The Gift (Rabiah book 1)

Chapter 8

Downstream she and Owen found not one, but two horses, one with a length of rope still attached to the saddle on its back. They also found enough wood to make a small raft and a large piece of canvas stuck on a tree branch. They spent the afternoon capturing the horses and carrying everything back to the caves.

Tristan looked and felt much better by the time they got back. He wanted to walk back down to the caves, but after a few shaky steps he agreed to lie back down and let them carry him. They had rabbit again, this time in a soup with some greens and mushrooms that Rabiah had found. That night when she snuggled up to Tristan to keep him warm, he was still awake. He rolled over and put his arms around her.

The next day dawned cool and cloudy. Parts of her were cold, but her back, which was against Tristan, was nice and warm. His arm was still around her. She needed to get up. She didn't want to wake him so she tried wiggling out from underneath it. The arm tightened. "Tristan!" she whispered, struggling. The arm squeezed. She turned to find him watching her.

'Good morning little rabbit.'

'Little rabbit?'

'You reminded me of one just now.'

She reached up to rub his whisker-covered cheek. 'Shall I call you prickly pine-cone then?'

He reached up and felt his cheek. 'They aren't prickly. They're soft, see?' He rubbed his cheek against her neck and kissed her collarbone. Shivers went down her back. She rolled over and kissed him, morning breath and all.

"Ah-hem." Owen was awake and sitting on the other side of the fire. They broke apart and looked at him. "Feeling better?"

"Yes, a little," Tristan said.

"Need to go out?"

"Yes. Eventually."

"Let's see if you can make it yourself."

Rabiah rolled out of the way and stood to help pull Tristan up. She pulled too hard and had to catch him when he fell forward. She thought maybe it wasn't totally an accident since he snuck a kiss under her ear. He was finally up and standing. He looked shaky.

"Are you still dizzy?" she asked.

"A little."

She offered him her shoulder to lean on and helped him out of the cave. Owen followed. They came to a secluded spot with a tree on which he could lean. She turned to leave so he could have some privacy. He sighed loudly behind her. "What's wrong?" she asked, turning back.

"I just hate being so weak."

"Sometimes it is in weakness that we find true strength," she quoted.

"What does that mean?"

She gave him a cryptic smile. "Next time you are alone, close your eyes and listen." She touched his arm and sent him some of her strength, then turned and left to tend to her own needs.

They had fish for breakfast. Rabiah had made a trap the day before and there were two large fish this morning. She had also set some snares and showed Alexander how to retrieve what they caught. She and Owen went to work building the raft. Although the sun was weak, Tristan insisted on sitting outside on the big rock again. He liked the view he said. They helped him up the path and made sure he was well insulated from any chill before going down to the shore.

Owen, it turned out, knew how to build a raft. He and Tristan, he told Rabiah, had built one or more every summer with varying levels of success. When he was eleven and Tristan ten, they finally managed to make one they could both stand on. They thought they were ready to take on the world until a small wave knocked them both off. Rabiah's laugh made Owen feel lighter than he had in a while.