Quinn was heading south.
He was running at an exceptional pace, treading heavily on the ground as he ran. His backpack was tied up well, so it would not bounce and twist as he ran. The unrelenting speed he held was mirrored in the determined look present in his eyes. He needed to go to one of the spires quickly, seeing as he was -- all puns aside -- running out of time.
A little winged being followed shortly behind, keeping up with no apparent problem. But then, flying had always been the quickest way of getting anywhere. And Nina did not want to leave her friend in this latest crisis of his.
"Are you sure this is a smart thing to do?" she asked, a worried tone creeping into her voice.
"No, it is a desperate and stupid thing to do. But it's the only thing I can do right now. Going to Meribia and around to Tomari would take too long. A lot more, seeing as the everlasting night has begun. The snow covered area in the northern mountains is far too dangerous to cross now. We wouldn't see where we were going, and would more than likely walk right over a cliff and fall to our deaths. Well, I would, anyway," he answered, not slowing down one bit. "I'm just happy it's not springtime right now. If that was the case, it wouldn't be possible to cross the river at all."
"But..." Nina tried to protest, but Quinn cut her off.
"I'm sorry, Nina, but I see no other options. Believe me when I say that I'm no more happy about it than you are."
"Are you sure you can't take the bridge farther south? It's still there, you know."
"Yes, but it's a three days detour at least, our current travelling speed taken into consideration. And we have no idea how long crossing the Forest of Illusion is going to take us. We have to cut corners in any way that we can, and this is unfortunately one of them."
She just sighed. "Okay..." she said sullenly. After that, neither of them spoke for a while.
Quinn felt a bit bad about that. They had ended their visit in Vane rather abruptly, barely taken the time to report their departure before leaving. Quinn had obviously taken the message from the ghost of Ghaleon rather seriously. And he had talked a little with Nina about it. She had insisted on accompanying him, reasoning with him that she knew where the spires' locations were, and that it would save him a lot of time.
Time he probably didn't have.
Quinn, while hesitant about it at first, agreed to it after a while. Mostly because Nina put her paw down and put a determined look in her face which would have made her mother proud. She would not abandon him now when he really needed help. Help she could for once give, even in her present form.
His thoughts returned to the present.
He would have to think of a way to get his things across. He did not have the time to build a raft, and he seriously doubted that he could swim with the sack tied to his back. Even when he tossed out the things he didn't need and things he could buy in Nota when he arrived there.
He also debated with himself on whether he should drop by at home, if nothing else than to see his grandparents as he passed by. But that would have to be put aside for now.
He continued his trip, not slowing down at all.
Three days later at an insane pace, Quinn and Nina had reached the point where they saw the southern peak of the mountain range. Nina had gone ahead to scout about two hours earlier, and by now Quinn could see her in the distance. He altered his direction to meet her.
"So... how did it look?"
Nina just looked at Quinn, having just returned from her scouting trip to the river. Seeing the southern peak of the mountain range, she had left ahead to check out the river for the best place to cross and to trace the best course to it. She didn't look particularly optimistic about it, though.
"I just don't know, Quinn..." she said, heaving a heavy sigh. "It looks calm enough, but it was also pretty large today. A bit strange, seeing as it rarely is this large during autumn and all. I don't like it."
Quinn sighed. "Well, it can't be helped. I need to get over to the plains, and fast. I guess I'll just have to take my chances."
Nina didn't say anything, but she still had her disapproving look.
"Can you carry much weight when flying?"
The question came right out of the blue, and Nina missed some of it.
"Can I carry what?"
"Weight. The amount, I mean."
"Oh... I don't know." She looked a bit puzzled. "How come?"
"I was just wondering if you could carry some of the stuff over the river. Mainly the stuff that doesn't deal well with water."
"I guess... I can try, anyway, when we get to the river."
With no more to be said, Nina led Quinn east towards the river.
Arriving aside the river, Quinn could see that Nina had not been exaggerating in the least. The river ran quietly straight along its path, curiously straight despite the flat lands it crossed.
And it was huge.
