Charlie hesitated as she faced the gate. The others wanted her to go through first, but she wasn't so sure she should. Maybe it was that she wasn't sure if everything had gotten straightened out and would be able to get started without her, or maybe it was that Aina and Bith seemed to need her so much, even if it was just to tell her about a weird dream they had or something pretty they'd found, or maybe it was because she always thought of something else to do that her friends weren't convinced needed to be done right then.
Yet, she knew that when her friends had decided something, she had to comply, otherwise she was afraid that they could end up with a dynamic that whatever she wanted was what they did. The main reason she didn't want that to occur was the simple fact that she was worried that she might end up getting bogged down with something else and maybe even forget, for a time, what her main reason for starting this expedition was.
Though, none of that was why she was hesitating. The reason she was hesitating was because the distance to the bottom of the cliff was making her dizzy. Even though she was secured by the rope made from the arachnoid's silk, she couldn't help but imagine the rope catching her and then getting cut by a sharp rock or something. There was only a few feet from the gate to the edge of the cliff and she felt herself unsure if they should look for another gate, at least until they could build a tower or something that made traversing through this gate safer.
Taking a deep breath, knowing full well that her friends were likely starting to get impatient, she edged around along the edge of the cliff and entered the gate. As she passed through, she let out her breath, though the first thing she noticed was the rope that had been tied to connect her with her friends became loose. The second was that she was through the gate, and could tell that she was in a kind of forest. She wasn't sure if it was tropical, a swamp, or what, just that there was a lot of trees and not too much actual sunlight making it through the canopy of the trees.
The air was warm and humid, but the ground was dry and not anywhere near a cliff, so she was happy about that. Although, that said, she didn't care so much for the odors around her. Some of it was rotting wood, some was maybe some gases that didn't smell very pleasant, but she was pretty sure some animal had died nearby and was rotting through.
Charlie stepped away from the gate and looked at the rope that had been tied around her waist. The rope looked like it had been cut cleanly and Charlie wondered if it was because of the gate. She couldn't say exactly why she thought that's what cut it, but that's what came to mind.
Wes was the next one through, though she noticed that he didn't have the rope around his waist anymore. Though, he looked around and Charlie couldn't help but wonder if he'd already seen her or if she somehow blended in with the scenery better than she would have expected.
However, a minute later, Wes turned to her and asked, "Did you cut the rope yourself?"
It took Charlie a minute to realize what he'd just asked her and she couldn't help but glare at him. "Of course I didn't cut it," she snapped. "All I know is that it went slack as I came through."
"Well, we thought that might have happened, but you know how Beth can be. I mean, you know how she gets when it might lead to some gossip," Wes remarked.
Charlie couldn't help but sigh. "I guess I should have expected that," she acknowledged. "I just wish I didn't have to."
"If you don't want to know what any of us are doing, just don't say anything," Hannah commented as she came through the gate.
Charlie didn't respond. Even though it was still early morning in the world they just came from, but she got the sense that it might be around noon on this world or early afternoon. She hoped it wouldn't be that close to the sunset, but still resigned herself to having difficulty getting to sleep that night. After all, she wasn't going to be able to wear herself out from her usual daily activities and moving around if that was the case, so she couldn't be sure that the time change would make it harder to get to sleep when the sun went down.
However, she was sure she'd probably be able to figure something out. Although, she could imagine that she could get worn out just from dealing with her friends. Including their usual banter.
"Okay, we've given up on the rope," Ralph said as he came through the gate. "Tim checked at because the angle the rope has to get or something when we enter the gate in comparison to where the other end of the rope was being held."
Charlie didn't really follow all of what he said, but she also didn't really care. All she really knew was that she didn't want to go through that gate again if she didn't have to, until something was built to keep them from falling off the edge of the cliff.
Amelia came through next, almost right behind Ralph and she slowed her pace significantly as she saw their surroundings. "Wow, I bet there's a lot of herbs that could be found here," she commented, her eyes wide as she took in their surroundings.
"Easy Amelia," Charlie cautioned. "We don't have time for you to investigate every plant, root, and berry."
"You never know what you might find," Amelia countered.
