Boreal wasn't one to retreat from many challenges, but the great bird was on its guard and there would be no sneaking up on it now. That alone took half the fun out of it, and she snorted a puff of smoke and angled her wings away, pretending to be bored with the game. She circled slowly down to float a little ways above Tal instead, as if to make sure he didn't get lost.
It was, luckily, hard to lose a giant thunderbird on a sunny day in the desert, so even Tal could keep his direction with Deimos overhead to indicate the way. He trotted along with an eye to the surrounding pools, careful not to step too close to an edge and slip in his memories of a twisted ankle in the Climb still painfully fresh. He set Boreal the task of watching for disturbed earth from above, freeing him to pay attention to his path and his guide.
What the courier lacked in strength he made up for in endurance and a body used to full days spent running behind the sled with the dogs, helping to push it up inclines and over drifts. Though the unfamiliar desert heat and punishing sun quickly had him panting as the sweat rolled off in rivers.
It was, luckily, hard to lose a giant thunderbird on a sunny day in the desert, so even Tal could keep his direction with Deimos overhead to indicate the way. He trotted along with an eye to the surrounding pools, careful not to step too close to an edge and slip in his memories of a twisted ankle in the Climb still painfully fresh. He set Boreal the task of watching for disturbed earth from above, freeing him to pay attention to his path and his guide.
What the courier lacked in strength he made up for in endurance and a body used to full days spent running behind the sled with the dogs, helping to push it up inclines and over drifts. Though the unfamiliar desert heat and punishing sun quickly had him panting as the sweat rolled off in rivers.
