It was hard to breathe. Trees thinned out until all they could see was white, but they continued on. No longer firm and stable, snow gave way to paws and feet.The sky was clear, with the clouds being behind them. Winding around another bend Ayla knew they were getting close, she could feel it. Perran no longer lopped beside her, instead he kept a steady pace in front. They climbed on, hoping that over the ridge they would see their destination. Rumbling could be heard all over, Ayla hoped they would not get caught in an avalanche. Ayla felt the pack she was carrying slid a little. Escaping from an avalanche would be hard. Even if they did, there was no guarantee that their supplies would last or make it also.

“ Just a little farther, I can see the summit.” Perran called out. “Hopefully it will be an easy climb down.”

“Do we need to take a break? You have been breaking the way for a while now Perran. I don’t want to have to treat you for frostbite.” Ayla adjusted the pack a little higher on her shoulder.

“I’m fine, we will rest when we get to the top. I just want to finish this.”

“How are your reserves? If an avalanche..”

“Stop fretting. I’ve been reinforcing the path in front of us as we climb. It should hold if the mountain decides to move.” Perran picked up the pace.

Ayla chuckled “Stubborn cat” and trudged on, knowing that there was no arguing with him. She could understand his reluctance to stop with their goal so close. It would be nice to be descending when the sun started to sink. Hopefully they would have enough time to dig into the mountain and set up a camp. If all went well maybe they could have something warm for dinner. A shout came from the front.

“Ayla, you have to see this!”

“What is it?” Ayla picked up the pace, she was not sure how Perran got so far ahead.

“Just get up here and look.” Perran turned and looked down at her.

“I’m going as fast as I can. I know you lighten the pack but it is still cumbersome.” By this time Ayla was almost jogging up the slope, the pack in mention bouncing behind her. Just as she was about to reach the top Ayla slipped and started to fall backwards.

“You idiot.” Perran darted forward and caught Ayla’s arm in his mouth. Grabbing Perran’s fur with her hand, Ayla steady herself. Once he noticed she was stable Perran let go. Ayla collapsed onto the snow, her chest heaving trying to take in as much air as she could. Time went slowly as Ayla leaned forward into Perran, the stark realization that she almost fell headlong down the alp was all to real.

“Are you okay?”

“I think I will be”

“Can you stand?” Ayla sat up then stood. Dusting the snow off her pants, she shouldered the pack once again.

“What is so amazing, that I had to see right away.” Perran turned his head and looked down.

“That.”

Looking down Ayla gasped. In the bowel shaped valley below was a forest. However unlike the tepid forest they passed through on their way to the mountain, Ayla could see tall jungle trees. Many of the trees seemed like they could reach twenty to thirty feet. Vines twisted around tree trunks and the ground was covered in many plants. Cutting down one side of the mountain a river disappeared into the jungle.

“How is that possible?”

“I don’t know, but we better start making our way down if we do not want to be caught on the peak at night.” Picking a spot Perran slowly started his way down the slope, Ayla following close behind him. By the position of the sun in the sky, they did not have much time until sunset. Even with the warning of oncoming darkness they took their time. Slowly cutting a path through the snow, just as they did on their climb up. As the sun started to dipp lower on the horizon, Perran stopped.

“Let’s make camp here.” Jutting his head to the left “Over by that ledge, I think there is a cave. We will be able to make a much easier camp for the night in it.”

“If we are lucky we can get a fire going. We still have soup left and it should go well with the bird you caught.” Ayla shifted her weight and changed direction, the promise of a nice warm meal was enough to put a pep in her step. The cave Perran spotted was more of a hole, but it looked big enough to fit them both and that was all that mattered. Dropping the pack, Ayla started digging through it. After finding what she was looking for, Ayla moved toward the entrance. Two metal spikes were used to hang a large sheet. Perran stood watch, looking at the valley below.

“Come in from the cold you crazy feline.” Ayla shuffled back to the pack, once again looking though it. Finding the items she was looking for, a clay bowl and a wrapped bird, Ayla turned back to the middle and made a pit using rocks and sticks.

“Can you light it or do I need to try with the flint?”

“I’ll light it, but we can not leave the fire going long. There is no good way to funnel the smoke out.” Perran stared at the pit, took a breath and blew. Flames sprouted to life, causing shadows to sway and dance along the walls. Ayla nestled the bowl closer to the pit and began unwrapping the bird. Looking around she found a flat rock that she placed into the middle. Carefully Ayla laid two pieces of meat on the rock to cook. Leaning back Ayla watched Perran lay on the other side of the fire, closets to the entrance. Listening to the sounds of the fire and meat cooking, a peace finally settled over the two. It had been such a long journey to this point and conscious that an end was a near eased worries that both had. A pop came from the fire, bits of flames shooting up to the ceiling.

