Asleep in the Trees

JP with Wim, Gonyaul and Alexis:

Wim drew it again getting it in his mind. He was trusting that the foresters could get them back to the keep and back to here. He rubbed the scratches in the dirt out.
“A kiss for luck?” he asked know the reaction would be a scowl.
“We will be back before dusk,” Wim said motioning to the foresters they were retreating to get help.

Gonyaul smirked. Wim’s strategies were very entertaining. It was like diving off into a bizarre waterfall of imagination. He was not sure how tactically sound they were, but it was interesting to listen to.

He wondered if he should speak up and propose a simpler plan. Simple was not only easy, but more importantly … repeatable; better than complex. He decided not to, obviously these two were the experts. What did he know about such things?

While Gonyaul was watching what appeared to be a final exchange between Wim and Alexis, he was pondering what would be the best scenario for safely spending the night.

Option A: Move far enough off the path and make a hidden fire pit camp. This would take much more time to set up. Digging the hidden fire pit was one of the concerns, but also gathering the materials to start and keep the fire going we’re another. Because of how hot they burn, which was good because they don’t produce smoke, the hidden fire pit would need constant attention. Not to mention, on the ground, they would definitely need a look out. This meant one person was not going to get any sleep. Or both would barely get any rest. They would have a source of heat though.

Option B: The other option he was thinking of would allow both to sleep without a lookout because detecting them would be exceedingly difficult. Problems included comfort and cold; they would only have body heat and what they were wearing. In addition, it may be a mute point if he couldn’t teach Alexis to climb the tree correctly.

“You need more than luck.”

Alexis commented dryly.

“Don’t get lost on the way back.”

Gonyaul watched and bowed farewell as the three men departed. And then there were only two left in the darkness of the night. They were definitely short handed now for whatever rescue attempt possibility.

“Good chance they get lost and we not see them again.” He whispered. Then his optimism drive kicked in. “Then again, could show back up when most matter.” In a nutshell he was saying prepare for the worst and hope for the best.

Gonyaul went on to explain the pros and cons of the two options to Alexis the best he could to see which one she preferred. Unless she had a better idea, he was mentioned that he personally would be doing the tree option if he was alone out here.

“Tree it is.”

Alexis decided.

“We need some rest, comfortable or not.”

Gonyaul nodded and removed both his linen wraps from each arm. He gave one to Alexis and demonstrated how to fold and twist them to give more strength and stability to the material. He then took the time to demo how to use it and leverage the body’s mechanics to go up without losing tension and falling back to earth.

They practiced a few times with short distances before Gonyaul was comfortable with her performance enough to let her do it for real. He appreciated how well she listened, followed directions and executed. She was a fast learner.

He carefully marked the environment in very subtle ways he would be able to identify and the beckoned her to follow him off the trail path. As they went he marked their new line. While he was up in the tree earlier, he saw a better tree silhouette for this about 20 yards to the east.

The tree trunk was much more massive with this tree. There were no branches until about 27 feet up in the air and some of those branches were perfect for supporting the weight of two people. Alexis needed to go first, so he could be beneath her for support if she needed it.

Gonyaul explained as best he could, and gesturing at the same time, that the plan was for her to shimmy up the tree first with him directly beneath her doing the same thing. If she did lose tension she would crash down into him and he could stop her plummeting descent long enough for her to regain her footing and body leverage.

He helped make sure everything was set up correctly and secure before patiently waiting for her to begin. He pointed to the branch he thought best for her to straddle once she got to the top.

You never get too old to learn something new. This was a pretty nifty way to climb the more slippery trees, and she would gladly commit it to memory.

When Gonyaul settled for a tree she went first as instructed, taking her time, not planning to have poor Gonyaul catch her.

It went pretty well - a mercenary’s life did provide with a good training schedule - and she hoisted herself up on the branch, proceeding to tie the linen around her.

Gonyaul was fast behind her and thankful that she didn’t slip. He would have encouraged her excellent progress as they moved up the tree but being as quiet as possible was important right now.

Once Alexis was in place, Gonyaul straddled the same strong and sturdy tree branch facing inward just in front of her. He checked her tie and it was good; easily keeping her upright and safely in the tree while they would be sleeping.

He then moved into her body as close as possible and secured his linen wrap around the tree and under his armpits, thus pinning Alexis to the base of the tree even more.

She was taller than him so he fit perfectly like a puzzle piece in their embrace. His head resting more on her upper chest and lower shoulder as a pillow. Her head being higher would have to either use the top of his head or upper shoulder, or combo.

He wrapped his arms around her and found some piece of her outfit to secure his hands. Their clothes and body proximity would be the only thing keeping them warm tonight.

The good news about him being on the outside was his dark winter cloak made them camouflaged in the dark. You would never know they were there from the ground.

He whispered, “you good?” Referring to her stability. Comfort was just going to be what it was going to be.

“Yeah, this should work fine. Are you good?”

Alexis quietly responded, clearly not referring to his stability.

“Good.” He whispered, with his voice flushed with fatigue.

She could feel his body melt into hers. He was exhausted and he finally let himself relax. He had sprinted two hours to find her. Then jogged over three hours to get back roughly from whence he started, and then was crawling and tracking (and intensely focusing) for over an hour and a half.

He cuddled into her for warmth and to get as comfortable as possible in this situation. She was taller at 6’2”, so it made it easy.

His eyes closed. “Tomorrow we find friend.”

He had done this before by himself, but never with another person. The experience was significantly different.

To Alexis, sleep came not quite as easily, despite her own exhaustion.

She knew her chances of succeeding where paperthin. And if she were just by herself, that would be fine. It was her life to give, after all.
Gonyaul’s, not so much.

She wondered if she could get the peculiar man to go back to safety once they found the sacrificial grounds. He had already done so much more than anyone could be expected to.

She looked up, through the branches of their tree, to the still darkened sky.
And prayed.

‘Please… I need your help.’

She didn’t really know who she was adressing. The pillars? Vastad? Probably.

‘Please… this time let me get there before it’s to late. Let her…’

She looked down to the mop of hair resting on her chest.

‘… and him make it out of there.’