Gravity

She hung there, gripping the hilt of her blade with all her might.

If it had been just her, she would have been able to hold on, but the added weight of her companions and one of the muscle-bound Thurucalns proved to be too much.

Arm screaming, Shyana began to tremble with the effort. "We're going to fall!"

A voice called out to her from above. "Makea! Stay where you are, I'm coming down for you."

Her eyes clamped shut when, even through her pain, her pride flared. "I don't need your help! I'll figure it on my own!"

Vikas had tied his whip around the base of a tree, Zei holding on as well for extra security. The prince lowered himself down to her in slow dips. Trying to keep his footing on the steep terrain, he reached out an arm. "Come on, take my hand."

"So, you can send us plummeting to our deaths? No thank you."

Her arm began to burn, fire-laced pain shooting up and down her body in waves.

Vikas gave out an exasperated cry. "Don't be stupid! You have one of mine with you. If I let you die, he'll die. Now! Take my hand!"

The general assessed her options, trying to find some other way…any other way, but found none.

She yelled to her advisor. "Akiem, switch your grip from my arm to my waist."

"I can't hold on. Your armor won't have a grip for my fingers."

Shyana's eyes turned down to him, body trembling. "Not with your fingers. Hook your claws into me."

"But, Shy..." Akiem started.

Shyana felt her arm threatening to dislocate. "Damn it Akiem! Do it! That's an order!"

He stiffened at her voice, but closed his eyes and tapped into the beast within. It only needed to be a little bit, he could risk a little wilderness.

He felt a twisting, tingling release, focusing the change into just his fingers. The night scents filled his mind, the musky odor of the forest floor, the sweat and adrenaline of the two men hanging below him and the ever present, sweet smell, of Shyana.

His stomach growled when claws melted from his fingertips.

In a quick motion, he dug them into her armor. His grip was secure, but an intoxicating smell emerged from her slender waist and it called to the beast inside him.

Shyana gasped when the dull rolling pain from her strained muscles turned sharp at Akiem's claws.

She knew he had to hold on, but did it have to be so deep?

Turning her eyes up to Vikas, she nodded and threw up her now free arm.

He took it and yelled for Zei to start pulling them up.

The ascent was more painful with every slow inch they rose. Shyana withdrew her sword and placed it back in its sheath, before raising her other arm for Vikas to hold. This made it slightly more bearable, but the sharp, searing pain still emanated from the claws in her waist.

Akiem was trying his best to stay sane.

For some reason, Shy was calling to him in a way he had never experienced. Her body was hot under his grip, warm liquid flowing slowly down his mutated hands and dripping onto his face.

Blood.

This should have filled him with worry or concern for her wellbeing, but all he could feel was a churning, devouring need pulling at his insides. It smelt so…good — warm, rich, vibrant with her life.

In a trance, he found his mouth moving toward her side. He had to taste her.

Just then, Zei managed to pull them up to the top of the ravine and Shyana's voice rang out with pain. "All right Akiem, let go already!"

Her shout pierced the longing he had and he found his senses shooting back to him, when he relinquished his vice-like grip.

"Shyana, I'm sorry! Are you all right?"

He wanted to reach out to her, but decided against it, when she placed a pale hand on her waist and it came back red.

Her eyes assessed the damage before looking back to her friend. "I know I told you to hold on; I didn't think it would be that hard, Akiem."

The wild man felt his heart constrict at the sight of her blood. He'd seen Shyana injured before, but never at his own hands.

As if reading his thoughts, she stepped forward and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Serves me right not to remember that everything you do, you do to the best of your ability. I suppose that includes hanging for one's life."

Shyana spared him a quick smile, before turning to Revarian. "Are you injured?"

He shook his head and reached out a hand for the outraged hawk to land on it. "No, Reuk and I both are fine."

The temporary joy she felt at no real damage done to her group, was squelched by the cocky voice behind her. "That makes this twice now that I've saved your life, Makea. So, you are nothing but a damsel in distress, after all."

Shyana twisted, crimson hair snapping with her as she glared at her savior. "I believe it was I who saved you when you were struggling with a little serpent and before that, my men rescued you from being pummeled by the swamp dweller."

Vikas shrugged. "So, what? Does this make us even?"

His stare stayed on her, as she passed by him regally, despite the searing pain in her left shoulder and the blood dripping slowly down her waist. "Not even close."

Revarian sighed and patted Akiem's shoulder. "This is the best we'll get from them. We should continue before they really start going at it again."

The advisor brushed a dirty hand through his golden hair, feeling the wet of her blood on his face and swallowed miserably, at the churning of his stomach.

Boran and Zei grabbed each other's forearms, in a sign of friendship, before taking up their prince's right side.

Shyana walked on ahead of the group, trying her best to fight back the tears of pain which pinpricked her eyes.

If there was one thing she'd never do in front of the Thurucaln prince, it was cry, over her dead body.

She took a deep breath and focused on her surroundings. Dark trees, thorny foliage on either side of her; it seemed like the cursed forest was becoming more unwelcoming the further they went in.

She looked down at her boots, when she noticed the ground had changed.

Bending down to touch the muddy earth, Shyana smiled when she found it wet. "Revarian, is there a river nearby? We should replenish our water and wash out our wounds before they become infected."

He stepped forward and dipped beside her. "Yes, but this isn't water you can drink by itself. It must be blessed before you consume it."

"You know how to bless things?"

The forest walker stood, offering her a hand. "Water is easier to calm than forest. It's always flowing and flexible, whereas a tree is rooted in its ways."