define('WP_CACHE', true); {"id":303,"date":"2014-03-24T03:00:03","date_gmt":"2014-03-24T11:00:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/crossed-paths.com\/logs\/?p=303"},"modified":"2014-01-31T22:16:42","modified_gmt":"2014-02-01T06:16:42","slug":"chapter-44-willows","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/crossed-paths.com\/logs\/archives\/303","title":{"rendered":"Chapter 44: Willows"},"content":{"rendered":"

Chapter 44: Willows<\/b><\/em><\/p>\n

In Which\u00c2\u00a0Jozra Blazes A Trail.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u201d\u00e2\u20ac\u201d\u00e2\u20ac\u201d\u00e2\u20ac\u201d\u00e2\u20ac\u201d\u00e2\u20ac\u201d\u00e2\u20ac\u201d\u00e2\u20ac\u201d\u00e2\u20ac\u201d\u00e2\u20ac\u201d\u00e2\u20ac\u201d\u00e2\u20ac\u201d\u00e2\u20ac\u201d\u00e2\u20ac\u201d\u00e2\u20ac\u201d\u00e2\u20ac\u201d\u00e2\u20ac\u201d\u00e2\u20ac\u201d\u00e2\u20ac\u201d\u00e2\u20ac\u201d\u00e2\u20ac\u201d\u00e2\u20ac\u201d\u00e2\u20ac\u201d\u00e2\u20ac\u201d\u00e2\u20ac\u201d\u00e2\u20ac\u201d\u00e2\u20ac\u201d\u00e2\u20ac\u201d\u00e2\u20ac\u201d\u00e2\u20ac\u201d\u00e2\u20ac\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Yazeth: A thick stand of willows borders the river and quite soon the pair is upon them.\u00c2\u00a0 The ferret leads a couple of false starts through the dense, whippy stalks before backing out and unsheathing her long knife. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Enough of this.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d She wields the knife like a machete and begins to clear a path through to the river bank.<\/p>\n

Arrin Woodgreen: He follows slowly, keeping within reaching distance of the ferret.<\/p>\n

Yazeth: Jozra hacks through the willows for a while before her arm tires. Her stomach growls, reminding her that noon has come and gone an hour ago and that there’s not much to eat.<\/p>\n

Arrin Woodgreen: He calls up ahead to her. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153How’s it coming along?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

Yazeth: The ferret shakes her head. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Tiring! And it’s well past time for lunch.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

Arrin Woodgreen: He nods. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153We’ll stop once we get through.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

Yazeth: Jozra wipes her brow of both sweat and rainwater. Stretching the kinks out of her neck and shoulder, she hefts her knife again and renews her attack on the willows.<\/p>\n

Arrin Woodgreen: He follows behind still, moving aside foliage as they move through the brush.<\/p>\n

Yazeth: She tries switching paws once or twice only to find the practice quite dangerous.\u00c2\u00a0 Her left side isn’t nearly skilled enough with the long blade to cut through such dense foliage and in the end her dominant side does most of the work. Her breaks soon become longer and more frequent as her muscles tire.<\/p>\n

Arrin Woodgreen: He places a paw on her shoulder. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Why don’t we stop for lunch?\u00c2\u00a0 You need a rest, I can tell.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

Yazeth: The ferret nods wearily and sheaths her knife. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Sounds like the best idea I’ve heard all day.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

Arrin Woodgreen: Soquan grins and settles down right on their impromptu path. He digs through his pack, looking for a water canteen.<\/p>\n

Yazeth: Jozra sits in a heap, wiping the sweat and rain from her eyes again. She pokes through her pack, though she has little hope of finding anything beyond some soggy bread.<\/p>\n

Arrin Woodgreen: He pulls out the water and takes a drink before handing it to her.<\/p>\n

Yazeth: The ferret thanks Soquan as she takes the canteen and drinks thirstily from it.\u00c2\u00a0 She wipes her mouth and hands the canteen back before renewing her search for some lunch in their packs.<\/p>\n

Arrin Woodgreen: He too starts a search for something edible in his pack and gives a happy laugh as he pulls out some slightly soggy fish.<\/p>\n

