Don't Look Down

Traveling up the rock face was challenging- requiring far more caution and precision than the swim to the island. The pathway was poorly formed, being rarely traveled. The terrain consisted of obsidian rocks that were sharp, jagged, and perilous. And there were random sections slicked over with layers of black ice, which meant Azoula couldn’t tell how slippery it was until she stepped on it. She had her claws unsheathed, tapping against the stone with each step she took, listening for the sound of claws against stone, or claws against ice. What did Sephiran see in this place.

Keeping Delaeni in her peripheral vision, she ushered the girl forward, not wanting her to fall behind. She needed to stay close enough to grab her, if need be. And perhaps, the tigress’ worrying had been misplaced- as she stepped up onto a large boulder in their path, to pull herself up, she lost her balance. Damn black ice. Her claws raked against the ice, carving thick lines as she yowled and fell backward, almost on top of Laney.

Growling, she picked herself up, taunting the rock face inside of her head. They’d need to go a different way. Looking around, she notices there is another patch branching off this one- far steeper in comparison, but it would have to work. All around them, the seabirds continued to cry out, swooping down into the outcroppings, to settle down into their nests and avoid the predators.

She took this moment to peer out across the ocean, which seemed so far away now that they were halfway up the dome. The massive formation of Boreas looming in the west- The Polar Sound in front of them, a large beach that morphed into grassy plains to the left, and a snowy beach with a sparse pine forest to the right. Interesting. She made a mental note, that Ardens Glacies had good vantage points.  


”Speech”