Emberflame Ridge Aftershock

Wildfire sat up with a groan, catching her breath and gathering her bearings. She peered up the slope from which she had just tumbled, a little surprised she hadn't broken her neck. It was steep and slippery, covered in loose scree. Then pain pulsed through her and she winced, glancing down at herself. None of her limbs were broken, thank goodness, but judging by the tightness and pain in her sides, she might have bruised some ribs. She drew in a slow, deep breath to test this theory, then hissed it back out through her teeth.

You friggin' klutz, she chastised herself, standing slowly and carefully. She sipped in shallow breaths, looking at her surroundings. She was near the bottom of a forested mount, where she had spent the better part of a day and night. She had actually slept in a dead, burnt tree and still smelled a bit like ash. Wildfire figured trying to climb upward again was a bad idea. It would be safest and smartest to head out toward the very flat, very even plain, where she couldn't fall down and break any more body parts.

With a grunt, she began to move along in the ridge's shadow.