Kira whispertail's Arc

Chapter 5 of 5

The horns faded behind them as Kira led Mira up the ridge trail. The wolves had taken the hunt past the tree line. Kira did not look back. She kept one hand on Mira's elbow when the slope got steep, and the cub tucked inside Mira's coat made a small sound against her chest. At the cabins, the signs were already there. Wide paw prints crossed the path. Tufts of grey fur clung to the door frame. In the clearing just below, the twin-tailed pair sat in plain view with their pups, watching the pass. They were not hiding. They were saying stay back. Kira let out a breath she had been holding since dawn. She dragged the carved table out from under the eaves and set two chairs across from each other. From inside the cabin she brought the pack she had been quietly building for weeks. She laid the contents out in rows. Healing potions. Rolled bandages. A coil of thin rope. Lockpicks. A small bag of dried meat. Her journal, with the list inside. Mira sat down across from her. Kira opened the journal to a page Mira had not seen before. A rough map. Names along the margin. She tapped the closest mark. "This one. Half a day north, through the saddle. A boy, part lynx. The hunters have not reached him yet." Her voice stayed level. "We go tonight." Mira studied the map. She did not ask why Kira had written all this down already. She picked up a potion, weighed it, set it back in the pack. "Two of us. One cub to leave safe here." She glanced toward the wolves in the clearing. "They will hold the ridge." Then, quieter, "You planned this before me." It was not a question. Kira closed the journal. "I planned the place. You gave me the names." She slid the pack across the table. Mira took it by both straps. Something settled between them that did not need a word. The first rescue had a road now, and a door at the end of it, and two people willing to walk through.