Charlie chuckled, knowing that she'd love to be able to search as well. The two plants that she'd scanned had opened up a whole new world of possibilities for her. She was eager to have that happen again and she'd love it if Amelia found several plants that had medicinal uses or otherwise. Yet, she had to rein herself in, with how she knew that they needed to move on finding the world with that griffin canyon in it. Especially with how they'd already taken too long on the world they'd just came from.
While Charlie wanted to get started out right away to the next gate, her enthusiasm was challenged again as Beth and Tim came through together.
"What took you so long?" Hannah complained. "That was, what? Like five minutes since Amelia came through?"
"Well, we had to take a minute because there's someone over there that wanted to say something to Charlie," Tim said.
Charlie sighed. Another delay. This wasn't one that she could have foreseen, at least she assumed she couldn't have as she had no idea who would want to talk with her at the moment.
"I'll be right back," Charlie said, her stomach feeling queasy at having to deal with that cliff again.
So, as she neared the gate, she carefully moved slowly so she wouldn't have any momentum that could carry her over the edge of the cliff. While she had to deal with the cliff again, she wasn't going to let herself fall if she could help it.
When she saw her foot go through the gate, she sighed and slowly moved herself through the gate. Then she carefully moved to the side of the gate so she wouldn't pass through again. When she was sure she was to the side of the gate, she carefully walked backwards. She felt like her heart was going to break out of her chest with how hard it was pounding.
When she was about five feet away from the edge of the cliff, she felt safe enough to turn around was what she saw shocked her. It was Aina, Bith, Aina's father, and another man and woman. As Charlie looked at the woman, it took her a minute to realize that she was Aina's mother.
Before Charlie could do anything, Aina and Bith ran forward and took Charlie's hands in theirs and started tugging her towards the people waiting.
"Thank you for saving my daughter and niece and keeping them safe," the woman said as Charlie approached, or was dragged, as it felt kind of like Aina and Bith were doing.
"No problem," Charlie replied, unsure what else to say.
"We wanted you to meet our parents," Aina said. Then when she looked at her smiling father, she amended her statement. "Uh, aside from my father, I mean."
"Well, it's nice to meet you," Charlie said. "I only wish I could meet Bith's mother."
Charlie was about three feet away from Aina's mother and Bith's father when they stopped pulling on Charlie, though they didn't let go of her hands.
"I'm sure she's happy that Bith had someone like you to protect her," Bith's father said. "It's nice to meet you and thank you personally."
Charlie was starting to wonder if they'd come up here just to thank her. While she appreciated the though, she felt a little impatient about that thought. Especially since she was wanting to get on with her expedition.
"If you ever come back tot his world, we'd love to have you over," Aina's mother said. "We hope to have a home near where that strange forest opens to our world."
"I'll keep that in mind," Charlie replied. "I just hope that Aina and Bith are able to grow up in a peaceful world."
"We'd love that as well," Bith's father said.
Then as Charlie turned to leave, Aina seemed to remember something. "Wait!" she called out, digging through her pockets, clearly searching for something.
Charlie turned back to Aina and crouched down so she was eye level with the girl. While she really did want to get going, she felt that she could give this girl a minute or two. Especially since it was clear that she wasn't doing this to try and keep Charlie, but rather she had apparently forgotten where she had put something.
"I just had it!" Aina wailed, tears starting to form in her eyes.
Charlie smiled reassuringly, even though Aina wasn't looking at her. She considered telling Aina that she could get whatever she was looking for when she came back again, but couldn't be sure if that wouldn't make things worse. Though, that was assuming Aina wanted to give her something. She couldn't think of what else she would be looking for and wouldn't be surprised if her assumption was wrong.
"Aina, I could give her mine if you'd like," Bith suggested, looking worried at her cousin.
"No, it has to be mine!" Aina said, tears starting to fall.
"Aina," Charlie said to the girl, gently but firmly, causing Aina to look at her. "Calm down and breathe, okay?"
Aina nodded and Charlie was vaguely aware of her parents and Bith's father watching them silently, their expressions telling her that they had no idea what the girls had in mind.
