//------------------------------//
// Trek 
// Story: Staying Awake 
// by Elusive Phoenix 
//------------------------------//

>Ruffdown<

I lay on my mossy wad that we called a "bed". Despite being slightly wet, it was surprisingly comfortable.

I watched the sun go down, the fire in the stone pit keeping up the light. Tiberius lie in his little corner, tossing the ball back to himself. The tree was his only friend at the moment. When he thinks, he has many ways to show it.

Sometimes he paced; others he looked off into the moon. Sometimes he examined the ground; others he tossed the ball.

I would talk to him, but he was using the ball. He was in deep. Breaking him out of ball-mode was worse than walking through a Gryphon nesting grounds. When he has the ball, he's more likely to attack you than determine exactly who you are. I almost lost my head once because of that.

_______________

"Hey, Tiber, I-"

*daggers fly above my head after I duck*

_______________

True story.

I looked around. Zarrus was still at his rock, examining the mountains and finding a path. The formations were too high to fly over, not counting the never ending blizzard. We'd have to hoof it. I'd already gone over the general plan with Zarrus. Get over the damn mountain.

I glanced to Niyla. Still dug into her books as always.

She used a paw to turn the page.

Today had been an awkward day. A good type of awkward. Tiber and I both felt that way today.

Now, Tiber didn't have a plan on what to do with Niyla.

But my plan for Kismae was unbeatable.

When we reached Equestria, I would, in whatever way to say it, ask her out while she's flooding with the joy of survival. When she's in a good mood.

The perfect plan.

I was thinking of telling Tiber to do the same with Niyla, but I realized it would be better for him to figure out a plan himself.

Then angels sang as the most beautiful sight walked in:

Kismae holding a skinned buck for dinner on her back.

Dis gon b good! The infamous joke I had created a while back when I was hit in the jaw, and couldn't speak correctly.

Zarrus dropped what he was doing to go help her, as did Niyla. Tiber continued with the ball, unaware of the coming food. I would have warned him, but as I said earlier, it wasn't a wise idea. I watched as the trio brought the deer to the fire.

I would help, but with the other two already there, it would end up being more awkward than romantic or helpful to Kismae.

_________________________________

They hooked up a mechanism using the weight of the deer to turn itself as it turned over the fire. It was interesting really. The way that Kismae had created that tool. That was another reason I was so in love with her.

She was even smarter than Zarrus. Maybe all of us combined.

That may have just been my heart talking, but I swore that was true.

It had to cook for another few minutes before we ate it. We were wolves, but we were still intelligent creatures.

I still want to know what that first Gryphon was even thinking. How do you even love an unintelligent animal like that? The thought scared me sometimes.

Tiber remained with his ball and the tree. It had been half an hour, and he was still there. It amazed me how long he could hold out with just a sphere and a tree. He hadn't looked away once.

I was about to fall asleep, but there was no way I was missing buck. That stuff's delicious! I crawled closer to the fire, my nose warming up from the heat it gave off.

And then I had a psychological moment, and many epiphanies were had; about fire and life, and sparks and other things.

But nobody wants to hear those.

I watched the flames dance, as the term goes. It seemed to wrap around itself, and yet it disappeared as quickly as it had sparked. Fire was an odd thing. The smell of the deer was leaking into my nose, almost making me drool. It was good we were having this for dinner. We were going to need the energy to make it over the mountain.

__________________________

Oh mah Gawd, that was delicious.

What? Sleep? No! I want to savor the flavor!

Heh, that rhymed...

No! Sleep! Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo...

___________________________

Why, oh why must I carry the food? We had overloaded with birds, berries, and whatever else we could scrounge up this morning. And now I was walking up a seventy degree angle in a white blanket that was more slippery than mossy rocks. I hate my job. Even if I'm the best suited for it.

The snow fell lightly, my fur slowly being whitened, flake by flake. The same occurred with my friends' coats. At least we hadn't reached the blizzard. Yet.

