelings between the two of them. Just as the moment was about to pass, S'haar pulled Jack into a deep kiss before gently resting her forehead against Jack's, taking in one last moment of intimacy.

When Jack finally opened his eyes, he saw S'haar staring back at him. She smiled and pulled back, looking like she wanted to hug him again, but knowing she had to let him go sooner rather than later. With her head tilted to one side, she finally spoke up. "You know, if you pull this off, I don't know if I'll be content with you merely warming my bed anymore..."

Jack blinked, opened and closed his mouth a few times, but found that his voice had abandoned him. S'haar's smile turned predatory. "Just a little something extra to motivate you to get there in one piece for once."

This time it was Jack's turn to share a toothy grin. "Well then, I guess I have no choice! There's no way I'm letting that opportunity slip through my fingers! You'll be hearing from me before you know it!"

With a smile and one last squeeze of her hands, Jack turned and walked into the forest alone. As she watched him go, S'haar's smile faded into a look of concern. When she spoke, her voice was swallowed by the passing wind. "You'd better get there safe... I won't forgive you if you leave me alone a second time!"

-

Jack wasn't very far into the forest, but already he was noticing how heavy his load was, both physically and emotionally. There were times when even human endurance wasn't enough, and scouts like him knew that better than anyone. He took a moment to root around in his emergency supplies before he found what he was looking for, a couple innocent-looking tablets meant for when sleep wasn't an option, and caffeine wasn't enough.

Jack had never liked using these. For one thing, they are incredibly habit-forming. Though, he supposed that being stuck on an alien planet with no access to refills meant that addiction was a self-solving problem. The other issue was the potential side effects of the drug. With the right combination of medication, stress, and sleep deprivation all mixing together, the list of side effects could range from simple blood sugar issues to visual or auditory hallucinations, or if he was really unlucky, an afib attack followed by a trip to the morgue. Although, in this case, that trip would probably end in some hungry scavengers' stomach instead.

Still, a life was on the line, and there was a reason these were standard issue to anyone in his line of work. Putting one tablet back in his emergency pack, Jack swallowed the other and chased it with a sip of water that was almost too cold to swallow.

Shaking his head to wake himself up a little more, Jack put away the emergency kit and took out a nutrition bar to snack on while moving.

-

When Jack had passed through the forest on the way to the village not long ago, he remembered thinking how serene and quiet it had been. The only sounds for much of the journey were the gentle crunching of snow under skis and the occasional loud comments from Lon'thul. Now that he was retracing his journey alone at night, the forest seemed to be filled with a multitude of sounds, coming from somewhere just beyond his line of sight.

That soft footfall to his left was probably just the settling of some melting snow. The crunch of a twig was obviously must really be ice cracking. That howl in the distance... Ok, that was really an animal howling, but it was pretty far away and probably had nothing to do with Jack. The fact that the sled Jack was pulling made it sound like someone was always just a few steps behind him wasn't helping either.

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To further complicate things, Jack's line of sight was limited to a cone of light projected by a pocket mounted flashlight. As he moved, it caused all the shadows to shift and dance around him, making Jack feel like he was on the set of some sort of horror movie. He would have liked to have carried the flashlight in his hand for a greater degree of control, but he felt it was more important to keep both hands free, just in case.

Jack noticed his heart was pounding. Was that just the medication, or had his subconscious picked up on something he'd missed? Jack checked his compass to make sure he wasn't walking in circles before continuing forward with a slight course adjustment.

Jack focused on the path forward, trying to ignore the frozen nighttime forest moving in on him.

-

By Jack's estimation, despite feeling like he'd been walking all night, he really had only been at it five hours. That meant he wasn't even halfway yet. Every muscle in his body screamed in agony and exhaustion. He remembered hearing from his more athletic acquaintances that if you pushed through the pain long enough, it would eventually start to fade or even become euphoric. That didn't seem to be happening with Jack, though, much to his annoyance.

Jack stopped for a minute to change out the heating pouches in Ger'ron's blankets. Or at least he only meant to stop for a minute. He was startled to find himself snapping awake on his knees. With a sudden burst of adrenalin, born from the realization of what had just almost happened, Jack shot back to his feet. It even gave him enough of a boost to get his momentum going again, but only a few moments later, the effect was already giving way to exhaustion once again.