Yazeth: Jozra grins. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Well, it came from the water in the first place, right?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

Arrin Woodgreen: He laughs. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153True, true.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d He breaks the small portion in half, passing the bigger piece to her.<\/p>\n

Yazeth: Too hungry and tired to notice the kindness, the ferret takes the piece and wolfs it down, rather belatedly thanking the otter.<\/p>\n

Arrin Woodgreen: He chuckles at the ferret and wolfs down his own piece. After swallowing, he offers her the canteen again. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Thirsty still?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

Yazeth: The ferret nods. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Yes!\u00e2\u20ac\u009d She grins at the otter as she takes the canteen again and slakes her thirst. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Thanks.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

Arrin Woodgreen: He laughs. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Anytime.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d He rises. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Rested enough then?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

Yazeth: The ferret takes a deep breath before hauling herself to her feet. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Yeah.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

Arrin Woodgreen: He helps her up, heaving her to her feet with a grin. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Up we go!\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

Yazeth: Jozra grins. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Thanks.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d She pauses for a moment, reorienting herself. She stoops to heft her pack and then pulls her knife and begins again her attack on the willows.<\/p>\n

Arrin Woodgreen: He picks up his pack as he hears her begin on the willows, he readies himself to move debris out of the way.<\/p>\n

Yazeth: One of the willow wands slaps back and smacks the ferret good on the ear. She raises a paw to her stinging ear and snarls at the offending branch but continues on her way, hacking through the brush.<\/p>\n

Arrin Woodgreen: He calls up to her. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Are you okay?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

Yazeth: The ferret nods grudgingly. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Yeah. The willows just decided to hit back.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

Arrin Woodgreen: He laughs. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Give ’em a few swipes for me then.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

Yazeth: Jozra grins at that and gives a couple of jaunty slashes at the willows. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I’ll make sure I do!\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

Arrin Woodgreen: He continues to laugh, lagging behind the ferret a bit.<\/p>\n

Yazeth: Jozra finally settles again into the rhythm of slicing through the brush. Soon the sound of running water overwhelms the sound of rain fall.<\/p>\n

Arrin Woodgreen: He follows, still from a distance. He hums slightly to himself as they move along.<\/p>\n

Yazeth: Slice, step, backswing, slice, step, backswing, slice, step… The ferret lunges backwards in surprise as her foot steps into empty air. She backpedals and grabs wildly for purchase to no avail. The rain has made the embankment too muddy for any traction and the willows, which were so dense before, are now too sparse to give her a handhold.\u00c2\u00a0 Jozra yelps in surprise as she plunges over the edge.<\/p>\n

Arrin Woodgreen: He darts forward at her yelp and he lunges, grasping for her.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Chapter 44: Willows In Which\u00c2\u00a0Jozra Blazes A Trail. \u00e2\u20ac\u201d\u00e2\u20ac\u201d\u00e2\u20ac\u201d\u00e2\u20ac\u201d\u00e2\u20ac\u201d\u00e2\u20ac\u201d\u00e2\u20ac\u201d\u00e2\u20ac\u201d\u00e2\u20ac\u201d\u00e2\u20ac\u201d\u00e2\u20ac\u201d\u00e2\u20ac\u201d\u00e2\u20ac\u201d\u00e2\u20ac\u201d\u00e2\u20ac\u201d\u00e2\u20ac\u201d\u00e2\u20ac\u201d\u00e2\u20ac\u201d\u00e2\u20ac\u201d\u00e2\u20ac\u201d\u00e2\u20ac\u201d\u00e2\u20ac\u201d\u00e2\u20ac\u201d\u00e2\u20ac\u201d\u00e2\u20ac\u201d\u00e2\u20ac\u201d\u00e2\u20ac\u201d\u00e2\u20ac\u201d\u00e2\u20ac\u201d\u00e2\u20ac\u201d\u00e2\u20ac\u201d Yazeth: A thick stand of willows borders the river and quite soon the pair is upon them.\u00c2\u00a0 The ferret leads a couple of false starts through the dense, whippy stalks before backing out and unsheathing her long knife. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Enough of this.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d She wields the knife like … <\/p>\n