CHAPTER 6
PAIN. UTTER PAIN. The soreness burned horribly against Lenore’s muscles with every long hour that had since trickled by.
True to Edmund’s words, the trio hadn’t stopped moving since they started, with no sign of a break in sight.
The two wolves were ahead of her, padding along on the rough path as if it were a leisurely walk for them.
They had long since departed from the public roads and were deep in the untouched wilderness.
The kirin maneuvered through thickets of overgrowth and climbed over clusters of boulders—pausing occasionally to drink from running streams of water.
Hanging vines gently tickled the top of Lenore’s head here and there.
Craggy overhangs briefly trapped them in pitch black before sunlight embraced them again.
Wildflowers bloomed across fallen trunks, peppering the shades of green with bright drops of color.
At one point, the refreshing sights of undisturbed nature fascinated Lenore, and she enjoyed the wondrous smell of pure fresh air perfumed with the earthiness of the land. This was a thousand times better than the hospital walls she had grown to dread.
Such feelings had died the moment the pain of her muscles grew into achingly unbearable soreness. Lenore could barely pay attention to anything around her as she fidgeted constantly in the saddle, trying, to no avail, to find a comfortable position for herself. She winced with each jolt of pain.
As much as Lenore had wanted to walk, she was too slow for the group’s pace, and when she hinted for a break, the same reply from Brynn would come whenever she checked in with her.
“Hang in there, Lenore!”
I don’t need a cheerleader anymore. I need to sit and never get back up again.
Lenore sighed in exhaustion. One of her hands reached up to rub the back of her neck, moving down afterward to tend to the back of her shoulders.
Her eyes shut. The burning sensation of the aching muscle hardly ceased under her continuous kneading.
Her eyes flew open when the kirin suddenly leapt forward, causing her body to jerk back sharply.
With her grip on the reins too loose to keep steady, she plummeted off in a single motion, crying out as she fell back first into a murky pond.
Water splashed upwards in response, spraying the surrounding greenery with brown droplets.
A few lily pads drifted away. Coolness encroached her body, clinging to her just like the wet fabric of her dress did to her skin as she struggled to sit up in the pond.
Dribbles of water ran down her face, refusing to stop despite her attempts to wipe them off.
She looked up when she heard the running thuds of paws against the uneven ground. Two wolves leapt in, the water reaching the midpoint of their legs. They both immediately lowered their heads to Lenore, simultaneously sniffing her to see if anything was amiss.
“Are you alright?” Brynn worriedly bumped her snout against Lenore’s cheek. “Did the kirin throw you off?!”
Lenore tried to wipe more water off her face with her wet sleeve. “I’m alright. Honestly, this feels better than sitting on that saddle. My legs are dead.” The longer she sat in the water, the more she preferred this to having to hoist herself back up onto the saddle.
“I knew you couldn’t take it anymore,” Brynn bemoaned. “I’m sorry, Lenore, every time I went to ask for a break, it got shut down.” She side-eyed the large wolf next to her. His ears lowered for a second, then straightened back up.
“I just thought it’d be better to take a longer break when we passed the caverns. I overestimated how long a new runt could last,” Edmund grumbled. “It’s not good for you to stay longer in the water. Get up.”
“Can I at least have a small break now?” Lenore asked.
She stared up at him, almost flinching as she looked straight into his face.
His wolf form was huge up close, and his eyes were sharp with the attuned sense of a predator.
But that didn’t stop her from giving him a puppy dog-eyed stare out of desperate hope for even a minute’s break. Edmund’s ear flicked in response.
“... A short break, then. You look half-dead anyway.”
“Oh… thank you,” Lenore replied, choosing to ignore his comment in favor of the relief she felt.
She got up then, teeth gritted once she stood.
Droplets from the ends of her hair and dress fell endlessly to the ground.
Her hands clung to her opposite arms as she trudged out of the pond and onto the mossy ground.
Brynn was right behind her, having immediately shifted back to human, and scurried away to fetch her some new clothes.
“You shouldn’t stand there. Go over here,” Edmund said. He stood by a patch of grass that was illuminated by the sun. “The last thing we need is you dying of hypothermia.”
Seeing how rough things had been so far, his comment made Lenore let out a small laugh.
“It wouldn’t be the worst at this point…
” She obediently followed his command and walked into the warmth.
