It doesn't take long to gather some items and soon we are galloping through the trees again.
Except this time it's as a team.
My fur puffs out thinking of that long run back and how much more terrifying it was when she lay limp against me, even though I had been pleading with her to be quiet.
I'd much rather be in our caveteddy bearing, but I think what's eating at Ree will just get worse from inaction.
I take a detour to check on the clearing Szhe'ka said he would return to. There's no sign of anyone there or evidence he has returned. I don't share this with Ree just yet.
Right now she needs good news.
I veer back toward the ridgeline, picking back up the trail of the male I detected earlier. He smells like exotic spices and something acrid, neither of which reveal anything much about his species or temperament, of course, but it's a pleasant scent that I hope translates to an equally pleasant ally.
He must be a quick one because we run longer than I expect, pushing farther into the mountains than ever before.
"Climb," Ree tells me and I don't hesitate to follow her order, though I don't hear or smell anything to prompt it.
I shift her around and start my hopping process to not leave any trace, but she interrupts me.
"No. Fast."
My throat constricts as I tear my claws into the tree, my tail whipping out to keep us balanced.
"What is it?"
She tenses in my arms, making the small sound of pain I recognize as a language shift. As I settle her against the trunk of a tree, caging her with my body so she is protected, I can see her throat and mouth moving, but I can't hear anything.
"Ree?"
She shakes her head at me, her eyes wide, and continues to move her mouth. She keeps talking in a language I can't hear, her body getting more and more tense.
"What's going on?"
Her mouth just keeps moving faster, and she tunes me out. A light scraping sound draws my attention and my ears sweep behind me. Then a branch snaps, this time even closer.
His heavy spice scent is dominant now, permeating the air. There's another snap and I open my mouth to demand answers, but she speaks before I can.
"He's coming to kill me."
I snarl and all of my claws extend. "Are you sure?"
"Yes."
There's no doubt in her voice. The sound of claws tearing into the bark below us startles me. How did he get close so fast without me hearing him?
I make sure she is secure and scramble down the tree to meet him head on.
I barely get down past the branch she is clinging to when I run into the male. He is covered in thick white fur, most of it stained with gore that I still can't smell over his heady scent.
I don't react in time to avoid the raking claws that swipe across my chest and down one arm.
I let out a groan and swing my tail around.
He flattens himself against the tree and I miss. It pulls me out of balance just enough that when he scrambles up higher and rams into me I'm not able to dig deeper into the bark of the tree to keep myself from losing my grip.
Headfirst was never an ideal way to climb down, and this is why. Instead of trying to cling to the tree I throw out one arm and dig my claws into the fur of the male.
He can't get to her, even for a moment.