Jack considered taking another tablet but worried that the risk might outweigh the benefit this time. Instead, he took another ice-cold drink of water and munched down another bar, hoping his body would know what to do with the fuel he'd just given it.

He might be warm-blooded, but this many hours out in the cold was definitely having an effect on him. He wasn't sure when he'd started shivering, but he stuck one of the warming pouches inside his jacket to conserve a bit of energy. A new problem presented itself when as soon as the shivering was gone, the exhaustion returned two-fold. Jack felt his shoulders slumping, and his eyes started to droop once again.

That was when he heard a familiar voice by his side. "Hello again."

Jack didn't even turn his head. He just kept moving forward. However, the voice wasn't so easily deterred. "What is it with you and not greeting your guests? Is this some human custom I'm not familiar with?"

Jack pushed on stubbornly for a few more moments before giving in and answering, though he still refused to look toward the source of the voice. "No, I just don't think responding to an auditory hallucination is very wise. If I do, the visual hallucinations are probably next."

The voice sounded amused this time. "Why do you refuse to believe I'm real? Why don't you trust your own senses?"

Jack continued looking forward, grinning sardonically. "Oh, there are many reasons my senses would betray me. Last time it was oxygen deprivation and brain damage. This time it could be stress, lack of sleep, or that little tablet I took not so long ago that literally alters the chemicals in my brain."

Against his better judgment, Jack finally glanced toward the source of the voice. There, walking beside him, was S'haar. Except this S'haar was taller than an argu'n male, had star-filled eyes with no iris, and left no trace of her passage in the snow, almost as if she was floating a hair's breadth above the ground.

Not-S'haar gave Jack a smile that warmed his heart as she laughed at his expression. "You are such an interesting little mortal! I must admit, I never thought you'd make it out of my realm alive. I thought for sure that the leap of faith was your breaking point, but you delighted me when you proved me wrong! Yet here you are again, walking the knife's edge between your world and mine. One wrong step and you'll slip off the path you've chosen, and you're risking everything just to keep some old soldier you hardly even know from my embrace."

Jack raised an eyebrow at the goddess. "Last time you were complaining that I forced 'your children to return to you early,' this time you're complaining because I'm keeping one from your presence a little longer? At the risk of angering a god, isn't that a bit hypocritical?"

Not-S'haar paused and looked surprised. Jack merely shrugged as he pushed forward. "Listen, I'm kinda in the middle of a life or death journey at the moment. I'm still not fully recovered from the events that led to our first meeting, I'm exhausted, and now I'm apparently hallucinating. If you want me to grovel before your divine presence, you'll have to come back when I'm less fatigued, and there's not another life in the balance."

Everything was quiet a moment before Jack spoke again with a slightly apologetic tone to his voice. "Sorry, hallucination or not, that came out a little harsher than I intended. Although I can't help but notice that this time you do seem a little less... divine?"

Looking over at Not-S'haar, Jack saw that her smile hadn't faded in the least. When she spoke, her voice held the promise of comfort and warmth. "You are correct. Last time you were in my realm, you witnessed me in my actual form, or as close to it as your mortal mind could comprehend. This time I'm in your mortal realm, so my presence is somewhat diminished, and you see me in your mind's chosen form. Now that I've answered your questions, will you answer mine? Why are you struggling so hard to keep this one from the gifts I offer?"

Jack walked on in silence as he organized his thoughts. Not-S'haar seemed content to walk beside him in perfect silence, waiting for his answer. Eventually, Jack's voice broke the stillness of the forest again. "I don't know for sure. Maybe it's because I know him and his son. Maybe I've seen too much death recently and refuse to sit back and watch more. Maybe it's just human nature.

When Jack spoke this time, he turned his attention back to the path ahead of him again. "For much of human history, we've had a very different idea of death than the one you offer. We thought of death as an enemy to be fought at every turn. We always knew that you, or your human equivalent, would win eventually. But every moment we stole from you was a victory to be celebrated. We worked tirelessly, growing food to fend off hunger, building walls to stave off danger, developing medicines to fight off disease. On and on we fought, we lived, and we thrived."