The heat of the sunlight enveloped her skin, helping to warm her up from the coldness that had started to gnaw at her.
“Thank you for the suggestion. It’s helping. ”
Edmund sat down on his haunches, remaining right by her side. Lenore knelt beside him and peered curiously in his direction.
“Enjoying the sun too?” she asked. He kept his muzzle turned away.
“You shouldn’t be left alone. It’s dangerous,” he answered in a matter-of-fact way. Lenore chuckled at that. Her expression twisted into a wry smile.
“Well, you wouldn’t be the first to watch over me for that kind of reason.
” She held her hair in one hand before using the other to wring out the excess water.
A small drizzle of pond water drenched the ground below.
She winced in displeasure. “I’m probably vulnerable to tadpoles stuck in my hair.
” She would’ve been embarrassed had she been more energized.
It was gross when she picked out slimy pieces of algae, grosser she realized, when he could probably smell her.
Edmund eyed her, giving her a brief look-over. “There are no tadpoles. If there’s anything trying to latch itself onto you from the pond, it would be the leeches.”
“What?” Her voice was shrill. Instantly, Lenore started swiping at her legs and her neck. “Do you see anything?!”
“No,” Edmund replied, a faint touch of humor in his voice. “You’ll get a proper check-over once we arrive at Lunavie—”
“And how long is that gonna be?” Lenore cried. “I’m already dead tired, soaked to the bone, starving, in absolute pain, and now I have to deal with leeches?” She didn’t care that she was whining at this point. Her capacity to keep it together had been maxed out hours ago.
“Two of your problems can be solved. Your clothes will be changed, and I’ve already mentioned the jerky we brought.” Edmund’s eyes narrowed at her, in a chiding sort of way. “You should’ve said something about being hungry.”
“It’s hard to mention that when you wouldn’t even listen for a break,” Lenore muttered.
“You might not notice it since you’ve been a city dweller up to this point, but there's a risk to idling around these areas for too long,” Edmund growled. “I’d rather not lose the kirin to a wandering wyvern if I can help it.”
“I don’t disagree with that,” Lenore replied quietly. “If I could, I would keep going for as long as possible, but I can’t. I’m certain I won’t be able to stand tomorrow.” She pried her boots off, frowning as she dumped the water out.
Before Edmund could respond, Brynn came hurrying back with a bundle of clothes in her hands.
“I’ve brought some of your things. I tried to pick the comfiest pieces for the ride onward.
” She drew close to Lenore before looking around to find the best spot to change.
“There’s some trees over there that you can change behind. ”
Lenore stood up to take the dry clothes into her hands. “Thank you, Brynn. If you don’t mind, could you keep an eye out near me so, uh, nothing from the bush could drag me out into the deep woods?”
Brynn giggled. “Of course, I’ll protect you!
I’ll stay by the trees.” She gestured to Lenore to follow her, leading her toward the cluster of trees that offered enough privacy.
As Lenore passed by her and disappeared behind the trees to change, Brynn stood dutifully on the opposite side, keeping a careful watch around.
After peeling off the damp garments, Lenore felt as if a block of ice had scrubbed her skin vigorously.
Her teeth chattered as her hands shakily grasped at the nearest piece of clothing to wear.
The stiffness of her finger joints didn’t stop her from being as hasty as she could with shoving herself into her new garbs.
She was more than grateful to her past self for packing leggings and a good pair of socks.
Lenore appeared in view again, dressed in a fitted olive-green tunic cinched at the waist, its skirts split along both hips. Her dark leggings were tucked into another pair of brown boots.
“Thanks for waiting. We can go now,” Lenore said with a small smile and a nod. After dealing with her wet clothes and packing it away, she patted the kirin’s neck. It greeted her with a sniff, then eyed her hair with intrigue. Lenore groaned.
“Here.” She fished out a horribly long piece of algae from the strands of her long hair, which was eagerly eaten up by the kirin. She patted its head and smiled softly at its animated munching. Gross, but strangely adorable.
“Let me help you!” Brynn offered a hand to help hoist her back onto the kirin. Lenore’s legs cried in protest, but she held onto the reins without so much as a peep. The journey wasn’t going to get any shorter, regardless.
“Eat this.” Lenore looked over to see Edmund back in his human form. In his hands was a pouch that he offered. “We can cross another problem off your list now.”