but they couldn’t afford to send him ahead. It would take both of them to bring down this deathless.
She could simply have ridden his shadow, but it was still a new power and she wasn’t sure how quickly she could emerge or what potential counter attacks that might expose her to. Given how little they new about this Irakesh playing it safe was the only sensible move. It still sucked. Even if that weren’t true, blurring took a lot out of Blair. What good would catching this guy do if they were too weak to take him down when they got there? She wasn't positive he'd healed entirely from his earlier confrontation with the deathless, in any case.
Blair landed on a neighboring outcrop, dropping into a crouch to stabilize himself. He was majestic somehow, with his silver fur and amber eyes. He glanced in her direction. “I never dreamed we’d be able to do something like this. We just scaled an entire cliff face in less than a minute. Sometimes it still catches me off guard.”
She couldn’t help but smile. Despite everything they’d been through he’d somehow retained his enthusiasm, something she needed desperately right now. Everything was going wrong, but there he was in the middle of it keeping despair at bay.
“It still blows me away,” Liz admitted, turning to the moonlit trail threading its way north. She started loping in that direction at a ground - eating pace. Blair fell into step beside her. She glanced at him. “I think what gets me most is not knowing everything we can do. I feel like there are so many surprises still ahead of us. Especially if we’re really going to live for thousands of years.”
“I know what you mean,” he replied, leaping over a fallen tree. “When we first saw Ahiga he’d transformed into a wolf. What else could he do? I feel like we haven’t even scratched the surface. I was hoping the Mother would teach us, but…”
“But she’s too focused on saving the world to give two shits about us?” Liz finished, a deep rumbling laugh welling up from her chest. It felt good.
“Unfortunately,” Blair conceded, shaking his head. “I get the sense that she expected Ahiga to prepare me and with him gone, she doesn’t have a contingency plan. Which leaves me on my own. At least she treats your opinion with something approaching respect. A little less for Bridget and Cyntia, but still more than she gives Jordan or I.”
“Her whole culture centered around the divide between the sexes,” Liz replied, bounding over a rise. A wide valley stretched below her. The trail led that direction, toward a ramshackle town nestled in the valley’s farthest corner. “I have to admit I do like that they were a matriarchy, and it’s kind of nice being the stronger sex for once. But it’s also interesting seeing her casually dismiss you as useless. I half expect her to tell you to get in the kitchen and make her a sandwich.”
“You know I’d get in there and make it,” Blair replied, grinning wolfishly as he started down the trail into the valley. The wind surged for a moment, then faded to a low keen as they descended the ridge. “I’m actually okay with the way she treats us. I’m sure our culture must baffle her just as much as hers confuses us. Besides, shaping is pretty amazing and I never really cared about being bigger and stronger. I think men made out all right in this deal.”
“Yeah, I’m pretty happy with my end of of it, too. Makes you wonder where the deathless come down on split powers. From the little the Mother’s told us, they came first,” Liz said, sending up a cloud of dust as she slid down the trail. “If that’s true, then they were the prototype for this virus. She may have modified it based on what she’d learned with the deathless. The culture she built here must have come later, along with the werewolves.”
“That would make sense,” Blair allowed, dropping thirty feet to the next switchback. She leapt after, landing in a crouch next to him.
She could simply have ridden his shadow, but it was still a new power and she wasn’t sure how quickly she could emerge or what potential counter attacks that might expose her to. Given how little they new about this Irakesh playing it safe was the only sensible move. It still sucked. Even if that weren’t true, blurring took a lot out of Blair. What good would catching this guy do if they were too weak to take him down when they got there? She wasn't positive he'd healed entirely from his earlier confrontation with the deathless, in any case.
Blair landed on a neighboring outcrop, dropping into a crouch to stabilize himself. He was majestic somehow, with his silver fur and amber eyes. He glanced in her direction. “I never dreamed we’d be able to do something like this. We just scaled an entire cliff face in less than a minute. Sometimes it still catches me off guard.”
She couldn’t help but smile. Despite everything they’d been through he’d somehow retained his enthusiasm, something she needed desperately right now. Everything was going wrong, but there he was in the middle of it keeping despair at bay.
“It still blows me away,” Liz admitted, turning to the moonlit trail threading its way north. She started loping in that direction at a ground - eating pace. Blair fell into step beside her. She glanced at him. “I think what gets me most is not knowing everything we can do. I feel like there are so many surprises still ahead of us. Especially if we’re really going to live for thousands of years.”
“I know what you mean,” he replied, leaping over a fallen tree. “When we first saw Ahiga he’d transformed into a wolf. What else could he do? I feel like we haven’t even scratched the surface. I was hoping the Mother would teach us, but…”
“But she’s too focused on saving the world to give two shits about us?” Liz finished, a deep rumbling laugh welling up from her chest. It felt good.
“Unfortunately,” Blair conceded, shaking his head. “I get the sense that she expected Ahiga to prepare me and with him gone, she doesn’t have a contingency plan. Which leaves me on my own. At least she treats your opinion with something approaching respect. A little less for Bridget and Cyntia, but still more than she gives Jordan or I.”
“Her whole culture centered around the divide between the sexes,” Liz replied, bounding over a rise. A wide valley stretched below her. The trail led that direction, toward a ramshackle town nestled in the valley’s farthest corner. “I have to admit I do like that they were a matriarchy, and it’s kind of nice being the stronger sex for once. But it’s also interesting seeing her casually dismiss you as useless. I half expect her to tell you to get in the kitchen and make her a sandwich.”
“You know I’d get in there and make it,” Blair replied, grinning wolfishly as he started down the trail into the valley. The wind surged for a moment, then faded to a low keen as they descended the ridge. “I’m actually okay with the way she treats us. I’m sure our culture must baffle her just as much as hers confuses us. Besides, shaping is pretty amazing and I never really cared about being bigger and stronger. I think men made out all right in this deal.”
“Yeah, I’m pretty happy with my end of of it, too. Makes you wonder where the deathless come down on split powers. From the little the Mother’s told us, they came first,” Liz said, sending up a cloud of dust as she slid down the trail. “If that’s true, then they were the prototype for this virus. She may have modified it based on what she’d learned with the deathless. The culture she built here must have come later, along with the werewolves.”
“That would make sense,” Blair allowed, dropping thirty feet to the next switchback. She leapt after, landing in a crouch next to him.
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