In Search of You

Chapter 9

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CHAPTER 9

***Story co-authored by @strangegrounds

Quil’s heart plummeted to the ground the moment he saw the danore’s landing. He quickly ran towards Astrid but he was too slow. He saw the moment she was thrown over the danore and then watched as its tail connected with her chest. He couldn’t do anything but watch as she flew several feet backwards. His heart stopped beating and all the breath was sucked out of his lungs when she lay unmoving on the cold, hard ground.

There was a collective gasp followed by several whispers from his people but he ignored them. Let them speak their minds. There was no stopping them anyway. He knew what was running through their minds right now—speculations about Astrid. What the danore did was something positive but her reaction to the flight and her injuries would be taken as a failure. She would be branded as a bad omen. But these things were unimportant for now. He would deal with all of them later.

Quil ran as fast as he could and forced his tired muscles to its extremes. “Astrid!” he shouted as he knelt beside her. She lay face down on the ground and carefully, he turned her around. There were smudges of dirt on her face and neck. She also had several small cuts from the sharp rocks that came into contact with her skin as she was thrown from the danore. But those were the small injuries. Quil winced as he saw the larger ones. There was a wide gash on her shoulder that bled freely. It stained her clothes and the grass beneath her red.

He heard Astrid moan when he ran his fingers down the side of her ribs. He could already feel the warmth and swelling on one side. He raised her shirt halfway and noted the bruise that was quickly forming. He was sure that one or maybe even several of her ribs were broken.

Quil paled.

He turned when he felt the ground trembling again. He looked just in time to see the danore that chose her running towards them both. Quil let go of Astrid and faced the danore. His hand immediately went to his knife.

Clearly, this one was a young danore; full of pride and very impulsive. The danore stopped short when it saw Quil and it started pawing at the ground. Quil stood to his full height and looked the danore straight into its eyes. Danores wanted respect but this one was young and to earn its respect, Quil must first assert dominance over it.

His right hand went to his knife in preparation for any sudden action from the danore. While he did this, he never took his eyes off it—not for one second. It turned in circles and kept pawing at the ground to try and intimidate him. But Quil wasn’t afraid. He didn’t have an ounce of fear for he needed to protect Astrid. A few minutes more and the danore dropped into a respective bow in front of him just like it did to Astrid several minutes ago. The danore straightened and turned its back on both of them.

Quil also turned his back and he heard the youngling’s footsteps as it went away to rejoin its pack. He turned back to Astrid and sighed. “Why must you be so stubborn and wish to ride your own danore?” he muttered under his breath.

It was just words. He wasn’t really blaming her. He knew she just wanted to be independent. It was her nature. He felt her fear but admired her courage. What he hadn’t counted on was a danore claiming her for its own. She was unprepared for it and even more so at her first flight. Quil couldn’t help but blame himself.

He tried to lift her as gently as he could. Her weight wasn’t a problem for him. She was a tiny thing. What he feared was jolting her and causing her more pain than what she was already being forced to endure. Astrid opened her eyes and Quil’s knees almost buckled as he saw the pain and fear in them.