On the Move

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Xander held Hainien still, listening for the dalhari. They would be flying over the canopy, but would drop down to meet him and his family—at least, that's what he hoped they would do. Saelen sat not far away, similarly restraining Mai'zi. Both kids were excited about going on an adventure—Mai'zi only dimly remembered leaving Ieccra, and Hainien had no memories of his birthplace at all.

A rustling of leaves was their only warning before Vaishi popped into view. Xander watched in awe, wondering how the dalhari managed to descend into the canopy without hurting himself on a branch. Fain appeared next to him a moment later, landing on a nearby branch with unusual grace. "Are you all ready?" Vaishi asked.

Xander nodded. "We'll be a bit behind you, since you're going to be flying." Vaishi shook his head.

"We'll keep up with you, since there's no reason for us to push ourselves and rush on ahead," the dalhari said in reply. "Still, it will take us three days to reach the border road. After that, the ifnan will speed up the trip considerably and we'll be in La'iv in a little more than two weeks."

The dalhari took to the skies again as the siv began to clamber through the trees. The pace was leisurely to Xander, since they didn't want to exhaust the kids by going too quickly. They made good time, though, because they were all excited to be on the move. Even the midday stop for food and rest was short.

When nightfall came, Vaishi and Fain descended to join the others. They curled up on branches much like the siv did, wrapping their tails around them to secure their bodies as they slept. Some of the kids' energy had been used up during the day, much to their parents' delight, so they dropped off to sleep almost immediately.

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The next two days passed in the same fashion, right up until Fain and Vaishi dropped down to tell them that they were almost to the border hold where they were going to get their ifnan. Saelen and Pairdra began to discuss with the dalhari the best way to procure ifnan. In the end it was decided that the dalhari would negotiate to purchase three of the animals for the siv, since none of them knew enough about them to purchase good ones. Saelen handed over their money and gathered the kids to lead them down onto the ground and into the hold. All of the adults were a bit apprehensive since it would be the first time either Mai'zi or Hainien would be in a nonsiv hold on the ground. Also, it would be their first exposure to orth. Actually; Xander had never seen many orth either, so he was a little excited.

Pairdra took the lead, directing them right up the hold gates. They could see that Fain and Vaishi were already inside the hold and heading toward the stables. The dark siv greeted the orth guards, who just waved them on inside. Once the entire family was past the gates, Saelen and Xander took firm hold of the kids and Pairdra started up again. There were some things they needed to purchase in the hold besides the ifnan, like warmer clothes for everyone, so they needed to move quickly.

The kids ogled and pointed at everything, particularly the all the orth. There were many siv in the hold as well, since it was in such close proximity to two different siv regions. The differences between the two species were striking, especially when they were so near each other. The orth were tall, true, but compared to the siv that were usually crouched down they looked like trees, they were so high up. Even the often quiet Pairdra couldn't help laughing at the quicker siv darting in and out of crowds of orth. The larger orth didn't mind them; they just made sure not to step on anyone as they passed.

Xander poked his head into shops as they passed, satisfying both his and Hainien's curiosity. Reozyih was as different from any siv hold he'd been to as the siv world was from his own. In the eleven years he'd been stranded in this world, Xander had grown accustomed to the often Spartan lifestyle of the siv. Very little in the siv world was permanent, since so much was based on growing, living things like trees. Personal possessions were kept to a minimum, and the idea of private property was largely nonexistent. While they had had to leave some things behind in the house when they left, the vast majority of their possessions had come with them—there was that little to carry.

But here, in the orth hold, there was shop after shop of things—and not just food, clothes, or weapons like in a siv hold. Xander had to stop and admire a display of small statues. They held no use except decoration—in Caildin, all art also had some function, such as a bowl, or knife handle. This place was more like his world, even if it was about three hundred years behind.