The water had moved far beyond the rocky surface of the regular shore, making it all the way to the grass and the occasional trees a bit further away. The current, despite the calm surface, was rather heavy. It was pretty much evident that Quinn would be moving quite some distance downwards before making it ashore.
"It was a good thing that we came this far up the river. I wish I could tell you exactly where I'll be touching ground on the other side, but with this current..." he trailed off.
"What do you mean?"
Quinn didn't answer directly, but he went over to a tree and removed a small twig from the lower branches. Upon returning, he threw it into the river. As Nina watched it accelerate into a modest speed down towards the sea, she stared in sudden realization.
"I... see."
"And that's just the surface stream. The stream below is most likely a lot stronger. Anyway..." Quinn answered, dislodging his backpack. "...Better get started."
And with that, he promptly emptied his pack, setting aside the things that didn't endure mixing with water, packing them in sturdy leather bags for Nina to be able to utilize her claws in carrying them over. Finishing that, he grabbed an old log from a long dead tree to use for a flotation device for the sack. Removing his outer traveling clothes and putting them in the sack in case he did get it over without getting it wet, he dragged it into the river, immediately feeling the force of the stream pulling it southwards.
"Well then... here goes."
"Please be careful," Nina said before turning to the task set out for her.
Quinn nodded and turned towards the river. It was now or never.
And he pushed off.
Things were quickly going from bad to worse.
Quinn knew that once he got farther out into the middle of the river, the stream would pull much harder downwards. He didn't anticipate that the stream would be that much stronger deeper down, though. And because of that he was being turned backwards, and had to struggle to turn the log towards the other side as well as swim like crazy just to move in that direction at all. It was a relief that the log didn't rotate, thus dumping his sack into the water. The added weight of a wet sack was something he certainly didn't need right now.
And he still had to reach even the center of the river.
Tapping yet again into his rapidly dwindling reservoir of strength, he kicked off, twisting the log yet again more towards the other side. By then he could see Nina was returning, having already discarded her cargo and returning for more. As she passed by, Quinn noticed the look she gave him. It was not exactly what Quinn would regard as a good sign.
But he continued on.
It took him a long time to pass the center of the stream, and by now he was starting to lose seriously out to the river itself, almost to the point of going more downwards than across. Nina, having delivered her last package, had returned to the struggling Quinn. He wasn't very far from the shore, but he was obviously very exhausted from the efforts and shivering from the cold, as he was starting to take longer and longer breaks from the swimming to gather his breath. Seeing that, Nina flew to the front of the log and dug her claws as far as she could into the wood. Then, she started 'steering' the log, adding a little pull to it. Doing that, she quickly found out how powerful the stream was as she was yanked downwards. Although far from tired yet, she just gave it all she had.
And it helped.
Quinn saw her land behind the sack, and felt it on the log. Sensing the slight pull towards the shore, and hearing the sound of wings flapping, he easily understood what she was trying to do. Having to use less strength to steer the log, he was able to put more into getting ashore. Finally, being close enough to find solid footing on the bottom of the river floor, he waded towards the shore, dragging the log behind him. It was a good thing she did, too, as Quinn looked ready to drop on the spot. As he was pulling the log onto dry land, he was gasping and coughing so hard, it made Nina wonder whether he was having another seizure.
But he had made it. Nina could hardly believe it, but he had actually made it across the biggest known river on Lunar.
The campfire was crackling nicely, illuminating the area surrounding the makeshift camp. It was a view Nina knew well as a result of the extensive traveling the past few weeks. And it felt heartwarmingly familiar by now.
Quinn had, after a hasty change of clothes and hanging the wet ones up to dry by the fire, sat down to rest and get some warmth into himself. The crossing had been a strenuous affair, not to mention a cold one. But then, the water in the river came all the way from the upper mountains, right from the coldest area in all of Lunar.
After putting up the tent, he had sat himself in lotus position in front of the fire and started working on his sword. Nina had seen him do that just once before, so she didn't quite know what to make of it. He hadn't been using it at all since the last time she saw him work on it. In fact, the only time she knew he had used it, was when he had saved her life. So why he felt the need to work on it now... But he had his reasons, she guessed, and besides, it wasn't that which worried her.
