BLUE VENOM

Four - Claws (And Spit)

"What?", snapped Ty but Kain ignored him like it was an art he had mastered. He probably did.

"We'll have to keep being on the move", he said, over pronouncing each word like he was dealing with absolute idiots, which was probably what he thought was happening here.

He walked further down to the right.

"So that fabric hall of yours", he said. "The river can't be crossed here as well" He pointed to the loud stream. "To few rocks, too slippery. The stream would suck us under and shatter our bones at the gravel ground. There's no way past it over at your opening if I can take your word for it, so what we do is we find a way around it, even if we have to walk ten days and we get into that darn building."

"If it's a trap...", started Ty, stomping behind and huffing out cool air - in this opening it was cooler again. What. In the world.

"If it's a trap we'll know. And at least we tried.", said Kain, rolling his eyes like nobody ever got his point and we were all to slow in the head to handle. Then Ty made it worse.

"Wouldn't it be better to split up?", offered Ty. "Like, somebody checks the building, somebody looks for other...", he stopped when he saw the expression on Kain's face. "No, you're right, that's completely moronic."

"Moronic alright, meathead." Kain turned to me. "You", he said unfriendlyly. I lifted my eyebrows. "You stay with me, no matter what. His brain obviously went into his upper arms." He pointed at Ty, who looked bewildered, but to stupefied to reply - literally - and I met Kain's direct green stare head on. "Why?", I said. "Ty and I get along. He's... strong too."

Behind me, Ty straightened again, bruised ego fixed and the memory of it fleeing like it was never even here. For guys like Ty, any girls word about his self worth would always outweigh the hurtful power of any other boy, even one as tactical and natural in the way he hit sore spots as Kain.

Ty grinned at me and Kain snorted, looking between the both of us.

"Woow", he said, stretching out the word until it was obnoxiously mocking. "Would you look at that!", he exclaimed. "Look who's exchanged mud pies in the short time since we're here." Something deep in his eyes flared. Whatever cat peed in his shoe - this was hardly the time to either rip or braid friendship bracelets.

I smiled. "Oh, while we're on the topic. Can we please move on from kindergarten and get going?"

He glared into my direction (some more) and I shivered and put my arms around my thin white coat. "I really don't want to meet any of those things, who are so nightmarish that even a boy as eloquent and fearless as you fails to dream up the three words to describe what we're dealing with."

Ty snorted, suppressing laughter and Kain just rolled his eyes up to the sky and waved forward - forward, towards the clipped red like of the mountains that rose to the right.

"Alright", he said. "Let's go."

I really ahd to suppress a flat hand to my forehead and an: "Aye-aye, captain."

We passed the first niche between two especially steep rocks and I slid my hand over the dusty surface. I rubbed the reddish sand between my finger tips and it felt like - powder.

Then we were all surrounded by rocks. Steep and lower lying. Harsh lines and rolling gravel. Multiple slim paths led between the figures, that stood like weirdly dried red shards, spread out over a sandy plateau.

Kain naturally assumed the lead and strolled down and then up the path to the very left. He tried to keep to the left and I noticed that it must have something to with the fact that the right paths could easily led us into the direction where the 'things' which he so claimed we had to fear had disappeared.