Spring comes slowly to the mountain village of Red Rock. Nestled in a sheltered valley of Red Stone Canyon, the village is frequently cut off from the rest of world when the deep winter snows close off the canyon's mouth. Such had been the case this year, when drifts of enormous depth had blocked the pass in the early part of Oktober, then decided to stay for the season.

This is not to say that the villagers were caught unprepared. Generations of families living in Red Rock were well accustomed to the harsh conditions of their chosen dwelling place. Larders were filled to overflowing and firewood reserves were amply stocked well before the possibility of snow. The small mining community took great care to seal off the mines and complete every necessary preparation before the pass was closed for the long winter night.

This year's winter had been particularly brutal. It was nearing mid-May and the pass still had not cleared. Winter stores were running low. The villagers were praying the pass would open soon. Most of them, anyway. For one individual, the lengthy winter provided a good opportunity to extend her studies before work in the community forced her to set them aside.

Rhea Tomkin sat quietly, staring intently at object in her hands.

"Don't hold it so tightly, Rhea, you want to feel the grain, not crush it."

The girl glared at the elf in annoyance. "I'm not crushing it, Carriac. It's a block of wood. How could I?"

"You would be surprised what damage you can do to a block of wood with your bare hands," the elf replied. He glanced to the far corner of the room where a long, thin object wrapped tightly in stained linen stood propped against the wall. Very surprised.

"If you say so." Rhea set the block of pine back on the work bench.

"What, done already?"

She sighed. "I've been holding that hunk of wood for the last fifteen minutes, Carriac. Holding it any longer isn't gong to tell me anything I don't already know."

"You think not? How old is it?"

"Fifteen years." She smirked.

"From what part of the tree?"

"The trunk. South facing." That last part caused Carriac to raise an eyebrow. She smirked again. "Any other questions, oh great sculpting master?"

"How many times had the tree been struck by lightning?"

Rhea blinked. "You've got to be joking."

"Do I look like I'm joking?"

Rhea stared at the pine block. "How can I possibly tell that?"

Carriac stepped up to the workbench and took the block in his hand. "You can't. Your job is to listen. The wood will tell you." He closed his eyes for a moment, running his fingers lightly over the grain.

"This tree was struck by lightning twice. The first time, it sheared off a large portion of the east side. That happened in the tree's twelfth season. The second time, the tree was killed."

"You're making that up."

Carriac smiled. "I am not. You'll see someday. The wood will speak to you to."

A large commotion from outside the small house interrupted the conversation.

"Now what's that all about?" Carriac said.

Rhea went to the door and opened it.

"The pass is open, the pass is open!" The phrase was being shouted from house to house as the village seemed to wake from its long sleep. Queries and answers floated along the breeze.

"How do you know...?"
"... a visitor..."
"...when..."
"...just moments ago."

Carriac joined Rhea at the door as a slender figure dressed all in green walked through the village. People pointed and dogs barked as it wound its way through the village square to stop directly before them. The figure pulled back the hood of its heavy woolen cloak to reveal a head of raven hair. High cheekbones, slanted eyes and pointed ears set off the exotic, exquisite features of a female elf. Rhea gasped in surprise as the woman's eyes seemed to blaze as she glared at Rhea's teacher. The animosity in those eyes caused Rhea to step backwards in alarm.

Carriac simply smiled. "Hello, Mara."

[Mara]

Brushing a strand of hair from her face Mara looked from the child to Carriac, showing little if no emotion. Yet deep inside her mind was in turmoil, happy to see the man she loved standing before her, angry for finding him well and alive. Slipping her backpack from her shoulders she let it drop to the ground before stepping up.

"Hello Carriac," she said softly, her smile quickly returning. Suddenly without warning she reached up and slapped him across the cheek with a gloved hand, causing his head to snap to the right, the sound echoed throughout the village. She heard someone gasp, but she didn't care.

"That's for leaving me," as she reached up, slapping his other cheek sending his head the other way. "That's for...everything else you've put me through!"

