22. Stone and Moon in the Drylands

This is a missing scene from The Harbors of the Sun, but there aren't any spoilers.

     Moon hated it out of all proportion whenever Stone got hurt.  Even when it was an injury that he knew Stone would shake off within hours.  But it still made something deep inside him shake and panic like a fledgling.

     He didn't want to leave Stone alone while he checked out the potential shelter in the crevices above the river, so he carried him over to the mouth of the widest opening.  Stone leaned against the wall, hissing to himself, as Moon climbed further in and found the narrow space free of predators,and mostly clean except for some old dried debris left behind by the last flood.

     Moon helped Stone inside, got snarled at for it, snarled back, then went to get some food.

     He hopped down to the rocks above the water.  The river cut through the gorge, tumbled boulders forming small pools and waterfalls among the rush of water.  Moon took a sharp breath, hoping the clean scent of wet rock and aerated water would clear his head.  It didn't help.  He knew it wasn't Stone's injury that was causing this bundle of panic in his chest, it was Sorrow's death. The image of that moment, storm clouds overhead, too dark to see through the thick vegetation, was so vivid even the bright reality of the sun on the rushing water couldn't banish it. 

     Moon snarled at himself and dove into the pool below, caught four large fish and a couple of unwary lizards, and carried them back up to the mouth of their shelter.

     Stone was sitting up against the wall when Moon dumped his catch in front of him. After two fish and a lizard, Stone asked, "Aren't you going to eat?"

     "No."  Sitting at the mouth of the crevice, Moon shifted to his groundling form.  He wasn't dry yet, and the water from his scales settled on his skin and clothes,but the cool breeze off the water lifted the heat away from his skin. His stomach felt sour and he didn't think he could eat now. "I'll get something later."

      It wasn't as if he didn't know what the problem was.  He was out here, far from any inhabited place, groundling or otherwise, and the only person with him had been attacked and injured by predators.

     Stone had a dislocated shoulder joint that had already been popped back into place and would be better by morning, he hadn't been ripped apart.  It wasn't anything like the night Sorrow and Moon's Arbora siblings had been killed.  But part of Moon was absolutely sure it was.  It reminded him painfully of what Stone had said about Malachite, that for her the attack on Opal Night's colony had happened yesterday, was still happening. He didn't want to be like that, but apparently it wasn't a choice you were able to make.

     Stone demanded, "What's wrong with you?"

     Moon went still for an instant.  He hadn't thought it was obvious.  He covered by throwing Stone a glare.  "I was just attacked by kethel and dakti?  That's not a good enough reason for you?"

     Stone watched him narrowly.  "Maybe."

     It wasn't like Moon hadn't thought about it before.  Every thunderstorm, even if it didn't bring back the vivid images, brought back that feeling.  He knew it would fade.  It always had before.

     Maybe the problem was that he hadn't been this isolated for so long since Stone had first found him with the Cordans.  Maybe part of his brain believed this was it now, that they would never make it back home.

     Moon let out his breath in a hiss and reminded himself that Jade and the others couldn't be that far behind them,that they must have picked up the trail. That if something happened and Stone couldn't fly, Moon could still find the Reaches from here, and get them both back there, even if it would be along, exhausting journey.

     Though probably not as long as it had been for the survivors of Opal Night, making their way back from the Abascene Peninsula to the Reaches.

     Behind him, Stone moved, dislodging some pebbles, and hissed with pain.  He said, "Come here."

     Moon glanced back.  "What's wrong?"

     Stone grimaced.  "What do you think?  Just come here."

     Worried, Moon pushed upright and stepped over the scatter of bones and fish scales, then crouched next to Stone.  "What is it?"  A dislocated joint was painful, but should be fine once the swelling had gone down. Moon had had enough of them himself to know.

     "Just sit here."  With his good hand, Stone motioned for Moon to sit next to him.  Moon moved around to comply, and sat on the damp rock next to Stone. Stone leaned on him.  "That's better.  Now stay like that."

     That was better.  So much better Moon felt something inside his chest unclench.  He let his breath out, settled next to Stone, and told himself everything was going to be all right.  Maybe he even believed it.