“But I thought you said you couldn’t fly us both. Or are you—“

“Going to leave you? No!” She glared at him, offended that he’d even think such a thing. “I can get us both to a safe place, I just can’t fly that much of a burden for a long distance.”

“Oh. Sorry,” He said guiltily.

“Come on. We don’t have much time.” She stood directly in front of Spike, guiding his arms around her waist as she clasped his torso. “I shouldn’t have to say this, but…”

“Don’t look down?” He said.

“Don’t let go. Look, you have to do exactly what I say, ok?” He nodded. “We’re going to squat down, then thrust straight up. Once we’re in the air, wrap your legs around mine and stay as still as possible. And no, you probably don’t want to look down.”

“Got it.” He followed Del’s lead, although he didn’t think he’d add much momentum to their start. Human legs were no match for dalhari.

The upward thrust was almost enough to make Spike lose his grip on the dalhari. She must have used much more force than the last time he’d seen her fly, because they launched more than fifteen feet into the air. Spike saw her wings snap open, and the resulting shift in direction almost made him let go again. Catching himself, he anchored her legs around Del, wondering how she could fly with the added bulk.

Del’s face was a study in concentration. Carrying a human and two packs of supplies was testing the limits of her strength. She quickly climbed slightly above the canopy and began looking for a suitable refuge. After a moment, she spotted a group of taller trees that would suffice. The dalhari glanced at Spike’s face. He looked entranced, watching the treetops flow past them as they flew by.

Del was glad Spike was facing backwards—he would probably panic at the sight of tree trunks rushing at his face, which was what Del saw as the neared their destination. She slowed and pulled in one wing, making them drift down in a curve. Spike jerked suddenly when Del’s legs hit a horizontal branch and she pushed him against the main trunk of a large tree.

Spike kept a tight hold on the dalhari as she settled him against the tree. “Spike?” The human looked at Del, refusing to release her. “You can let go now.”

“We’re in the air.” In the air. I’m going to die.

Del grinned. “Actually, we’re in a tree.” She peeled off his arms, which he immediately placed on nearby branches, clinging for dear life. Del leaned back easily, her body anchored by her tail wrapped around the branch. Next, she tugged at his legs, placing them on either side of the branch near the main trunk.

“Del?” Spike began. “Why? I mean, we aren’t staying here, are we?” The grin on Del’s face widened. Apparently they were. “Shit.”

“You’re not afraid of heights, are you?” Spike’s face paled. So he was afraid…Oh well. There wasn’t any other option. “Don’t worry, I won’t let you fall. Dalhari spend a lot of time in trees.”

“Great comfort, that,” He shot back sarcastically. She sighed, shaking her head.

“Relax, Spike. Nothing’s going to happen. We’ll stay here until morning, and then head for the hold.”

“And the maith?” He asked, still looking at the green, leafy sea surrounding him.

“They can’t track us. We’ll set back down on a different path through the woods, one further north. They’ll still be tracking us on the southern one.”

“Are you sure?” Spike had no intentions of becoming someone’s lunch.

“There’s a rather deep gorge between the paths, and no bridge to span it. It would take them days to go around it on either side.” Ok, maybe they’d be safe. If they didn’t fall out of the tree in the meantime.

“Wait a minute. That means we have to fly over the gorge.”

“Yes, it will be some distance. We will have to rest, but it will knock a day or two off the travel to the hold.”

“Why didn’t we go that way to begin with?” Spike demanded.

“It is only shorter at this point, and only because of crossing over the gorge. If we’d taken it to begin with, it would’ve taken the same amount of time. This path detours through fewer villages.” She reached back, unstrapping her pack. She turned around deftly, wrapping the loose straps over a branch next to her, anchoring the pack safely. Del then extracted her bedroll, cloak, and some food.

“Aren’t you going to get something to eat? Or at least something to keep you warm when the sun sets?” She asked, since Spike was still clinging to the tree for dear life.

“Look, pet, I don’t have that handy tail to keep meself tied up here. Not feeling very secure at the moment.” Del snorted, but set aside her food and stood on the branch, her tail unfurling from it. She walked easily over to where Spike was sitting. Reaching behind him, she untied his pack and extracted it. He immediately scooted further back, plastering himself flush against the tree.