Pairdra found a siv tailor and stopped to wait for Saelen and Xander, who were stopping to show the kids things. He, too, was fascinated by the hold, although he'd been to orth holds before and wasn't as shocked. Of course, other than Saelen the others were new to this type of place. "Enjoying yourselves?" He asked when the others finally joined him.

Xander shook his head. "Just when I get used to one place, everything changes. Story of my life."

Pairdra laughed. "Just wait until we get into a dalhari region. I've never been to one, but I've heard that they're really strange."

The clothes buying went easily enough, although convincing the kids to wear boots was a challenge. Finally they found some that fit and put them in one of their packs, knowing that one day the kids would ask for them. By the time they finished it was time to get to the other side of the hold and meet the dalhari. Xander wasn't looking forward to that—he was going to have to learn to ride.

Fain and Vaishi were waiting when they got there, holding the reins for five huge animals. The ifnan they had were larger than the ones Xander had seen in Ieccra, or the ones used by the siv in Shaen for plowing. These animals' backs came up nearly to his head, and he probably couldn't touch the tops of their heads with his hands. "Vaishi, how are we supposed to ride those? They're like mountains!" Xander said. Mai'zi whimpered from her spot at Saelen's side. Other than Xander, the rest of the siv were still crouched down, so the animals looked even bigger.

Vaishi laughed. "You'll be fine, Xander. Come on!" Xander looked doubtful but stepped forward. Soon Vaishi had him in the saddle, staring down at the ground in terror. Once he was up there and didn't look like he was going to fall off, Fain and Vaishi secured his and the kids' packs to his ifnan. After that they watched carefully as Saelen and Pairdra got on their ifnan. They had a little more experience than Xander, but not much. The kids would ride with the dalhari until the siv were more comfortable.

"Adyeta!" Mai'zi called from her perch on Fain's ifnan. Xander smiled weakly at his daughter. Once she'd seen her fathers on the animals, she had lost her fear of them and had happily taken her place in front of Fain. Xander wished he could be that easily reassured. Vaishi took hold of his ifnan's reins and led Xander along with him, showing him how to control the ifnan. Xander felt a lot better once he'd learned how to make the animal stop moving. It was the closest thing to brakes the thing had.

An hour later, he knew exactly why they were using the ifnan. While adult siv with no encumbrances could make very good time in the canopy, here on the ground with a lot to carry ifnan were definitely the way to go. Reozyih had disappeared behind them in mere minutes. The forest began to thin shortly after they crossed a wide, shallow river. The absence of trees made Xander even more grateful for the animals, since he and the others would be very vulnerable out in the open on the ground. He knew that Tragith was the region on their right, and that it was a siv region. He didn't see how they could stand to live there without any trees.

"Saelen?" Xander called out. Saelen dropped back a little.

"Yes?"

"How do siv live in Tragith without any trees?" Xander asked.

Saelen grinned. "They live a lot like the orth do—on the ground. There are some trees, though, especially along the rivers. Most holds in Tragith are there."

Xander nodded. "But there are a lot of other species in Tragith, aren't there?"

"Mostly humans in the east and orth here, and a few dalhari in the north. A lot of Tragith is sparsely populated," Saelen replied.

By the time they stopped that night, Xander was rethinking his appreciation of ifnan. After many hours sitting on one, his rear end ached horribly. Vaishi laughed at him and the others as they slid off their ifnan with moans and complaints. "Keep that thing away from me," Xander whined as Vaishi led the animal away. He joined Saelen and the others on the ground, lying on their bellies. After a few minutes of recovery time, he got up to retrieve their dinner.

Fain started a small fire for them to sleep near. The fire was another novelty for Xander, who wasn't used to such external sources of heat. They had candles and lanterns, yes, but Shaen and Ieccra had been warm enough from constant ocean breezes that they hadn't needed fires. Even this close to Shaen, though, the air currents were cool instead of warm and there was no canopy to capture the sun's heat. Hainien crouched right next to the fire as the sun disappeared. Xander knew how he felt—it was odd and a bit scary being out in the open like this during the night. He felt unprotected and naked.