Tiber shifted his pack up onto his shoulders. He stood next to Niyla, like he always did. She, once again, looked around at the surrounding area, as if trying explicitly to look away from Tiber. This may have been a good sign. Or maybe she was just looking around.

I flicked my eyes to Kismae, who stood up front with Zarrus. She spent an awful lot of time with him.

Then the thought reached me. It was unlikely.

But was it really? Could she love him?

I would have continued the thought if Kismae hadn't slipped. She screamed lightly, attempting to get a paw-hold on something.

That didn't work out. And to my advantage, she was sliding toward me.

I noticed that now we had reached the blizzard in such a short time. Or it reached us. Either way, it was on top of our group, and we were in for a treat.

I sidestepped to the left, unfurling my right wing. "Grab on!" She did so.

With her teeth.

Scratch the "she's smart". What kind of idiot bites their rescuer? She could have used her wings or paws, but she decided to use her mouth.

I slid down with her a meter before I could stop myself. She remained on my wing, digging her teeth into my bone. God, that hurt. Her weight along with the bite was like having my wing severed off. But I persevered, pulling her up as she continued to try and get a hold on the ground. I guess I was in a better position.

Oh, she better love me after this.

I was pressing my feet into the ground as hard as I could, even feeling the dirt a few times. Kismae obviously didn't have that kind of strength.

I glanced back at her while I marched. Unsurprisingly, her eyes were as wide as a tiger on steroids; her pupils were so small I could barely see them. They were flicking in every direction, like she didn't know what she was grabbing, but she knew it was saving her.

Great, she won't even see me do this. Maybe I could let her go, and let her climb up on her own.

But that wouldn't be chivalrous, now, would it?

The pain started to numb. At least I didn't have to deal with it for much longer.

Then she found her foothold.

Letting go, I realized she had actually made my wing bleed. Cold, liquid, and air aren't a good mixture for a wound. Any time.

I almost slipped and fell into her, it hurt so bad. Remember the severing feeling? Multiply it. By four.

I fell to my knees, the snow crumbling before me. Luckily I was heavy enough that I fell a sufficient length into the snow so I didn't slide through.

My wing slowly gathered itself, not letting me snap it shut. It hurt too bad for me to move it faster.

As I brought it to my side, I'm pretty sure Kismae was blind as a bat. She walked by without even looking at me. The flakes of ice were almost blinding me too. My fur was long enough to keep it out of my eyes for me. I'm muscular, and I'm also super-fluffy.

I was able to gather my strength and will, and stood up. I seemed to get colder my reaching the storm. It was probably the wind grabbing my legs.

I pushed forward, unable to see anyone but Kismae in front of me. The storm was worse than I thought. Kismae's wing was covering her face, letting her see whatever she could see (which was likely less than I could). I listened for voices, like those of Tiberius or Zarrus.

Completely off subject, I realized that both of their names ended with us. Odd.

But no sounds came but the wind in my ears. I tried to call out, but the words were swallowed in my mouth by snow and air.

Out of nowhere, an arrow whizzed past my head. That wasn't good.

As Kismae and I progressed further up the mountain, I began to make out shapes. Multiple with extended faces. Sharp, extended faces.

Gryphons.

But how? I wondered. An eagle-lion slid past me through the snow, blood trailing along behind it.

Okay, so, the obvious layout is:

Zarrus, Tiber, and Niyla were at the top of the hill, the Gryphons engaging them and attempting to race through the storm. I glanced to Kismae. Her bow was missing. The only other one who could possibly operate that thing is Tiber. The question was: Where'd he get the arrows. Kismae still had her's.

I used my good wing to pull my sword off my back, attempting to get behind the Gryphons. This was going to wipe them all out.

Except there was one flaw with my plan.

Kismae was now proven blind. She pushed up into a Gryphon, causing them both the tumble down the hill.

"Kismae!" She could at least hear me. She managed to get a hold on the ground while the bird rolled down the mountainside.

I was glad to see she was okay. She did the smart thing (finally), and crouched into the snow.

