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Stone and Wolf (Part 11)

After a while, he didn't feel anything. It was as if he was about to fall asleep on his paws. He had to look back every now and then to make sure Ilisha was still dragging behind him, for once on his way up the stairs, he dropped her. Now that he had thought about it, that about when all the pain stopped.

Lyke shuffled across the first great chamber. His eyes dared not leave the front door from whence he came, lest he lose track of where he was. He wondered as he approached it if Crag was still out here, waiting for his return, faithfully. The door was still a jar, as he left it. Silver light spilled in from the moon.

His paw lurched forward and grasped the edge of the door using more leverage than effort. He pulled himself around it and out into the moonlight. Its source greeted him and it made him wish he had the strength left to howl its praises. He whispered in a hoarse voice.

"Look. The moon is so large and so bright tonight. You've got to see it, love." Lyke entered the Stone courtyard, casting a look about for Crag. The big cat was nowhere to be seen. It doesn't matter anyway, he thought, although, I would have liked to nestle into his fur one last time to die. His numb pads worked at the stone, his claws split and useless. Soon, he was trudging down the ramp to the plains. He yearned more than anything just to fall onto the long grass. The silken blades would be their death bed.

A stiff breeze picked up in the dark, rustling the grasses for miles around. Their blades caught the light of the moon. Lyke slowed and sank to all fours as he approached the grass. He hugged Ilisha's body close to him.

"We're here... Ready?" He let himself fall with her and they rolled into the furred soil of the plains. "Oh..." It engulfed him, nearly sending him under right there. He would not go under just yet, even though he could feel himself nodding off, slipping away. Instead, he pulled Ilisha close again and turned her limp head to the sky.

"Up there. See the moon, love? It's shining right on us... It's okay if you're too weak to howl for it. I'll try for the both of us." He turned on his back with her body still pressed against his side, the violin flopping onto the grass beside him, still on its loose straps. His ears went back as he let out a strained, weak imitation of a howl. The quiet that followed was interrupted only by the wind, still rising and falling all around.

Lyke turned his muzzle to Ilisha's neck and buried it inside her fur. He was glad to feel her blood still pulsing under it. Something told him she had a better chance at survival than he did.

"I think..." He said, snuggling closer to her, making sure as much of their bodies where touching as possible. "I think I'll close my eyes for a bit now, my little moon. If I fall asleep, wake me alright?" A single tear moved from his eye and absorbed into the fur of her throat. "I'm just so tired... Good night...Love." With his last strength, he pressed his body into hers, pulling her as tight as he could. Clouds filled his mind. He began to dream a half-dream of sorts. Wolves approached from all around, their pads crunching in the grass. They were animals, not on two legs but on four like Wargs. They bore shining silver markings on their bodies. One among them was a Sabre Toothed Tiger... It was Crag. He bore no markings, but approached all the same. One wolf who wore an off white coat reached them first and passed his tongue over Ilisha's eyes. A sheen of silver was left there, much like the markings of the others. Crag growled at the wolf and lunged, driving it off. Then the cat turned to Lyke, placing his heavy paw on his head, prodding him.

"Crag...?" Lyke mumbled. "I'm dying... Leave me. It won't do any good now... I am glad you're back though... Just lay with me a while." Crag prodded him again, this time digging underneath to lift his head up. A deep, commanding voice spoke sharply in his ear as Crag's head lowered.

"Up! Get up!" Crag's head boosted Lyke by the back, forcing him to sit up. Lyke's vision faded in and out, the Wolves around them began to back away, flickering like flame. "Away with all of you!" The voice said again. "Your time is not now! Not as long as I am here!" It felt like a pair of paws seized him and placed him on Crag's back. He soon felt Ilisha's body slide in in front of him. She fell forward onto Crag's strong neck. He joined her, resting his head on her back. The world about him melted into nothing as he felt the rolling gait of Crag under him. It rocked him to sleep like a cub in a cradle. He was perfectly happy to play that part, with Ilisha's fur as his blanket and pillow.

...

Disoriented visions and thought swirled around in Lyke's unconscious. Colors flashed and blended in random patterns. Memories of past days sped by and replayed. Emotions flared and dissipated without cause. A sharp and pitiful whining sound cut through the black and Lyke opened his eyes. He was bouncing up and down on Crag's back, trotting through a forest. A mist had settled and his fur was beaded with dew. His eyes were heavy, and every muscle screamed with overuse and pulled tight. After a few moments of simply staring blankly out over the forest floor, the whining noise came again. Ilisha's body stirred under him.

"L... Lyke? Help... Help me... Lyke?" She whimpered. He raised his head off her back, his ears dripping with the morning water that had collected there.

"I'm here, love." He answered her. She heaved a sigh.

"Oh... I can't see... Love, I can't see." Lyke reached down and took her paws in his.

"It's alright. We are away from that place now. I'm right here." She gave a shudder under him like she was shivering with cold and shaking with grief.

"I... I can barely move... Help me..." He took her by her chest and brought her up to him, embracing her. Another tear welled in his eye, partially because his entire body gave a spasm and cramped with the effort of doing so.

"We are away... Everything is going to be alright now." There was silence. The heavy paw-falls of Crag crunched over the twigs and leaves of the forest. Ilisha's breath came in long gasps.

"I can... Feel... The energy in me... The magic... It burns me inside still... It moves... I'm scared..." Lyke's paws moved over her body, stroking her up and down.

"We will find out what it means. I promise. Don't worry... Just sleep for bit now." She gave another sigh and all her muscles fell slack once again.

"Play the song again, love... I want to hear our song." Lyke's fingers moved to obey. They stretched back behind him and felt the neck of the violin. He had to push to get is arm all the way back, but he grasped the wood of the instrument, stifling a grunt of pain.

"Anything for you, my little moon." His bow touched the strings and made a quavering, scraping sound, for his arms shook so much that he could not keep the bow still on the strings. His left arm burned with the effort of keeping the violin on his shoulder. He would later remember getting through the whole song as the most difficult task he had yet accomplished on his journey.

The last note faded and his arms fell useless in his lap, his head bowed forward. Ilisha had fallen asleep again. Crag continued onward. The mist was clearing now. With a brief glance to either side, Lyke determined they must be on their way back to Racalli. He didn't want to disturb Ilisha, but he risked leaning on her once more, nuzzling into her. She stirred a little, but fell still again, the pulse of her breast comforting him. He let the breath and blood in her body rock him to sleep again.