“Are you going to burn our dinner? I think Sophia would be disappointed if you forgot all of her cooking lessons.” Ayla glared at Perran, while carefully scooting the rock out of the fire. Peeking at the bowl, Ayla quickly moved it also to avoid more liquid boiling over. Perran buried his head in his paws, trying to muffle little huffs of laughter. Ayla’s head shot back to Perran.

“Laugh it up furball and see if I don’t eat your portion.” Perran quickly raised his head.

“You would not dare.”

“Keep it up and I will.” Perran moved a paw and snagged part of Ayla’s pants. Tugging on it, he gave her his most saddest eyes. Ayla shook her head and tossed Perran one of the cooked pieces of meat. Immediately letting go of Ayla, Perran began devouring his portion. Grabbing a cup from the pack, Ayla began to eat.

“Do you think we will make it to the jungle tomorrow?” Perran consumed the last of his meal. Resting his head on his paws, Perran hesitated before answering.

“I think we can, as long as the weather stays calm.” Training his eyes on Ayla, Perran asked. “Is the pull you felt still guiding you down the mountain.”

Ayla closed her eyes, breathed deeply and centered herself. It was still there, the tug that she felt many weeks ago back at the Northern Outpost. A deep pull that seemed to become stronger the further they traveled. No change in direction, unlike in the beginning when they were first trying to find the right path.

“It is. It has grown but no feeling of being led another way.”

“Well we better get some rest then.” Rising to his feet Perran turned to the entrance. “I’ll make sure we have a good ward set up so we don’t each have to take a watch.”

Ayla nodded, it was a good idea, both of them needed to be sharp for any pitfalls ahead. She watched Perran scratch a circle into one of the entrance walls. Speaking softly, a hum surrounded Perran and the circle began to glow. Tearing her eyes from Perran and his work, Ayla began cleaning up the mess from their dinner. After cleaning and rewrapping the leftover meat Ayla stored them into the pack. She then grabbed out of it a large, thick blanket. Standing she grabbed the cup and used water to douse the fire. Once the flames had died, Ayla spread the blanket out and sat down. Perran joined her, wrapping himself around her back near the edge of the blanket. Ayla grabbed the sides of the blanket and wrapped as much as she could around herself. Snuggling as close as she could to Perran, Alya closed her eyes.

Dawn creeped its way in, casting its light on to the sleeping pair. Perran opened one eye, then let out a yawn. Standing he stretched, then shook his entire body from his head to the tip of his tail. After shaking off the remnants of sleep, Perran looked at his still sleeping companion. Ayla had not woke, even though most of the blanket was no longer covering her. Perran took the time to study Ayla, taking notes of the deeping shadows under her eyes. He so wanted to let her sleep a little longer, but knew that they needed to get moving as soon as possible. With a heavy heart Perran nudged Ayla with his nose. Ayla groaned and waved him away.

“Come on Ayla get up. We are losing daylight.” Perran tried once more to wake Ayla, this time grabbing her shirt and shaking her.

“Stop, stop, I’m awake you crazy cat.” Perran let go of her shirt, causing Ayla to flop back onto the blanket. “Was that way of waking really necessary?”

“You are the one that did not want to budge”

“I’m sure you could have thought of something else.”

“I could have dragged you outside.” Perran looked over to the sheet that still covered the entrance. “I’m sure a nice dip in the snow would have been a great way to start this day.”

Ayla shook her head and stood. Feeling the muscles in her back tighten, Ayla stretched her arms behind her back until she could hear popping. She then walked over to the sheet and removed it. Replacing it along with the spikes back in the bag, Ayla pulled out two wrappings. She broke off a piece of bread for herself and threw some meat to Perran. They ate quickly then started back down the mountain. Steam rose off the forest below, filling the air around them with heavy moisture. Slipping and sliding they crept down the mountain until they finally reached the forest. Snow and rocks gave way to lush foliage and titanic trees. Where before there was nothing to see, now it was impossible to see everything. Perran and Ayla both walked through the forest marveling at all the sights. Pausing at a stream, Ayla bent down to refill her canteen when a noise came from her left. Before she could fully turn Ayla found herself on her back looking up at a furry head with massive fangs.

“Ayla!”