AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Push off,” Nadine says. “With the poles.”
“I know this. I was just testing.” I try to push myself forward with the poles, but the angle is wrong.
“You want me to give you a nudge—”
“No,” I snarl at her. “I have it.” I shoot Nadine an indignant look and try to push myself forward again. This time I start to slide forward and pick up speed, and the snowy slope begins to rush past me. My heart does not beat as I fly at high speed down to the bottom of the hill, and I laugh in triumph when I make it all the way to the bottom. I knew I would be the best!
But…then I keep going.
I stand up, surprised, and look back over my shoulder at Vivi as my skis keep on carrying me across the snows, the momentum of my speed propelling me way past my mate.
“You have to turn your skis to stop,” Vivi calls after me. “Otherwise you’re going to keep going.”
“I am simply testing them,” I call back to her.
“Of course you are, babe.” Her laughter is sweet on the air, taking the sting out of her words.
I finally figure out how to turn my skis and when I do, I flop over onto the ground. Hmph. I will need to work on that part. I suppose I cannot be amazing at everything right away. Getting back on my feet proves to be a bigger challenge than the hill. By the time I manage to get upright again, Nadine is down the hill and standing with Vivi. I slide my way back to them and I have to admit, it does let me move across the snow quickly.
Vivi’s eyes are bright with excitement. “Let’s try going across the snow down here and go cross-country for a bit. I want to give the skis a real workout before we call them a success.”
We ski for a bit longer, but then one of Nadine’s blades breaks, and then the two women spend a long time examining the broken piece, looking for flaws and discussing how to make it stronger for the future. “I should head back anyhow,” Nadine says, glancing up at the suns and their position in the sky. “Thrand and Deenie are going to be wondering where I am.”
“We’re going to stay out for a bit longer,” my mate says. “If the weather holds, I want to ski out to one of the supply caves. Don’t wait up for us.”
“Oooh, a sexy honeymoon. You know I won’t.” She winks at us and then waves, picking up the broken pieces and hiking back up the snowy hill to the trail that leads back to the beach camp below.
“We are staying out for longer?” I ask Vivi, surprised. “For a sexy honeymoon?”
My mate moves closer to me, skiing to my side. She bumps into me and grins, and then adjusts the scarf around my neck again. “Not exactly. We’re partners, right?”
“Right…?”
She gazes up at me. “Do you trust me?”
“You know I would follow you anywhere.”
Vivi pats my chest. “Good, because I’m about to ask you something crazy.”
ChapterThirty
VIVI
Isee the tracks again.
The moment I landed at the base of the hill, I noticed the heavy drag mark next to the paw prints, and I realize the same snow-cat that followed us across the mountains is still in the area. I forget all about the skis and the weeklong project I’ve been buried in.
A plan forms in my head.
Part of me knows we should be getting back to camp. Sabrina is organizing things for Flor and I’rec’s wedding feast, and I should go back to help cook, or tend the fire, whichever way I can contribute. But if this snow-cat has a busted leg, he deserves our help. I’ve been thinking about this ever since my finger broke and healed up so quickly thanks to the khui. If his leg is broken, it likely healed wrong. This means that I can re-set his leg and it will heal properly and he can go back to being a normal snow-cat.
I don’t know why, but it’s important to me that I help it. I just need to get Skarr on my side to see that what we’re doing is right.
“There’s an injured snow-cat out here and we should help it,” I tell him. “I think it has a broken leg. I want to fix it.”
“You want to…hunt it?” he corrects.
“No, I want to help it. I want to re-set its broken leg as best we can so it has a chance of surviving.”
