Old Wounds, New Strengths [Archive]

[DragonSong]

Tara snorted, but didn't try to rebuff him. "Alright. C'mon, let's just keep moving, yeah?"

[Marakai Trin]

Marakai snorted a bit. "Let's see you say that when were climbing." He gave a bit of a chuckle, and picked up the pace.

Steadily, the muddy ground gave way to littered stones and cast off boulders as they grew closer to the mountains. Marakai walked right up to a sheer wall of stone, glancing back and forth for the best way to continue.

"I may have to cut handholds for you."

[DragonSong]

Tara huffed pitba sharp breath and mumbled, "You've gotta be fucking kidding me."

Louder, she said, "Isn't there a footpath or something? Even a game trail?"

[Marakai Trin]

"No point in mumbling under your breath - I can still hear you. And I imagine that yes, there probably is. If you want to stumble about in the rain and waste perhaps hours looking for one, be my guest."

He turned and regarded her with a flat stare. "Otherwise, I have an idea, if you don't mind hanging on to my neck. I can climb this - all you have to do is hang on."

[DragonSong]

She screwed her nose up, eyeing him warily. "You sure? You're not gonna drop me or anything?"

[Marakai Trin]

"On purpose? Never. Trust me, if I wanted you dead, you would be. Accidentally depends on your ability to hold on."

He turned back to the mountain, and brought his sword to bear. With a hard thrust, he buried it's entirety into the stone, high enough just for him to reach with a stretch. He pulled it out, leaving a hole. Then, a couple feet to the side of the first, he did it again, and left the sword there.

"Come on, wrap your around my neck and hold on. Just don't choke me, or we'll both be falling."

[DragonSong]

"Ohhhkaaay..." Very carefully, she stepped up and wrapped her arms around him, doing her best not to cling so tightly she'd cut of his air. Her legs dangled awkwardly and she shifted, uncomfortable, before finally muttering a curse and wrapping them around his waist.

[Marakai Trin]

Marakai turned his attention back to the mountain. "Hang on tight. If you need to adjust, let me know and I'll stop moving."

He raised his free hand to the open hole, pulling his sword out of the wall with the other. Then, he hefted himself upward to stab into the mountain again, immediately pulling the sword out only to stab again to the side. Holding onto the sword, he pulled himself and Tara - as if combined they weighed next to nothing - up to reprat the process.

After a few minutes if this - and thoroughly destroying the cliff face - they neared a ledge. Marakai shoved his sword partway into the stone, blade horizonal and sticking out a couple feet.

"Here - climb to the blade if you can. It's flat and wide, you should be able to stand on it. Then get up to the ledge."

[DragonSong]

All the color drained from her face. "You want me to do what?!" she whisper-shrieked, staring up at the blade.

She couldn't even force herself to let go of him, she hadn't looked down the whole climb- how in hell was she supposed to climb onto a damned sword?!

[Marakai Trin]

Marakai sighed. "Hook your foot onto my belt, grab the top of my head, and climb to my sword. If you've ever stood on a chair, you can do this. The damn sword is wider than you are."

[DragonSong]

Tara was shaking now, clinging to him even tighter. "I- I can't." Her voice was high and scared and she hated it. "I c-can't let go..."

[Marakai Trin]

"....You know, if you can't handle this, flying by dragonback will be impossible. Listen. I won't let you fall. I promise. As soon as you raise your leg, I'll grab it. And believe me, if you fall, I'll keep my grip - you weigh almost nothing. You'll be fine."

He shifted his grip on his sword. "I won't let anything happen to you. But if I try to get on the ledge with you on my back, you may fall. And I won't be able to catch you. You've got to do this."

[DragonSong]

Stomach tight, Tara forced herself to give a sharp, jerky nod. Breathing shallow, she hesitantly shifted to raise her leg to hook her foot on his belt, her hand bracing to up toward the blade and her whole body shaking slightly.

Her eyes flickered down and she froze, seeing the drop spin away beneath her. "I can't!" she shrieked, voice high and panicky.

[Marakai Trin]

Marakai grunted. "Fine...hold on as tight as you can. This is...going to get a little rough."

[DragonSong]

With a squeak she ducked back down to clung to him again, arms tight across his chest and ankles hooked together around his waist. She hid her face against his shoulder, sheer panic overriding any sense of embarrassment.

[Marakai Trin]

Marakai began swinging back and forth, kicking his legs out to gain extra momentum. With a grunt, he twisted to the side, ripping his blade out of the mountain and suddenly they were up in the air, twisting in a spiral.

Marakai came down hard on his feet, landing successfully on the ledge, and immediately detached Tara from his back. He turned to the hysterical woman, and encircled her in broad arms, his sword left on the ground.

"It's alright - we're on solid ground. Calm down, you're okay. I told you I wouldn't let you fall - I meant it."

[DragonSong]

Tara gave a short, sharp scream as they suddenly went airborne, then her voice died and her vision spiraled.

She wasn't fully conscious of what was happening until she was standing on the ledge, Marakai's arms around her. Shaking violently, she clung to him desperately, choking back terrified sobs.

By the time she had enough presence of mind to realize what she was doing, she let go of him as though the touch burned. "I- I'm fine," she mumbled, sounding really anything but.

[Marakai Trin]

Marakai stepped back as well, giving her the space that she seemed to want. He'd noticed the scream before they'd landed, heard and felt her shaky sobs when he'd attempted to comfort her. But apparently, this woman wasn't one who appreciated sympathy.

He shrugged. "If you say so." He glanced back and forth, and his eyes widened. "I think we may have found your game trail, though. So no more climbing, at least for now. We've the luxury of walking in the rain, now." He gave a smirk, and brushed past her to continue on the psrg, picking up his sword as he sent.

[DragonSong]

Tara took a few more breaths to get herself under control and started after him, paler than normal and very pointedly not looking over the side of the ledge.

"Can you tell how far it is to the top?"

[Marakai Trin]

Marakai shook his head. "No, but we needn't get to the top - merely the other side. If we can find an area wide enough, I can transform, and we can take off from there."

He turned his head, looking over his shoulder at her. "...are you going to be okay with flying? It's actually much safer than the climb was, I promise."