Young Writers Society

A/N: Just to let all the readers know, I have decided to switch this for third to first person. I have also begun to write in the present tense. So I hope you enjoy hearing about Racen and her friends! Also, don't worry, Katya is not forgotten! :)

I wake up the next day almost totally exhausted. My body totally wiped out not to mention sore. It can barely support the effort. Last night I was so exhausted I fell asleep after only a few seconds. Even now I'm still tired enough to lie in bed for another five hours. However my ears inform that RP is already up. Glancing up at the sun, I can tell it has only just risen. It must only be six in the morning!

RP busies himself with tending to the fire. His back is to me. I notice that he is still wearing the same red and black plaid shirt he had on yesterday. How gross! I bet his shirt is half made up of sweat by this time! I collapse back onto my pillow and shut my eyes.

I hardly bothered to throw my blanket on the previous night, and as a result my legs have half a dozen bites each. Apparently my skirt hasn't done anything to protect me. I roll my eyes and sigh. Every part of my body cries out begging for attention. My eyes are tired, my head aches, my back is sore, my arms and legs are covered with mosquito bites not to mention being sore, and my feet are sweaty and are already beginning to be covered with blisters. I'm just about as miserable as I can be! Whew! I am so tired.

Wold, who is lying a few feet away from me, wakes up. She sniffs the air around her and for a moment stands up in alarm. Her spine is as tense as a tightrope. After a few moments she calms down; but now she has me worried. I wonder what made her do that?

"What is it?" I ask standing up and reaching for my bow and an arrow in a state of fright.

"Oh, that was the fire. I smelled it and thought the forest was ablaze until I saw the campfire," she says, stretching and shaking herself

Now wide awake, because of Wold's alarm. I begin preparing for the journey that lies before us. When I am ready I go and bathe in a nearby stream. Despite RP's misgivings, Wold was able to convince him that the water was clean enough to drink the previous night. (She, being a wolf, can sense those things much better than any human, or elf for that matter, ever could).

Evidently we are actually closer to the range of mountains than I thought. Because of Wold's discovery, I drink a good cup of water as well as fill up a pale to use for cleaning dishes. By this time I am refreshed and I feel ready to ascend to the highest mountain peak on the island or continent that we are on, not to mention eat two eggs! In fact I do the the latter right away. Though we don't have much to season then with, they're the best eggs I have ever eaten, at least that is in my opinion. They are sooo good! Bathing in the cold water of a stream makes one awfully hungry, not to mention thinking about ascending rough terrain all day.

"Do you want any coffee?" RP asks picking a pot of coffee out of the coals with a thick cloth.

"Yes please," I say. Normally I would refuse but by this time I am still so tired. I need a cup of coffee to keep me awake. I graciously accept the cup he hands me and pour a little cream into it. RP refrains from using it, however.

"Why...aren't you going to put some of the cream into it?" I ask him incredulously. He grins.

"No. I don't like cream all that much to be honest with you. At least not in coffee. I think that it tastes better when you drink it black. I don't know why exactly, but I just do."

"Hmm," I murmur accepting his answer, though I think in my mind that he needs a better reason than just, 'not knowing why exactly'.

As I sip the brownish liquid, I feel it spread throughout by body easing the pain in my joints. I sigh and set it down. Ever so often I pick it up in between bites. Unfortunately RP is so hurried I hardly have time to enjoy it. In less than twenty minutes breakfast is over and we start marching.

"Well let's get going," RP says. I sigh, picking up my pack and starting after him. I quicken my gait to match the fast pace he sets.

As we walk we make our way across the bubbling creek and through a host of trees rising up above the ground all around us for what seems like an eternity. The ground soon begins to slope upward gradually. After an hour we have climbed quite high. It seems as if we are already up a mile high though I know it is probably only about half that much or perhaps a little more based on the map given us by the author.

By midmorning I can tell that we are already into the foothills of the mountains. Unfortunately these extend for a great distance beyond the mountains and we are hardly into them yet. I also know that the farther up we head into the mountains, the harder and rougher the terrain will become.

As we march on we can catch a glimpse of a deer or elk passing by, not to mention scores of smaller creatures such as chipmunks, squirrels, and birds. By this time there are only a couple rabbits here and there, but in general they tend to dwell in lower altitudes. The only other living being we come upon is a coyote standing in a clearing.

My heart begins to beat rapidly and my hands start shaking. What if it comes after us? I don't want to be eaten! Why did the author ever let us wander into this world? Or for that matter why would RP lead us this way if there is a chance of being devoured by a wild animal?

As I stand there dumbfounded, the coyote surveys the three of us with a blank expression on his face. I hope that he isn't hungry for elf! Fortunately when he spots Wold he backs up and wanders into the wood. I smile as I see Wold standing with barred teeth ready to fight the coyote if he were to come near us. She is certainly a devoted creature! RP and I are too frightened to speak not to mention draw our weapons; but Wold stands there courageously. Her courage gives me the strength to continue on at the quick pace RP is setting.

"Well!" RP exclaims. "We better get on the march again. We should get as far away from her and that coyote as we can!"

"I agree." I say, fingering my bow just in case the coyote reappears. But Wold is still determined.

"I think we should chase it down and shoot it," she says. "He will provide a good amount of meat."

However RP reasserts his control and overrides her. "No!" he barks. "We're marching on. The risk is too great." I agree with him and Wold has no choice but to follow.

At about midday we halt on a rocky edifice. We can look over into the valley a hundred feet bellow us as we sit on the rocky cliff top. The cliff forced us to go on a nearly hour long detour through the valley. Now we are finally out of the valley and we catch out first glimpse of the main mountain range ahead of us.

"Well it doesn't look like we are going to gain much by hiking thirty of forty miles up into those mountains," I state flatly. "We will have used up most of our supplies by then won't we?"

"Perhaps—but remember we will certainly find some animal you can shoot by that time."

"We can't bank our hopes on meat alone," I counter. "We may not find something to shoot. Even if we do, it probably won't last us very long. I think we should head back down the mountain and make for the sea." I finish, putting my hands on my hips for emphasis. However RP is just as determined.

"Why should we have any more chance of finding something to eat by heading to the sea?"

"Well there are most likely more animals in a forest than on mountain peaks," I reply.

"Not necessarily. But we still have enough to last us until the end of the day after tomorrow."

"Look," Wold says butting into the conversation. "We already agreed to go to the mountains if I am not mistaken. So I think it would be pointless to turn around yet; however I do think that we do have good reasons to head toward the sea. So I say that we head over these mountains and make our way to the sea on the other side of the range. There is a good chance that we will find some people there who will be willing to shelter us, or at the very least tell us where we should go. So I say that we continue in the direction we are heading."

RP stared at me as if to say, 'I told you so.' I shake my head and shrug. Wold's plan is alright, though I still hold the opinion that we should turn back and head for the sea closest to us. But I decide to hold my peace and let the issue drop. At least no one can blame me now I guess.

"Fine," I say with a sigh. "Let's follow Wold's plan and head across the mountains; but do not say that I am to blame if we run into trouble. Now let's get going."

With that I pick up my pack containing all my belongings and a portion of food and start off into the mountains after RP, with Wold in tow, all of us traveling at the same demanding pace.