Del tied his pack next to hers, removing his cloak, water and some food as well. She set them on top of the pack, and then moved back to her belongings. Del pulled on her cloak, working the openings so that she could tuck her wings in or bring them out, fastening it securely. Her and Spike’s food was placed in an inside pocket. She then carried his cloak over to the now trembling human.

“Spike, you need to let go of the tree.” He looked at her incredulously and shook his head.

“No.”

Del sighed. I have never sighed this much in my entire existence. She bent down, placing her hands at Spike’s waist. “Look, I have you, and I won’t let you fall. Let go of the tree.”

“Why?” Spike asked. He was not letting go of the tree.

“Because if you don’t put on your cloak, you’ll freeze to death tonight, or you’ll get so cold you lose your death-grip on the tree and fall out.” Spike looked up at her. She seemed sincere enough.

“You won’t let me fall?” Christ, I sound like a bloody girl.

“No, I won’t let you fall, Spike. Now stand up or at least let go!” Spike compromised, loosening his grip on the tree. She pulled him up and he steadied his feet on the branch below him, grasping branches higher up as he could reach them. His back was still flush with the trunk.

“Steady?” Spike nodded tentatively. She let go, reaching over to where she’d draped his cloak. “Move forward a bit.” He took a half step forward, just enough so that she could get the cloak around his back. Del fastened the cloak, around his neck and chest. “You can sit back down now.” She placed her hands back at his waist and helped him inch back down the tree.

After he was seated again, she kept hold of him while he arranged the cloak around his legs. She then let go, straddling the branch in front of him. “Food?” At his nod, she handed over a water skin and a cloth bag of dried food.

Spike took a long drink, and then dug into the food, suddenly ravenous. He watched as Del did the same. “Sorry about that,” He apologized, embarrassed at his fear.

Del smiled softly. “Don’t worry. I was scared the first few times I flew.” Spike nodded, and then returned to his cold dinner.

Spike looked out over the canopy. It was easy to believe that from his perch, he could see forever. The green ocean stretched for miles in every direction. He looked eastward, where he could see the mountains that were their destination. They were tall, jagged teeth on the horizon, dark spikes peaked with white. He turned his head westward, inhaling sharply at what he saw.

The sun sat low on the horizon, an angry orange disk glowing in the fading light. He’d not really paid attention to sunset while in the forest for the simple reason that he couldn’t see the sun unless it was high overhead. Now, though, the sun’s descent was quite visible. Spike hadn’t seen a sunset in over a century. Watching the globe dip lower in the sky, he thought it ironic that it took being thrust into another dimension for him to see the sun again, to be able to enjoy a sunset. Might as well enjoy it while I can.

Del watched Spike, his face an open book. Wonder was reflected in his wide eyes and absent-minded smile. The human glanced over, catching Del’s studious countenance.

“What?” He asked a bit too sharply.

Del flinched. “You seemed…lost in thought, that’s all.”

A wry grin appeared on his face. “I was just thinking about the last sunset I saw.” He looked back at her. “It was more than a hundred years ago.” She turned to the setting sun, which was now more than halfway below the horizon. The dalhari couldn’t imagine going a week, much less a century, without seeing the sun.

A brisk wind rushed through the treetops, chilling the human. He shivered and gathered his cloak closer to him. The sun was set and what faint light was left would be gone soon. The moon provided scant lighting at night, and the canopy took on a haunted aura.

Del reached forward, collecting Spike’s now-empty water skin. She tied them back onto their packs, and then settled back on the branch. The blonde human was now shivering continuously, unused to the sharp, high winds that heralded winter.

Spike leaned his head back, sheltering his face inside the deep hood of his cloak. The thick fur blocked most of the wind, although some still curled over his face, tickling his nose. A scraping sound brought him out of his drowsy state and he opened his eyes to see Del sitting much closer than she had been previously.

“Cold?” She asked, watching his face carefully. He nodded.

“Not too bad, though. Vampires don’t feel temperature. I’m just not quite use to being sensitive to it again.”

