Imdalind 01 - Kiss of Fire

above me.
    If I was fast climbing up trees, it was nothing to how fast I was going down. I knew Ryland didn’t have a prayer. There was a movie I had watched when I was a kid, that had a man and boy climbing out of a tree as a car fell down on top of them. They swung and jumped and leaped in their frantic attempt to beat the car out of the tree and not be crushed to death. It had scared me senseless at the time; but in all reality, that’s how I felt when I climbed down trees.
    I continued to drop, not bothering to look at where Ry was beside me. Branches flew past me as I swung from one to another, dropping, only to catch myself on a large outstretched branch at the last moment. I could hear Wyn mumble below me, making me smile.
    I released the branch that I had just grabbed, to fall to another one a few feet below me. I realized moments after I let go that I was going to overshoot and miss the branch I was aiming for. I looked down; there was still another ten feet to the ground. Wyn cried out in fear, which broke my concentration for a minute.
    I pushed Wyn’s panic from my mind as I twisted in the air to grab a branch that was next to me. I knew my timing was off because of the distraction. My leg slammed into the tree, and I felt a small branch poke into my skin through my pants. I continued my descent, gravity pulling me down headfirst, as I reached for another branch below me, I could feel the twig grind against the skin on my calf as it ripped through my pants. Great.
    I grabbed the last branch before swinging my legs down all the way, my feet coming in contact with the ground. I let go of the tree, my burst of energy dissipating as I released the tree branch and dropped to the ground to pull my leg around to inspect the cut. My skin was slightly scraped - it was barely even bleeding. My pants, on the other hand, were a lost cause. The fabric was cut from my knee all the way down to the hem.
    “Oh, my gosh! Joclyn, that was amazing!” I heard Wyn come up right beside me, her voice in awe.
    “You think so?” It seemed so natural to me, to hear it described as amazing was kind of odd. I heard Ryland drop to the ground, and turn to make his way over to us.
    “Yes!” Wyn squealed. “And, when you almost fell, I thought my heart was going to stop.”
    “You almost fell?” Ryland asked with something beyond alarm in his voice.
    “Yes! She dropped from one branch to another, but missed the one she wanted, so, she kind of twisted around to catch a different one. I was so scared.” Wyn provided actions and everything like she was retelling the plot to an exciting action movie.
    “Are you okay?” Ryland asked, while looking me over. I ignored his appraisal and pulled the hoodie back over my head as I moved to stand next to him. It was then he saw my ripped jeans and the long scratch, his sharp intake of breath was a little exaggerated for the situation.
    “It’s a scratch, Ry.” I said as he once again swept me up in his arms and carried me to a rock in front of the fire. “You’re being ridiculous.”
    “I guess I owe you a new pair of pants,” he sighed as he inspected the rip and the cut.
    “Two,” I reminded him. Wyn plopped down on the rock next to mine and mouthed the word “boyfriend” with heavy exaggeration.
    I scowled at her before turning my attention back to Ryland.
    “Does it hurt much? We can go if we need to.” His concern was evident in his voice.
    “No!” I responded a little too loudly. I wasn’t in the mood to be carried through the woods for twenty minutes. “I just need pie,” I provided at Ryland’s affronted look, which turned into a wide grin.
    “Boyfriend,” Wyn whispered after Ryland went to the other side of the fire to grab the pie.
    “Will you knock it off,” I hissed.
    Ryland sat on the ground between us, opening the top of the box that held the delicious chocolate crème pie and about five plastic forks. This was one of those times when his “grab a fistful” system worked to our benefit. I dove in, and smiled as the chocolate mousse hit my tongue. Mette made the best pies.
    “So,” Wyn began and I glared into her, terrified that she was going to start the boyfriend crap again, with Ryland right in front of us. “How long have you guys been doing that tree-climbing thing? You both moved so fast, I couldn’t believe it.” I sighed in relief; at least this was something we could talk about.
    “I think the first time we went up the trees was the