Characters: Elden/Misham
Series: Another Life
Several people were out when the four men started off on their hike home. A few raised their hand in farewell, but none came over. Elden wondered if they were being considerate of Misham’s empathy or if they were in too much of a hurry preparing for the upcoming storm. When Elden glanced at Misham he saw the surprise in the other man’s eyes. He smiled at him when Misham lifted his arm and tentatively waved back to them.
Elden was anxious to get home. He wanted to spend time with this man, find out who he was. The stars had only sent him visions of what had been, never showing what was to come of the shy empath. He wanted to know what made Misham smile, what his hopes and dreams were.
He stole glances of the man walking beside him, collecting as much as he could about him. He started to worry that it would take longer to return home when he saw Misham struggling. The thin man was tiring too fast. He no longer took steps, instead, he shuffled his feet. The shuffling piled snow on top of his snowshoes. The extra weight had Misham stumbling. Elden rushed to catch him before he could fall.
“Pateras, we need to stop for a moment.” Elden saw a downed tree and guided Misham to it. He gave Misham a gentle push. Once the young man was seated, Elden knelt and cleared the snow from his shoes. Glancing up, he saw the concern on his fathers' faces. It had taken them two days to reach Tarvos, however, Misham didn’t seem to have the stamina that they had.
“Is all well?” Sander asked.
Before Elden could respond, Misham stood. “Yes. Thank you. We can continue on.”
They’d only traveled an hour when Elden’s concern rose again. Misham’s breath was puffing out more than the steam from the lava domes in the south. The cold air combined with the energy being spent was taking a toll on the empath. He swayed as he took each step.
Elden felt his dominance start to surge through him. It was demanding he take care of the submissive. Protect him from harm. And what was harming Misham was the pace of their hike.
“Stop!” Elden had to raise his voice as he and Misham had fallen several yards behind his fathers. He lifted Misham’s arm around his shoulder when the exhausted man leaned against him. They were at a narrow part of the trail. He looked but couldn’t see anywhere for Misham to sit and rest.
By the time Sander and Rastus had backtracked to them, Elden was taking the full weight of Misham. He saw his own concern echoed in Rastus’s eyes.
“If I remember correctly, there’s an outcrop of rocks not too far ahead. If we can get to them, Misham, you can rest a bit longer.” Rastus’s voice was laced with encouragement. He reached out and slipped the satchel Misham was carrying off his shoulder. “I’ll carry this for now.”
Misham squared his shoulders and Elden felt the weight of him ease. Elden missed the weight as the cold air rushed in to replace it.
“I can make it.” The exhaustion was heavy in Misham’s words.
Elden doubted his resolve. Sadly, he was proven right when just a few yards down the trail, the empath stumbled and fell to the ground.
“Please. Just a moment’s rest,” Misham begged. “Please, don’t be angry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I try to block it, but I can feel it coming from you.”
The pain and desperation in the empath’s voice tore deep into Elden’s soul. He glared at Sander. “He’s trying his best!”
“Control yourself, pais,” Sander commanded Elden sternly. Then he gentled his tone. “Misham, what you feel is concern and frustration mixed together. Not at you, though. But at the worry we’ll not reach the midway cabin. The storm is almost upon us. We will have no shelter.”
Turning, Elden looked up. The sky was boiling with dark clouds. Ice and snow would soon be upon them. Looking down, he saw the complete weariness surrounding Misham. He knew they’d never make it in time.
“If we stop now. We could gather some branches and make a lean-to.” Rastus offered a solution.
“Cou-um-could why don't we take the mountain trail?” Misham asked.
Sander looked at him in surprise. “Mountain trail? There’s another trail to our village?”
Misham nodded his head. “To your village and beyond. It is a little longer, but offers several caves along the way for shelter.”
Elden knelt down next to him. “Have you traveled it before? Do you know where it is?”
“I’ve not traveled it before, but I do know where it is. Knowing all escape routes are required in our education. We learned that lesson the hard way many generations ago.”
Elden filed that in the back of his mind. Something to come back to when they were safe. He looked over toward the mountain. Steep, rocky cliffs seemed impossible to scale. “Misham, I don’t think you....we have the strength to climb the face of the mountain.”
“No,” Misham shook his head. “The trail is at the base of the mountain. We’ll need to backtrack a little. There should be a hidden cut off from the forest trail that leads to the mountain trail. We may not beat the first of the storm, but we should be able to get to the first cave shelter before the full force of the storm overtakes us.”
Elden thought Misham was more optimistic than realistic, but the need for shelter was primary.
“You are sure of this trail, Misham? We will need you to guide us.” Sander’s tone was one of urgency.
Elden saw pride and purpose rise in Misham as the submissive stood up.
“I can guide you. I may need the strength of all three of you to make it there, but I will guide you.”
Sander took several of Elden’s bags and added them to his own load. “We’ll give you all that we are, agape. Elden will only be the beginning. Rastus will be next, and then I will give you my strength.”
Lifting Misham’s arm around his shoulder once more, Elden nodded to his father. Yes. This was only the beginning. He knew the stars had shown him Misham’s past so that together they could travel the path of what lay ahead together.
On to Chapter 6a
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