I'll Keep You Safe

As Zee came sliding back down the muddy wall. Iolaire received a splash of muddy water in the face. She sneezed involuntarily, managing to get more mud on herself in the process. Yuck. As the horned woman screamed for Sirius, Io winced. There was no way that he would hear them in this storm. They would have to wait until it passed to call for help.

Zee frantically begged Io to get them out and the smaller woman curled herself around the larger. "Shhhh... Try to be calm. Everything you feel, they feel and I won't let anything happen to you or them." She tried to use the puppies within Zee to keep a calm hand upon her. "The tree is keeping us safe. We have to wait until the rain stops, then we'll make a plan. For now, we sit tight." Taking her pack off, Iolaire hooked it on an exposed root to keep it up out of the mud. With her hip still against Zee's soaked body, she turned and began quickly digging an alcove in the muddy wall. The quickness with which the earth gave way proved just how much water the land had soaked up.

With the divot in the wall complete, Io urged Zee into it. She would be up, out of the water and would have more protection than if she were to stay on the ground with Io. As she worked, Iolaire kept reassuring her sister. They would be perfectly fine. Of that, she had no doubt. Now it was just a waiting game. The storm would have to end before they could call for help.