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"Damned beasts!"

Fain couldn't hold back a chuckle at Xander's swearing. The siv were completely unused to riding, so the morning after had been worse than the night before. Even the kids were complaining about their sore muscles. There was no use in slowing down, though, since that would only prolong the agony for all of them. So Vaishi kept them going at a brisk pace and the siv endured the pain.

At the rate they were going, the group would reach the border within the next three days. Actually, at that point they would have covered almost half the distance to La'iv. The rest of the trip would take much longer, though, because they had to go through the mountains. The only paths through the Desa Ysdra Mais, or far range, were tortuous and slow-going. In addition, it was flood season for the area, since winter snows were melting and overfilling the small mountain lakes and streams that spotted the region.

"Tell me again why we're using these blasted things?" Xander called out to Vaishi.

"Because otherwise we'd all have blisters on our feet from walking," Vaishi answered. "My cousin Del might like to walk all over this ever changing world, but I do not." The dalhari dropped back to ride next to Xander. When he got there, Hainien waved weakly at his father, obviously uncomfortable. "Besides, you could be in the same position Laio was when he got here. Del likes to walk so much that she didn't get an ifnan to use on her trade journey. Your friend had to walk halfway across the land!"

Xander smiled faintly. It wasn't much of a consolation to know that Spike had suffered a long walk, but it was something. He could almost hear the vampire—no, human turned dalhari, complaining about getting blisters. The image widened his smile a little and dulled some of his pain. He nodded to Vaishi, who picked up the pace.

Saelen and Pairdra weren't complaining as heartily as Xander simply because they knew what they were getting into, having ridden before. It was one reason why they didn't like to—there was no reason for siv to ride very often in either Ieccra or Shaen, so no one ever got used to the discomfort caused by the activity. By the end of this trip, though, they would be inured to it…that is, if they survived it. On the bright side, the kids weren't complaining too much and were fascinated by the scenery change. That alone kept them quiet and slack-jawed. As long as their surroundings kept the kids interested, they would stay out of trouble.

It wasn't until a couple of hours past midday that Xander spoke to Vaishi again. This time when the dalhari eased his ifnan close to Xander's, his face was grim instead of smiling. "We need to find shelter, and quickly," he said in a quiet voice.

"Why?" Xander asked, concerned.

Vaishi pointed to the horizon. "Dust storm."

Xander saw what he meant—there was a blob of dark marring the light blue sky off in the distance. "How long do we have?"

"Maybe an hour, if we're lucky. There's a rock outcropping ahead; if we hurry we can make it and get ready," Vaishi responded. Xander called out to warn Saelen and Pairdra while Vaishi spurred them into a run. Xander held on for dear life as the ifnan took off after Vaishi. After a few minutes, Xander felt confident enough to look up. The prairie was whirring by in a blur as they approached their shelter. When they got there, Xander was almost thrown off the ifnan by the abruptness of their stopping. Once the animal was calm, he slid off, holding the reins in one hand.

Vaishi and Fain handed the kids off to Saelen and Pairdra and gave their ifnan to Xander. Once they were free, the dalhari scouted out a group of rocks that would provide a little shelter. They pulled out several large leather sheets and began to tie them together. Xander guessed that they were some sort of tent and wondered why they hadn't used them the night before.

Once the makeshift tent was pitched inside the rock shelter, Vaishi put all their packs into it while Fain took care of the ifnan, covering their heads with protective cloths to keep dust out of their eyes. Afterwards they were tied up against a windbreak. The animals would be fine during the storm.

By the time the dalhari were finished with their preparations, the sky had darkened and the wind had picked up considerably. They could already see streaks of dust going by and stinging their eyes. Vaishi herded them into the tent and tied it off just as the storm began in earnest.

