To Explore the Bond by Buhler Carol

Author:Buhler, Carol
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2022-12-28T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 26

Belle

After our troubles with the soggy flat areas, we decided to turn north to check the other edge of the range. On that side, the jungle had faded away into an area of rolling hills with trees spread far apart. Tall grass waved in the breeze, but we’d become leery of green places where we couldn’t see the ground. Since I had no rider, I was sent to check it out. Landing gently, I called out, ⁠<Solid. Firm.⁠>

In only an hour of grazing, we’d trampled a wide enough area to set up camp. The wide grass blades were thick and tough; we ate only the tops and smashed the rest for bedding. With the sky clear, we saw stars and the temperature was mild. For the first night in our journey, we reeth elected to sleep outside the tents. Lillair and I curled up away from the others and had a nice private night.

I talked with Sissith the next morning. When I described the area we were crossing, she and I agreed that we must be on the south end of a huge plain their group had crossed. ⁠<They saw herds of three different types of grazing animals,⁠> I told the others. ⁠<We need to watch for something similar.⁠>

⁠<If they might be remnants of the Rehmah cattle, we should find signs of habitation around here,⁠> Pildon said. That hope renewed our enthusiasm to explore. We spread out and flew east. In no time, we crossed a river, this one flowing north, and another one the next day. Curious, we followed the second and came to a junction where the first river, clear and sparkly, formed an extensive, almost-clear fan as it flowed into the second muddier one. The rivers we had at home never connected in such a way—they weren’t big enough—and the contrast of the two streams of water kept me mesmerized for several minutes.

Just above the intersection, a huge patch of very tall grass, seed plumes swaying in the breeze, formed a triangle, bank to bank. Lillair descended carefully so Pildon could look for firm ground. ⁠<This stuff is standing in inches of water,⁠> he said. ⁠<No landing here.⁠> We turned around and followed the clearer river back toward the mountains to find a better campsite.

A small herd of extremely fast, delicate looking animals raced away at first sight of us. “I don’t think those are cattle,” Pietro said. “Look more like deer to me.”

“What’s the difference?” Zoldon asked as we watched the group bound away.

“I don’t really know,” Pietro admitted with a rueful smile. “On our continent, something that fragile, and that fast, has never been domesticated. Cattle, if I understand the term correctly, means tame creatures, slow moving, created to produce meat for human consumption.”

A wave of revulsion swept through me. Of course, reeth didn’t eat animal flesh; neither did don.

“I’d assumed that’s what it meant in the Rehmah texts.” Pietro was still talking; he hadn’t noticed my reaction since he was staring after the running herd.

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