“It will only get colder tonight.” She moved closer, opening her cloak. If they didn’t share body heat, the human would freeze to death before morning. Del reached forward, drawing open Spike’s cloak. She moved forward more, throwing one leg over Spike’s. Del arranged their cloaks to overlap, then tucked her wings and tail inside and wrapped her arms around his waist within his cloak. She lined up their hoods, meshing the fur so that no wind could penetrate. The dalhari rested her head next to Spike’s, burying her face in the soft fur lining of his cloak.

Spike was shocked at the maneuver. He had been freezing, but didn’t expect Del, who seemed immune to the cold, to do such a thing. Warmth seeped slowly through their various layers of clothing. No clothes would be better, of course. Spike figured that Del would probably have something definite, and negative, to say to that, however.

“Thanks.” He said, keeping his voice soft in light of the proximity of Del’s ear. He felt more than heard a soft chuckle against his chest.

“Not a problem.”

“The cold doesn’t bother you?” He asked.

She shifted a little, getting more comfortable. The movement rubbed against his crotch, eliciting a moan he barely suppressed. Now was not the time to get frisky, not when one well-placed tug would send him to his death. “It’s cold, just not quite cold enough to do any damage. I wouldn’t stay up here in the middle of winter, not without more protection.”

Spike brought his hands around Del, settling them between her waist and wings. He held on securely, burrowing his face into her hair. It smelled of flowers and Del, a sharp, spicy scent that reminded him of sandalwood. The shared body heat soon eradicated the chills that had wracked him, and he drifted off to sleep, oddly sure that the aqua woman in his arms wouldn’t let him fall.

•••

The first thing Spike noticed when he woke up was the cold. Sometime in his sleep his personal space heater had fled, leaving him open to the cold wind that still blew through the canopy. He reached up, rubbing his eyes groggily. The second thing he noticed was that the sun had barely begun to rise.

“I thought that might wake you up,” Del said from a perch several feet away. She’d woken up a few minutes before, surprised at how late she’d slept. Then again, early morning cold was what normally woke her up in the mornings and she’d not had that today. No, this morning was a slow, drowsy ascent from comforting warmth.

Spike looked over at the dalhari, grimacing. He hated morning people. “And why do we need to be up this early?”

Del handed him a cake and some water. “We need to go, as soon as possible.” She returned to packing up the few things they’d used the night before while Spike finished his breakfast.

Looking around, Spike decided to try the standing thing on his own. He might not have the built-in balancing devices of a dalhari, but he could surely stand up. Besides, he needed to relieve himself and was not about to do so in front of the purple-haired woman a branch over.

A couple of minutes and several curses later, Spike worked his way around to the far side of the tree, having remembered just how good he was at climbing them. He supposed that the shock of being so high up fried his brain the night before. The blonde plucked some convenient leaves from a nearby branch, muttering self-deprecations about his own foolishness.

Del waited patiently on the other side of the tree, having done precisely the same thing earlier. She was surprised at Spike’s suddenly improved balance; at least she was until she heard what he was saying to himself. Shaking her head, she gathered up her pack.

Spike made his way back around the tree to find Del holding his pack. She braced him while he strapped it on, and then drew him close. “This’ll work again, right?”

Del laughed. “Better, since I’m not tired from running around all day.”

“Same thing as before?” He looked down, not a smart thing to do. A wave of vertigo swept through him, until he moved his gaze back to Del’s face.

“Told you not to do that yesterday. Actually, you told yourself not to do that.” She laughed. “No, it’s a little different up here. We need to move back a little.” She walked the two of them toward the end of the branch, past the point where Spike thought it would break. “Now we just sort of fall—“

She turned to the side and pushed forward, opening her wings as they fell off the branch. Spike screamed as he fell backward, bringing his legs up to wrap around Del, clinging for dear life. They swept up, quickly gliding across the canopy. Spike gulped in air, feeling adrenaline rush through his veins.

He rounded on Del. “What the bloody hell was that for, you demented crayola demon? Are you trying to kill me?”

Del didn’t bother to respond. She was flying. Even with the extra burden, flying was exhilarating. The wind didn’t bother her like it did Spike; membranes in her eyes and nose protected her. She propelled them over treetops, watching the ground closely for landmarks. Getting lost in the forest was a sure way to kill themselves.

After several minutes, Spike realized that he wasn’t going to get a response from Del. He would have poked her, but that would’ve required removing a hand from her waist. He huffed, and then settled in for the ride.

