Shielding her eyes from the blowing
wind with her hands, Flindra looked around.
At first, she saw nothing. Then
she noticed that there was a dark area beyond the trees near a rock
outcrop. It was too dark to be a shadow,
besides the snow was masking the sun so there were no distinct shadows. She dismounted and led Deru over to the dark
spot.
It was the entrance to a cave! The opening was narrow, but if she unsaddled
Deru, she could get him in. She quickly
hauled the saddle from his back and pulled him into the cave. Flindra immediately bent down to start a
fire. As usual, she had some dry
kindling in her pockets. She put some
pine needles before her on the ground.
Striking a piece of flint with her knife, she sent a few tiny sparks
into the pile of needles. The needles
smoldered for a moment and then they burst into flames. She was careful to add the rest of her
kindling slowly so as not to smother her awakening fire. Patience was necessary when coaxing a fire to
life.
The light from her small fire
illuminated the cave. In the back was a
sizable pile of twigs and branches - collected by generations of pack
rats. She gathered some of the twigs and
placed them slowly on the fire. Soon she
had the warmth of a pleasant fire before her.
Flindra then tended Deru. She covered his back with the saddle blankets
to help him stay warm. He was wet from
the damp snow and it wouldn't do to have him get too cold and get sick. Then, she slipped a feedbag over his
nose. He stood at the back of the cave
and slowly chewed his grain. He relaxed
with one of his hips slacked so his hoof was tipped against the ground. In the manner of horses, he rested.
She then stockpiled some of the pack
rat nesting material next to the fire.
There was enough fuel in the cave to last her several days, which was a
great relief. If the bitter cold continued,
she would have to keep feeding the fire to keep from freezing. She spread out her sleeping furs by the fire,
knowing that the cold would wake her and remind her to add wood to the flames.
As exhausted as she was, she knew she
must spare a moment for a prayer of thanksgiving. She had made it safely to this cave and knew
it was the hand of the Spirit, which had pointed the way.
Flindra kneeled on the blankets. "Spirit," she whispered. "Thank You for all your help on this
journey for I know You've been with me.
Grant me the wisdom and strength I need to even claim my identity. I'm so ignorant of what I must do. Help me and guide me, Beloved One. Make me an instrument of Your
Will." She bowed her head. "Thank you."
She then sat and pulled off her boots
so she could rest more comfortably.
Finally she snuggled into her furs and knew the sleep of utter
exhaustion.
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