I continued up behind the remaining Gryphons. They probably didn't see me, and saw Kismae begin to fall down the hill with their comrade. They won't know what hit them.

And, surprisingly (man, I led up with that drama), they didn't. I cut one's spine, then stabbed my sword through two of them. Gryphon-shish-kabob.

The last two were dealt with in the most epic and dramatic way possible, and time seemed to slow.

I swung my back leg around to smash him in the face (narrowly missing his beak), and threw him down the mountain to his doom. Continuing my spin, I flung me sword into the next one, causing him to stumble away from me slightly. I jumped to him, putting enough power into my landing to reach the dirt. Once again, I used my good wing to retrieve my sword from his flesh.

The creature fell down the slope trailing blood along behind him. The blood took only a few seconds for the blizzard to cover up.

That was awesome. Much better than Tiber's dull quick-finish last battle. Man, what I just did must have looked awesome from where he was standing. I pulled myself up through the cold white frost, reaching the other three of us.

"Ruff." Zarrus greeted me when I reached them. I glanced at Kismae. She had started climbing toward us. Hopefully she could see now. "What happened back there?"

I looked back to Zarrus, my eyes passing Tiber; equipped with Kismae's bow and a quiver of Gryphon arrows next to him. They probably belonged to the one that fell past me before I reached them. "I would ask you the same. I'm down behind Tiber and Niyla, and next thing I saw was Kismae falling toward me." I extended my right wing slowly. It had stopped hurting now. "I caught her, but she injured my wing in the process, though." Zarrus glanced along my wing, noticing the bite-mark through the snow that covered it. "Like I said. She injured my wing."

Zarrus nudged my wing lightly with his paw, and I re-coiled it. "Niyla was injured too. The Gryphons fell from the clouds." I sighed. Gryphons were better suited biologically for inclement weather. "The Gryphon that owned these arrows (no doubt you passed him) shot Niyla."

"What'd he hit?"

"He hit her wing as well." Oh, great. Neither of us can fly. At least I still had the food.

I glanced behind me.

Yep, got it. I often have moments like that. The pack remained on my back. Heh, more rhyming.

Zarrus began to walk away. I followed quickly, checking on Kismae and Tiber. Kismae had reached us, directly behind Tiber. Tiber was a meter or so away from Zarrus and I. He allowed Niyla to use him as a support. The pain must have left her shaken.

But we trudged up the mountain. We were all alive. I guess it was for the better that Kismae slipped.

_____________________________________

Okay. Top of the mountain? Snow as slick as black ice? "Tiber. Do you know what this means?" He nodded, smiling. I looked to Zarrus and the others. They would take the safe route. Everfree forest lay down there, so Kismae probably wouldn't be very excited to see it. The romance would come later.

Oh and the dangers of Everfree, blah-blah-blah, who cares!

I prepared myself to jump, as did Tiber.

Zarrus was kind enough to start us off, even with the blizzard blasting into the group. "Ready!" I crouched lower. "Set!"

Aaaaaaaaaand...

"Go!" Tiber and I jumped forward into the snow, sliding down at unknown speeds.

Rocks and trees sped past. I occasionally shifted my position to move away from an obstacle. If Tiber or I hit one of those, we'd both be toast.

The whole thing was exhilarating, but it was just the same thing lasting for five to ten minutes, so, sadly, it would be boring to explain every detail. It would definitely take a while for our friends to get down.

The blizzard passed through us like a curtain, suddenly stopping, and there was only left over snow. The ground soon came to dirt.

When we reached the bottom, I hadn't thought about a few things, and nor had Tiber.

One: Our ears have adjusted to pressure, and now it was almost impossible to hear.

Two: How am I supposed to slow down? You would think, Oh, just use your wings! That's what Tiber thought of. He slowed down fine. So... what about me?

Plan: When I reached the bottom, tuck and roll.

That actually worked fine. I felt only the pain of sudden direction change. But someone had to put a forest in my way.

Note to self: Never roll into trees at the speed of sound. It hurts.