It was the silence.
He didn't speak a lot, that was true. But he rarely kept quiet for very long, and rarely ever when they camped. Or at least not when he knew she was awake. He would always ask her small questions or just talk to her about small things, or even just mumble on occasion. But now he was just sitting there staring at the sword... or the flames. Nina didn't really know. In any case, she couldn't stand more of the silence, so she padded over to Quinn and put her paw on his knee.
"Are you all right, Quinn? It's not like you to be this silent." She gave him a concerned look as he turned towards her.
"Yes, I'm fine." He went silent for a while, but then added: "And thank you for your help."
Help? What did he mean by that?
"What? The river? Oh," she laughed a little, nervous laugh, "I didn't do that much. Don't mention it."
"Actually, it helped quite a bit, but that's not quite what I meant."
"I don't understand."
Quinn went a bit silent again, obviously struggling with something that was on his mind. Nina was about to say something, but then he turned back and looked her straight in the eyes. And that look... it made her completely forget what she wanted to say in the first place.
"I was... about to give up, Nina." He turned away for a second, but continued, "I was so tired, and I started thinking that I would never make it, that the shore was just too far away. I could almost feel my leg start cramping up, and then I really started doubting my ability to get on with this journey. Even more so when I saw how easily the river just dragged me further down towards the sea."
Nina couldn't answer. She just sat there and stared in horror. Quinn just continued.
"It was when I saw you dive down and started yanking on the log that I... well, snapped out of it." He smiled a bit at that, but didn't stop. "So, you see, it was much more than just the weight you pulled on the log."
He picked her up, and placed her on the sack to get her more to an eye to eye level.
"I've noticed sometimes, mostly when we set camp or I do some small tasks that needs to be done, the guilty and embarrassed look you get on your face. I'm guessing it is because you feel useless or at least not very helpful to me, right?"
He paused a bit to judge Nina's reaction. She looked ready to protest, but it was quickly silenced when she noticed the look he gave her.
"You do a lot more for me than you realize. I often wonder what my journey would be like without you as company. Travelling alone can be very hard on a person, never mind in my situation right now. Your eagerness and optimism as well as your fiery spirit is doing wonders for my mood as well as my determination. It almost makes the paltry physical tasks I do on our journey seem rather insufficient in comparison. Next time you feel like you can't do anything for me, Nina, please remember what I just said, okay?"
"But you saved my life too. You walked without rest for almost three days."
"Yes, I did that. At the time, I just wanted to rescue a dragon's life. And I was happy when I managed to do so, if nothing else, to give the dragon tribe a better chance of survival. But now... Nina, I've been travelling with you for many weeks, and I'd like to think I know you to some extent, not you as a dragon, but as yourself. I'd like to think that I'm your friend, as I consider you to be mine. And it's a friendship I value just as much as Roine and Julia's, even though I've only known you for a couple of weeks. I'd also like to think that that's why we shouldn't worry about who owes who what life and what else, because friends don't do that sort of thing. And if... no, when I get to the Blue Star and this illness business is taken care of, I'd like to continue to be your friend. And I don't mean just acquaintance, but friend. So," he hunched down a bit, leaning slightly over in Nina's direction, "... what do you say."
The shocked silence lasted for a while, Nina's eyes and mouth wide open. But as she collected herself, she turned her head down a bit. Then, she butted her forehead into Quinn's, leaning on him as she answered.
"Of course I'd like that. I doubt I can get this feeling of being in debt to you off my shoulders that easily, but I'd like that."
And they both laughed.
Daybreak came, and with it, the usual scents and sounds of nature.
Nina had still to get her eyes open, the daylight still too bright for them, getting a stinging feeling in them as she tried. She felt the sun on her fur, and saw, albeit in a haze, that it illuminated the trees farther west with its morning light.
And she was smiling.
It was not because of the promise of good weather through the day. It was perhaps a little bit because of the talk she had with Quinn yesterday. But most of all....
.... it was because of the calm, beautiful melody she heard being played by a flute not far off.