Spike shifted around a little, resting more of his weight on his legs. Flying was hard work, even for the passenger. Their bodies were nearly parallel to the ground, so all of his weight was born on his arms and legs, suspended below the dalhari. Her arms helped out a great deal, but his muscles still protested at the strain.

Del felt the human move to relieve his arms. She, too, was quickly tiring. They would have to stop soon to allow her muscles to recover as well. She scanned ahead to locate a suitable place, eventually spotting a growth of trees similar to their previous perch.

Spike tensed as he felt a change in their flight pattern; after a moment he recognized it as the same as the last time they’d landed. As he’d thought, a few minutes later he saw leaves fly by his head and a tree trunk slap his pack as they came to a gentle halt.

Once the human released her legs, Del stepped back, dropping her legs open and falling down to straddle the branch below her. Her tail immediately wrapped around it, stabilizing her body as she arched her back, trying to release the tension there. She shrugged off her pack, tying it as she’d done the night before. She then flopped forward on her chest, letting her wings fall open over the branches beside her, relaxing those muscles completely. They’d flown nearly three times as far as the evening previous, and she was exhausted once again.

Spike watched Del collapse. He felt guilty; without his weight, this excursion would be little trouble for the dalhari. He’d noticed the night before, when Del was pressed against him, that she weighed far less than he would have expected. After thinking about it, however, he realized that it made sense; dalhari would be built like birds, with economical musculatures and hollow bones. Considering that, the addition of him, and the extra gear, she must be carrying almost triple her normal burden. No wonder she was so tired. He reached one hand back, locating a small bag of dried fruit he’d tied there before they’d left.

Del turned her head at the smell of e’infal. Spike must be snacking. She smiled, remembering how the human had bashfully asked that they get more of that particular fruit, one he’d favored. A hand appeared in front of her face, a single dried fruit pinched between two slender fingers. She grinned widely, then plucked the fruit up, chewing gratefully.

Damn. Spike hadn’t counted on feeling that silky mouth on his fingers when he’d offered Del some of his meal. It had been a spontaneous thing, just to see if she was hungry. Apparently she was, so he repeated the offer. After several more fruits, the dalhari sat up slowly, folding her wings back.

“Thanks; I doubt I would’ve remembered to eat otherwise.” Del reached over, extracting food from her own pack. She began to offer some to Spike, but then realized that the dried vegetables she was eating were of a particularly…strong variety. The human would no doubt not appreciate them.

“So, are we here for the night?” He knew they were supposed to cross a gorge, but his position while flying prevented him from seeing much but passing greenery.

Del shook her head. “Nope.” She twisted slightly, looking over her right shoulder. “See that ridge?” She gestured with one hand. “We need to make it at least to there, preferably to the far side of it.”

Spike looked at where she pointed. “Can we? I mean, will you be able to?” He didn’t want them falling out of the sky.

“Yeah, but I need a break.” She stretched her arms wide, yawning.

“C’mere.” Spike motioned with his hands. Del looked at him briefly, then shrugged and moved forward. Leaning against him would be comfortable. She rested against the human, placing her head on his shoulder, her arms lying bonelessly on his legs.

Spike reached up, working his hands between Del’s upper back and wings. It works for tense humans… Nimble fingers rubbed tentatively around the base of her wings, searching for sore muscles. He grinned when Del melted against him. Guess I was right. He applied a bit more pressure, working in a circular pattern.

Spike watched a light breeze rustle through the leaves in front of him. He was surprised at the level of contentment he felt, had felt for several days, in spite of the imminent threat to his safety. It was one more thing he hadn’t realized he’d missed about being human. Vampires were never content. Oh, they could be happy, particularly when carnage was involved. But bone-deep contentment was beyond the demon. Something always disrupted such a feeling; competition for dominance, a threat such as the Slayer, or the bloodlust itself. Hunger wasn’t enough to really ruin contentment for a human, but the thirst for blood overwhelmed a vampire.

Of course, were he a vampire he wouldn’t be lounging in a tree, offering simple comfort and warmth to another person, particularly one he could probably feed on. He’d be planning something, either a seduction or a meal—quite possibly both. Spike had to admit that a seduction held considerable appeal, even as a human. He just didn’t feel the same compulsion to be callous and bestial.