Turning away, she reached down and threw her pack back over her shoulders. Getting it readjusted she turned back, with arms crossed and eyes narrowed. "Well? Are you going to just stand there? Introduce me to your...friend here. Damn Carriac, are you robbing cradles now?"

She tried her best to look upset, to act so cool, but once her eyes locked in on Carriac's her heart all but melted. Running up she threw her arms around him, kissing him full on the lips.

"I...I miss you," she whispered. Then she stepped back and slapped him again.

"I'm still mad at you...."

[Rhea]

Rhea stood in shock as this strange woman - Mara? - alternately slapped and kissed Carriac. And he didn't even look surprised! What was going on?

"Rhea," Carriac said, his voice its usual calm and steady tone, "I think that about does it for our lesson today. Why don't you go see if Widow Grenker needs any help clearing the rest of the snow from her garden plot?"

"But, Carriac...."

"Go, please." Carriac's eyes were locked on the newcomer. Rhea could tell that arguing would get her nowhere. This would require a different tactic.

"Yes, sir."

She retrieved her parka from a nearby chair and left the house. Her departure was made more difficult by the woman who made no effort to move out of her way. Rhea was forced to squeeze herself between the stranger and the door frame. This drew a look of pure malevolence that caused Rhea to squeak and hurry her pace.

She rounded the corner of the house and quickly pressed herself against the west wall. Frightening stranger or not, there was no way she was going to miss the conversation that was about to take place. No way at all.

Rhea listened carefully for the sound of the front door closing then made a beeline for the nearest window. Fortunately, she had cracked the shutters a bit earlier in the day to let in some fresh air. This worked to her advantage as she could clearly hear the voices inside.

[Carriac]

"Why don't you come in out of the cold, Maelamin? We can talk more comfortably inside."

[Mara]

Mara stood there, unmoving for a moment, the pupil of her eyes glowing before they quickly faded as Rhea danced past. She followed Carriac in, closing the door behind her, glancing around at the meager surroundings before pulling her pack from her shoulders once again. Letting it fall her fingers slowly undid the buckle on her cloak. Letting it slip from her strong shoulders, she stood there for a moment with her cloak now draped over her arms, shaking her now wild mane of hair behind her.

"They're wrong you know," she suddenly said. "The pass has not yet opened. It's still sealed you see. I...made a path under the snow, letting it crumble behind me while I walked. You would have loved the way the snow melted, the way it seemed frightened of me, inching back with nothing more than a touch. You see," as she took a step closer her right hand suddenly enveloping in flames, "I didn't want you to escape me again."

Letting the flames die, she threw her cloak on the back of the nearest chair. Ever so slowly she started to walk around the room, touching the walls, her cool exterior hid her boiling anger like a mask, as if she hadn’t spent weeks, even months searching for him. The hardship, the loneliness, the stories all weighted heavy on her heart. She was torn. One part of her wanted to roast him to a crisp right then and there, another part wanted to hold him and never let him go.

Of course the third part wanted to go out and play in the snow.

"How are you?" she asked, stopping near the open window before turning to face Carriac, "You look...well."

[Carriac]

"I'm feeling well."

Not quite the truth, but Carriac didn't see the need to go into the details. He could have told her about the struggle it had been to adjust to having only one arm. He could have explained the agony of trying to right past wrongs. He could have expounded on the difficulties of dealing with memories of actions his hands had performed, of trying to wash himself of the blood he could still feel on his person from time to time - of waking up in cold sweats as he relived the atrocities committed by the Shadowlord that had possessed him. He could have told her that seeing her again reopened wounds only recently closed and beginning to heal.

He could have, but he did not. In spite of the pain, he was truly happy to see her. His concern was not for himself, but for those who had shown him compassion and given him a home these past seven months. He could sense the anger seething beneath Mara's calm exterior. He wondered if Mara had yet learned control over the personas that warred within her. He had been to the village where she and Traveler were almost burned at the stake - or rather, what was left of it. He couldn't bear the thought of such a fate befalling the gentle souls of Red Rock. It would be his own fault, and he couldn't survive another tragedy of that magnitude on his conscience.

So, in spite of his joy at seeing the one true love of his heart, he kept his tone even and steady and tried not to betray any of his swirling emotions.

