…and then go still.
One scent is that of smoke and leather, and a familiar female musk that makes my heart race. Steff. For some reason, she is out here in the dangerous mountains instead of by the safety of a fire. There can only be one reason why she is here, and my heart leaps.
But the second scent? It is O'jek. And this fills me with fury. She brought the one that mocked me with her? Perhaps she is not here for me after all. Perhaps she is here to demand anything I have left. I was warned that those in the clans would seek to take anything that an Outcast had.
Maybe O'jek is here to steal my son.
The thought breaks me, because Pak is the only thing I have left. My heart aching, I snatch my son up, abandoning my spear at the base of a nearby cliff. "Shift your colors," I tell him quickly, pulling his furry white cloak over his head to hide his pale yellow mane. "Be silent. We must hide in the snow so they do not see us."
Pak just nods, watching me with wide eyes.
I race toward a snowbank by a trickling stream of heated water. The water flows from atop a cliff, and off to one side, the snow is thicker, as if it has fallen from above. I skid into it, tucking Pak against me and ducking into the thick snow. Between the shadows and our camouflage, we should be hidden, as long as the wind does not change.
We watch—and my heart pounds—as O'jek and Steff head into the canyon. O'jek looks as he always does, but Steff…Steff looks tired. Worn. Her mane is tied up in a bedraggled knot atop her head and her cheeks are chapped a bright red from the cold and the wind. She leans heavily on the spear she is using as a walking stick, and her shoulders are slumped. Even from here, I can smell the sweat on her skin.
She smells…amazing. My foolish spirit fills with yearning at the sight of her. I devour the sight of her with my eyes as they move closer to our hiding spot. There are dark circles under her eyes and her cheeks look less full. She limps, and for a moment, I am furious at O'jek. Her ankle will be weak for at least another turn of the moon. Why is she not by the campfire, resting? Why is she out here, several days from where it is safe?
Steff pauses and turns to look at O'jek, breathing heavily. "Any closer now?"
"Very close," he says, scanning the valley. "They came through here. Look at the footprints."
I inwardly curse, because I did not have time to cover our tracks. I only thought to hide our scents. I remain silent, even though Pak twitches next to me. His tail wags happily, and his small fingers clutch at my arm. He is excited to see them, because he does not understand why we are gone. He wants to go back.
Part of me wants to go back, too.
O'jek touches one of our tracks left in the churned snow. "These are recent. It has not crusted over again. As I said, they are close." He glances around. "They will be camouflaging and hard to see, if they keep the wind on their side."
Steff sags, and her bright bluish-pink lower lip quivers. "Are they avoiding me?"
"It is possible," O'jek says in a flat tone. He heads farther away, his back to me, as he looks at our tracks. "Perhaps they do not wish to be found at all."
His words sap all the strength out of Steff. She slumps to the ground and tosses her spear aside, sitting in the snow. She looks utterly defeated, staring at nothing at all. As I watch her, hungrily devouring the sight and scent of her, she sniffs loudly and swipes at her eyes.
Pak touches my arm again. "She's crying, Papa."
This feels wrong. I do not want Steff to cry over me. Steff is always kind, always thinking of others. Someone should be there to wipe her tears…and I do not want it to be O'jek. I touch my son's cheek, and then get to my feet, tossing off my cloak. I let my color ripple back to its normal shade and take a few steps out of the shadows and into the afternoon sunlight.
It still takes a moment for Steff to realize I am there. She is lost in her misery, sniffing and wiping at her chapped face. I approach her, letting my feet crunch in the snow, and when she finally looks up, her eyes go wide. Her lips part—and then she bursts into fresh tears.
I drop to my knees next to her. "This is no place for you." I touch her ankle, the one that should be resting instead of trudging through the snows. "Are you in pain?"