Turning to face Not-S'haar again, Jack smiled. "Or maybe it's some other convoluted reason I don't fully understand. The brain is a messy thing. Our motivations often hide behind self told lies and confusion. All I know for certain is I refuse to give this man up without a fight."

At that moment, the forest and everything in it faded away, leaving only Jack and Not-S'haar. As she approached Jack, he felt warmth and love radiating toward him. "What a beautiful soul you are. Come join me in the heavens, and you'll know nothing of the pain or suffering of this world any longer."

As she took another step toward Jack, he felt himself getting lost in the infinite beauty hidden within her eyes. In them, he saw peace and happiness. As she bent down to him, Jack saw the faces of lost loved ones waiting to greet him once again. As her lips approached his, Jack bore witness to the kind of eternal beauty that no mortal was meant to glimpse.

Jack sat frozen at that moment for an eternity. He was tired physically, mentally, and spiritually. In death's eyes, he saw the promise of peace and serenity and an end to his suffering. Only a few small yet essential things were missing from within that which she offered him.

Jack closed his eyes and saw Angela tormented, never knowing what had happened to her little brother. He let his head fall as he envisioned Em'brel sobbing over another empty grave. Jack took a ragged breath and saw S'haar, the real S'haar this time. Once again, she had her forehead resting against his, with her eyes locked onto Jack's, but this time they were filled with fear. Her voice was a ragged whisper of a plea. "Don't leave me again."

Jack shook his head. With a sad smile and tears in his eyes, he turned away from Not-S'haar. Summoning every last scrap of willpower he possessed, Jack lifted his foot and stepped away from the promise of death. The second step was more manageable, and the third even more so. Soon, Jack was once again walking through the forest. "If it's all the same to you, I think I'll keep suffering a little longer. I've got things that only I can do, and people waiting for me. My journey doesn't end here."

The only response was the faintest of voices fading into the night. "Such a marvelous soul. I can't wait to see your story unfold..." Then everything the lady offered began to fade from his thoughts. It was like waking from a dream. It was as though it had been too much for a mortal mind to hold onto. Soon, he was left with only vague feelings of loss and sadness at what he'd given up.

Everything was utterly silent for a few more moments before a harsh crackle broke through the headset Jack had forgotten he was wearing, followed by a voice so beautiful it brought tears to his eyes. "I think I'm getting a reading on him at last! Jack, is that you? Can you hear me?"

He must have been walking in a daze for longer than he realized because Jack found himself at the edge of the forest, shielding his eyes from the light of the rising sun. He grinned and answered. "Yes, Angela, it's me. I can hear you."

The voice that returned was filed with accusation and fury. "OF ALL THE IDIOTIC, HAIR BRAINED, HALF BAKED IDEAS YOU'VE EVER COME UP WITH, THIS IS THE WORST! WHEN S'HAAR CALLED AND SAID WHAT YOU WERE DOING, I SWORE..."

Jack cut her off with a smile in his voice. "It's good to hear from you too. It's been a long night, we've got a patient who needs immediate attention, and I'm beyond any known definition of exhausted. Let me get some sleep, and you can lecture me in the morning, ok?"

Angela's voice was sulking but also greatly relieved as she responded. "Fine, but this isn't over!"

At that moment, Jack thought of something. "Oh, hey, is S'haar available on her end? Can you patch me through?"

Angela sighed. "Sure, just a moment."

Jack walked on in silence until he heard the static of another headset being picked up. "Jack, is that you? Are you ok? A little bit ago, I felt... I felt as if I was about to lose you!"

Upon hearing the real S'haar's voice again, Jack's smile grew so wide it was almost painful. "Well, I'm here, and I'm safe. But before I go inside and pass out from exhaustion, I just wanted to call and say one important thing."

S'haar's voice was laden with confusion and concern. "What could be so important at this moment?"

Jack hesitated a moment before choking down the lump of fear that had taken hold in his throat. "I just wanted to say, I love you!"

S'haar was silent for just long enough for Jack's confidence to waver, but when she finally replied, her voice was heavy with emotion. "I love you too, my crazy, stupid, brave human. Now get some rest. You'll need it when I return."