Sawtooth Spire zweiter teil

that cough, gravel-thick and pestilential, roughened her ears and her heart clenched around an immanent dread. something, something about its sitzfleisch put a cold-fingered fear in her; frostbitten hands lain on the warm flesh of her nape. 

he did not remark upon that of thade, and for a time, phaedra was alone with his perceptible lack of presence. and then like that, the sheen of grief passed her room by, leaving her mind's door sweeps dark once again. 

she watched him searchingly -- momentarily -- until his lithic features had warmed under the sun of her question and he rejoined gladly, in that germanic briskness most familiar. he was turning, leading them away into the pines, and his snowbloom pushed away from her nicknamesake to join in the small quest set before them. 

unconditioned to the elevation, the girl did not notice until they had descended that her breath came more easily now; and unfamiliar with the concept of altitude sickness, phaedra's only thought was that her endurance level left much to be desired. 

too much time spent on dropping on the forests eaves, not enough meal chasing. 

leaping from stone to bigger stone, keeping pace with her father overhead, the girl called down to him between bounds and grunts. "ich fühle mich wie eine maus, zwischen diese bäumen!"