Green Fox Chapter 13

Near midday, Cosi called for a much-needed rest to let the stragglers catch up. Sweat streamed down his face despite the chill mountain air. He splashed the frigid water over his head, gaining some relief from his bone-deep fatigue. Ever since leaving the cave sanctuary, an oppressive weariness had settled upon him, as if he’d left part of himself behind in that sacred place.

“There’s not much game up here, is there? Not sure what I was expecting, but I thought they’d be deer or goats. Had my eye open all the way and all I’ve seen is a mangy squirrel,” Turr said, crunching across the gravel to squat beside the rushing river. Scraggly pines clung to the rocky banks, tenacious roots gripping the stony soil. Bright butterflies fluttered among the upper branches, well above the heads of Mildred’s exhausted family, as they stumbled onto the bare riverbank. “Still, it’s a pretty enough spot. My Lucy would’ve loved it here,” Turr said, watching Mildred’s older boy gulp river water thirstily. The current frothed white where it tumbled over boulders, funnelling into swift narrow channels. It was shallow enough to cross, but the little ones would need close watching, so they weren’t snatched away by the racing current. “What’s it like living in marsh?” Cosi asked, welcoming a chance to rest his aching feet. “Open. Wide skies,” Turr said wistfully, turning to gaze at the snow-capped peaks ahead. They were climbing ever higher, the thin air crisp and cold. “Sunsets like nothing you’ve ever seen. Me and Lucy, we’d take the boat out so she could fish. This was before the babe came, mind you.” He stared down at the smooth river stone, weighing it in his broad palm. “I could watch her for hours. Gods, but she was beautiful.” Across the rushing water, Eva waved at them from the trees. Cosi raised a weary hand in reply before she skipped nimbly across the rocks to wait for them. “Are you sure this is the right way?” Turr asked, skimming his stone across the lively current. “No offense, but can we really trust a Marsh Elf? They’d get lost in a barrel. And that fox is just a fox in the end.”

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