A few minutes later, Spike turned his head, checking on the resting dalhari. She was dead to the world. He dropped his hands, resting them loosely around her hips. Setting his head back against the tree, he joined her in sleep.

•••

Spike closed his eyes, letting the breeze pass over his eyelids. He pulled in closer to Del, trying to block some of the wind that crept between them. His face tucked into the crook of her neck, effectively shutting out the frigid draft. Her skin quickly warmed, as did his, and he breathed deeply, smiling. It reminded him of how they woke from their rest, her face pressed tightly into his neck, moist breath warming his throat. They’d stayed there, curled up like puppies, for more than three hours, allowing Del’s tired muscles time to recuperate.

The ridge was fast approaching. Del looked down as they finished passing over the gorge. She was once again exhausted, but was fairly sure they’d make the ridge before she had to stop. It was only midday. While this type of travel covered ground very quickly, the lengthy stops required made it in the end no faster than walking, and walking was far less demanding on her body. Unfortunately, it was less safe, for the human most of the time and for either of them when a band of maith were on the hunt.

For the second time that day, Del looked for a perch, this time one suitable for the night. They had enough water to last them until at least the next afternoon, so sleeping in the canopy was the safest choice. She spotted a tree, and then circled around, looking for the path. As it happened, the road was just below the tree, a spot of luck for which she was very grateful.

Spike winced as he slammed into the tree. The landing was considerably less exact than the previous ones, but then again, Del hadn’t been pushed this far for the last ones either. Neither of them spoke as they extracted warm cloaks and cold food, simply curling up around each other. Within minutes, both were asleep, not caring that it was only a little past noon.

•••

Warmth. Spike curled deeply into the warmth around him, willing away consciousness. It didn’t work, however. He was undeniably awake. He lifted his head slightly, staring beyond the purple head in front of him to the horizon. The barest hint of color gave away the impending sunrise. It still sent a shiver down his spine, that such an even no longer heralded his death. He wriggled around a bit, allowing blood to flow into his numb posterior. That was one disadvantage to sleeping in a tree. Of course, on the bright side, he got to sleep closer to his traveling companion. A lot closer.

Spike’s movements woke up the sleeping dalhari. She sat back, stretching and yawning. Her back was still sore but bearable. At least the only flight today would be a glide down to the path. She stood quickly, shaking the last vestiges of sleep off her wings.

Oh well. Spike followed suit, working around the tree to relieve himself. Wonder what happens when someone’s at the base of the tree? Snickering at himself, he returned to the packs, searching for breakfast, only to find Del geared up and ready to go.

“I was hoping to find a creek once we get on the ground. I could use a bath.” He nodded, donning his pack.

A few short minutes later, they were on the ground. Spike staggered around a bit, trying to find his legs after not using them for walking for more than a day. Del laughed at him, apparently not suffering from the problem. He scowled at her menacingly, which only elicited more laughter.

“Give it a few minutes and you’ll be fine,” She choked out, still giggling at his predicament. Spike disparaged her parentage, and then readjusted his pack, following her down the path.

“Where will we find water?” He asked a few minutes later.

Del spoke over her shoulder. “There are several tributaries to the river that runs through the gorge. We have to cross them all, so water shouldn’t be in short supply.”

“How do we cross them?” Spike was not looking forward to wading or swimming; the free flowing water around here seemed uniformly icy.

The purple-haired woman smirked. “We usually use bridges.” Spike glared at her. Smartass.

An hour later the sound of rushing water could be heard ahead. Their pace quickened at the thought of a fresh drink. Spike looked down the hill they’d crested, awed by the rushing water in front of them. The river flowed in foaming rapids. The near bank was steeper than the far; they would have to cross the rope and wood bridge over it to reach that more accessible bank. Del didn’t even stop, starting across the bridge without hesitation. Spike did pause, wondering if the bridge was safe. He began again when he saw that Del was not going to wait for him.

Spike followed Del curiously as she veered off the main road, following a narrow, unpaved path. He soon discovered their location: a bathing pool. At some point someone had used a natural indentation in the bank and a good number of river stones to carve out a wide, shallow pool. The current was very slow, swirling lazily. He moaned in relief. Spike didn’t care if the water as colder than the Arctic Circle, he was going to stay in it until Del drug him out, kicking and screaming.