"Now, you clearly didn't put it in your pockets, or it had fallen out, okay?" Charlie said and Aina nodded slowly, her expression remaining tense. "So, what was it that you were looking for?"
"My first horns," Aina murmured, tears continuing to run down her face.
"Okay. So, were they just by themselves or had you made something with them?" Charlie wasn't sure how to phrase what she had in her mind and hoped that Aina understood her.
"I- I made a necklace with them," Aina said, her voice sounding stronger, which Charlie was relieved at. The girl was finally calming down.
"So, if it isn't in your pocket, where else might you have put a necklace you didn't want to lose?" Charlie asked, wondering if she would need to peek inside the girl's mind to see what she had done with her necklace.
Aina seemed to think for a few minutes, and Charlie was starting to wonder if the girl was more scatterbrained than she had originally thought or sensed the time she had looked in the girl's mind when they had first met.
"Oh!" she said suddenly, a broad smile forming on her face as the tears in her eyes disappearing. "I put it around my neck!" As she said that, she pulled out a small necklace that was merely a strip of leather that was tied around two small horns that were about two inches long. "These were my first horns from when I was two. My mother told me they were special and I should give to someone who means a lot to me." Aina then extended the necklace to Charlie. "I would really like it if you would accept them and I hope they would help protect you."
Charlie smiled at Aina. While she didn't really understand the significance of this, she was at least relieved that it wasn't something that was supposed to be only given as a declaration of love. She wasn't sure how she'd respond if that was the case. Although, part of her wondered if she'd seen too much of Wes' anime to get an idea like that.
"Thank you, Aina," Charlie said, as she accepted the proffered gift. "I'll be sure to-" Charlie stopped as she found that she couldn't put the necklace on. The leather strip wasn't big enough. So, Charlie took a moment to look at it, trying to think of what she could do to show Aina that she would keep it with her. However, nothing came to mind, so she quickly continued what she had been saying. "-to keep it with me. I'll treasure it as much as I'm sure your mother and father treasure you."
Charlie felt an urge to laugh as she saw Aina's face go beet red at her statement, and for a moment she wondered if she said something that would be interpreted in some other way than she'd like. However, she didn't have time to think about it before Aina threw her arms around Charlie in a tight embrace.
Charlie smiled as she returned the hug. Then she looked at Aina's parents who nodded at her while smiling. Then she turned her attention back to Aina as she released Charlie.
"Please visit us when you can, okay?" Aina asked.
"Of course," Charlie replied as Aina and Bith moved back to their parents.
"Safe travels, Charlie Rivers," Aina's father said to her.
"Thank you again for being there for my daughter and her cousin," Aina's mother said.
"Thank you for saving what's left of my family," Bith's father said. "I'm sure you'll never know how much I'm in your debt."
Charlie wasn't sure if that was a cultural thing for them or if he was declaring something that was just going over her head, but she wasn't sure she really wanted to know the details. At the very least, she thought that she should treat it as him being polite in expressing his appreciation for her saving Bith from the deer-kin who were likely going to sell the girls as slaves, like they had planned on doing to the rest of the pronghorn-kin.
"I'm happy that everything worked out the way it did," Charlie replied as she stood up. "I'll be going now, but I hope that I'll be able to come back this way."
Then as farewells were exchanged, Charlie felt tears start to well up in her own eyes. Though, she quickly turned around to head to the gate so they wouldn't be seen. The upside with her focusing on hiding the tears from the pronghorn-kin was that she forgot to worry about the cliff until she was already through the gate.
However, she did have to endure of teasing about the tears in her eyes from her friends, which wasn't the worst thing that could happen to her. Besides, she knew that they weren't being critical of her with tears and they quickly moved on to other topics. Such as continuing where they had left off the day before on the book Wizard's First Rule as they started to walk in the direction that Tim said he felt the closest gate was in.
Charlie wasn't sure how she'd be able to wear the necklace she'd been given, since the strip of leather couldn't grow in length any and if she untied it, she knew that it still wouldn't be long enough to allow her to put it over her head to put it on or take it off. So, in the end, she put it in her pack, planning on dealing with that another time. When she would be able to come up with an actual solution about it.