Chapter 10
A Test of Courage
A steep cliff face looms. Luna's bravery is called upon to lead the ascent, while Skye's keen senses help them navigate the treacherous climb.
The air grew thin and sharp as Luna and Skye pressed onward, the familiar scent of pine and damp earth giving way to the stark, mineral tang of exposed rock. Before them, a sheer cliff face rose like a jagged tooth against the bruised twilight sky, its surface a tapestry of weathered stone, impossibly steep and seemingly unscalable. A cold dread, sharp and primal, coiled in Luna’s belly. This was the barrier the old owl had warned them about, the one that guarded the approach to the Sunken Meadow.
“By the Great Spirit,” Skye breathed, her usually bright voice hushed with awe and a tremor of fear. Her lithe body tensed, her ears swiveling, taking in the vast emptiness that stretched below. “It’s… it’s higher than any tree I’ve ever seen.”
Luna’s gaze traced the daunting ascent. Crags jutted out like broken teeth, promising precarious handholds. Tiny fissures, barely wide enough for a paw, offered the only possibility of purchase. The wind, a constant companion on their journey, now whipped around the cliff’s face, threatening to tear them from any fragile hold they might find. Her heart hammered against her ribs, a wild drumbeat of apprehension. She was no climber. Her strength lay in the earth, in the chase, in the deep woods where she knew every root and shadow. This vertical world was alien, terrifying.
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