“Go ahead.” She waved him toward the pool. “I’ll heat up food.” The prospect of warm food, after several cold meals, wrenched another moan from the human. Del smiled, turning away to walk farther up the bank, giving Spike some privacy.

Once Del had gotten out of sight, Spike stripped off his clothes and stepped into the water. It was far from warm, but much less cold than he expected. He jumped forward, submerging himself in the refreshing water. After a few minutes of paddling around, he reached for the cake of soap Del had bought him and bathed and shaved himself. He also scrubbed clean the linen clothes he’d worn for several days and laid them out to dry in the bright sun. He then returned to swimming around the pool, careful to avoid the spaces in the retaining wall that let the river in.

A familiar voice caught his attention more than an hour later. He turned, seeing Del between some trees at the far end of the bathing pool. “There’s food by the fire, if you’re willing to get out long enough,” She laughed.

He grinned sheepishly, staying mostly submerged. After a moment, she disappeared again and he got out, drying off and dressing. Spike collected his pack, soap, and damp clothing and went off in search of the promised food.

Spike found Del next to a makeshift fire ring, setting a pot off the fire. “Ah, you finally emerge from the waters. I was beginning to think you were part pakra.” The human grinned at being compared to the amphibious species.

“Nope, just enjoying it.” He groaned at the smell of fresh, hot food.

“Go ahead; I’ve already eaten.” Del gestured at him to sit, then grabbed her pack and disappeared in the direction of the bathing pool. Spike sat down and tucked into the meal.

He was pleasantly surprised; Del had actually incorporated some of his dried meat rations into the stew. He was growing accustomed to eating his food dried or stewed; the only forms traveling rations seemed to come in. After finishing, Spike took the utensils to the bank, washing them out thoroughly. He then lay down on the soft, grassy bank to wait for Del to return. It would be dangerous to sleep, but a little rest would do him good.

Del, meanwhile, did the same thing in the pool that Spike had; namely a little bathing and a lot of playing around. She loved water and would stay in it all day if she could. Unfortunately, they didn’t have all day, so she regretfully finished up, rolling up her now dry and clean clothes before returning to get Spike.

She found him lazing around on the bank, watching the river. He was a striking human; she’d not seen one with eyes the exact color of the winter sky before. His hair had been more of a shock, until he’d said it was dyed—some dalhari had white hair, and many older humans, but no young ones. The carved features and whip like-body reminded her of a dalhari, but for the absence of her species’ characteristic wings and tail.

“Come on.” Spike jumped up, pulling on his pack. He’d already disassembled the fire ring and stored his clothes and the cooking gear.

“How many days until we reach the next hold?” Spike asked as they resumed their brisk pace down the main trail.

“We can make it in two days, if we keep up this pace,” Del replied. She wasn’t sure if they could, though. Until now, they had met very few other travelers, but they’d been on the lesser-used southern path. If they ran into enough travelers, an entire day could be added to their journey. Ignoring the customs of the journey often led to problems later on, something that Del was hoping to avoid. Well, stem the flow of problems. This is already a problematic little trip.

They were lucky; the pair passed only a few travelers that day, and none of those people demanded their time. When nightfall came, both Spike and Del were more than ready to camp. They walked a short distance into the woods, just out of sight of the main road.

“Del?” Spike asked around his dinner.

“Hmm?”

“Why aren’t there more people on the roads?” Spike had noticed that there were few people traveling; he’d expected when they were hiking through the woods without a path, but since leaving the f’lh holding they’d been on wide, well paved roads. He’d seen a couple of wagons drawn by horse-like creatures, and a few people riding as well. But in general there was little traffic on the roads.

Del hummed briefly. “There are fewer than usual, but then it’s the wrong time of year for very heavy travel. Grain was harvested a month ago, and the autumn fruits won’t be in for another week or more. Merchants tend to travel in the spring; I’m on my way home.”

“People don’t travel much around here?” Spike asked.

“Not in this region. In others, yes. But this forest is dominated by f’lh and they’re clannish—they rarely visit other f’lh holdings without an important reason. When we near the mountains, you’ll see an increase in travelers.