Xander held Hainien close to him as they huddled with Saelen, Mai'zi and Pairdra in one part of the tent. It dim inside the shelter, since the leather was thick and there was no light inside. Vaishi and Fain double checked all the fastenings, and then relaxed on the other side of the tent. If they were lucky, the storm would blow through that evening. If they weren't, it would last through the next day.

"How often does this happen?" Xander asked quietly.

Vaishi looked up at the tent. "If the locals are to be believed, only five or six times a year. This is the season for dust storms, though, since the rains haven't been through yet. We've been caught in them a few times on our trips to Shaen and back. Usually they're gone by morning."

Xander shuddered. The wind was howling and pushing at the tent. He didn't want to admit it, but the storm scared him a lot. There wasn't anything but ifnan hide between him and the vicious fury of nature. Hainien whimpered and crawled even closer to him, and Xander could tell he was crying.

Before long it began to grow cold inside the tent, despite the number of bodies within it. The sun was completely blocked out, and it was getting late anyway. They couldn't start a fire, though, so Xander dug through their packs until he found some of the blankets they'd packed. Saelen immediately bundled Mai'zi up in some of them, before doing the same for himself. Despite all the warm clothes they'd just purchased, they were freezing.

The dalhari didn't seem as affected by the temperature change. They just leaned against each other and nodded off to sleep, their wings folded over their faces to keep out the dust that seeped into the tent. Xander was envious of their ability to cover up like that, since he had to use a cloth that needed constant shaking out.

The siv slept fitfully through the night, woken up time and time again by a particularly strong gust of wind shaking the tent or a speck of dust landing on a sensitive spot in their noses. Sometime early in the morning the storm died down and they stayed asleep for a few hours. Morning rose bright and clear, but Vaishi and Fain didn't wake the siv. Unlike their traveling companions, the dalhari slept solidly through the storm. Then again, they were used to such things, while the siv were not.

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When Xander woke up, he noticed that the dalhari were gone and that the world was quiet. Pushing Hainien over onto Pairdra, Xander crept out of the tent. When he got outside, he blinked at the bright sunlight. "Good morning," Fain said softly.

Xander looked up. "Ah, good morning to you too…although it looks more like afternoon."

Fain shrugged. "You all needed your sleep."

Xander stood, nodding. "We did," he said. They hadn't slept well for many days, ever since they'd left Caildin. Xander looked down at himself and grimaced. He was covered in dust. The siv moved off away from the tent and shook himself out, trying to rid himself of the noxious stuff. After a few minutes, he gave up, knowing that he'd have to wait until the others woke and he could retrieve a brush.

While he, Vaishi and Fain were waiting for the other siv to awaken, they shared a small pot of tea that Vaishi had brewed over the cooking fire. The ifnan were tied off a small distance away, nibbling on grass and enjoying their limited freedom. "Will we get very far today?" Xander asked over his tea.

Vaishi shook his head. "We probably won't go anywhere. There's no use in leaving a good resting place for just a couple of hours' travel. Instead, we'll just get up a little earlier tomorrow and start to catch up."

Xander agreed with him. "The kids were completely exhausted, so this will be good for them."

"And none of you are sorry to not be riding," Fain added jokingly.

"That too!" Xander exclaimed. "Although it is getting a little better. It's never going to be my favorite way to get around, but it's not so bad. Um…is there any water around here?" He would love a bath, or even a little fresh water.

Vaishi nodded. "We'll be passing several small rivers in the next few days. It won't be a problem to stop and get rid of this dust."

"Good. I feel gritty," Xander replied, rubbing the fur on his head, "sort of like I rolled in the sand."

They sat outside most of the day, drinking tea made from Vaishi's water stores and watching the ifnan walk around. Saelen and Mai'zi stirred briefly near sunset, just long enough to eat dinner. They, in turn, roused Pairdra and Hainien, who also ate. After that, though, everyone—including the dalhari—went back into the tent to sleep for a few more hours. They were going to leave before dawn and wanted to get a little more rest before they did so.

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