"You seem to be doing rather well yourself."

[Mara]

Mara's eyes narrowed slowly, sensing something in Carriac's voice, something that caused her to step away from the window. Slowly her eyes looked up and down Carriac's frame, taking notice how much slimmer he had become, how much fat had been replaced by muscle in the short months he had been away, but her eyes stopped at his shoulder and her heart went cold. Memories of that time, of the farm house, the village, the mules all but flooded her mind until she pushed them back, back into the darkness of her mind. She started to reach out, to touch him but stopped. Drawing her hand back she brushed her lips before turning away. Moment caught her eye by the window and she smiled as she drew near it.

"I've had better days," she said at last. "So...You ended up here, where ever here is," while she glanced around the room once again. "I've seen worse, but you wouldn't know anything about that, now would you?"

She didn't expect him to answer right way because she didn't give him the chance. Once again she stepped up, but this time closer, her hand resting on his chest.

"Are you still upset with me? I...Is that the reason you left me? Because of the things I've done? I...I've changed you know," letting her hand slip to her side. Bowing her head she rested it against him and sighed.

"I've...missed you! H...have you missed me..."

[Carriac]

He couldn't help himself. He wrapped his arm about her and drew her close.

The gesture was awkward. Carriac had steadfastly avoided embracing anyone since the loss of his left arm. It felt strange to hold her this way – entirely unnatural. But Mara sunk into him, wrapping her own arms about him and he couldn't let go. Instead, he ran her hand up her back and into her unwieldy mane of hair.

He felt something then, nestled under the ebony tangles. It took a second to reach it, but his fingers closed on a metal object - an object all too familiar to him. He could feel the sharp outlines of the silver petals and a memory leapt unbidden to his mind:

"One of those things ate my flower. And it was a pretty one, too. It even had all its petals and it looked so good in my hair," she said, as she started to pout and kick rock around with her feet. "I thought I might look pretty for you," she continued. She looked up, her lower lips sticking way out, before she kicked a rock towards Socks.

"But one of them had to eat it before you got the chance to see it." She watched as Carriac pulled a blade of grass from her hair and fed it to Petunia.

"I hope she chokes," she mumbled, as she kicked another rock.

"I'm sorry about the flower," Carriac said, pulling something from his pouch. "Let me replace it with something she's less likely to eat."

The shaper held out his hand to reveal a delicate miniature water lily. The petals were made of silver, the stem gold. Closer inspection showed a small clasp at the back to hold it in place in someone's hair.

Carriac brushed back the hair at Mara's right ear and clipped the hairpiece into place. He let his fingers brush her cheek as his hand fell away.

"I hope that will do the trick."

Mara's eyes grew large as she watched Carriac. Biting her lip, she watched as he placed the hairpiece in her hair, and she slowly brought her hand up and ran her fingers across the lily.

"It's...beautiful," as tears of joy fell down her cheeks. Dropping her hand back down, she reached up and kissed Carriac full on the lips, before blushing.

"Thank you! I'll cherish it forever."

He had left that same lily on her pillow in their room the night he had left her. By the knots and tangles in her hair she had seldom removed it since that time. Carriac's eyes filled with tears at the memories and he held her head tight to him.

The words came out in a whisper.

"Spirits, how I've missed you."

[Mara]

Mara had all but forgotten how it felt to be held by the man she loved so much, sinking into his embrace while tears formed in her eyes. She willed them not to fall, fearing it would cause him to turn her lose. instead she made them dry before they fell, but they quickly came back when his hand reached up and found the lily. She had placed it in her hair back at the hotel, leaving it there as a reminder of the man that made it for her. It felt so real sitting there, so comforting she let her hair grow wild, like a lion's mane, letting her raven black hair flow around it, so that it was a part of her.

Cariac's words were comforting, but they brought out the anger in her again, but she quickly pushed it away. She was beyond that, beyond letting her anger control her. She had time to work her anger out, to think of the damage it could cause, and the pain that went with it. Resting her ear against his chest she felt his heartbeating with hers.

This time the tears fell.

"I've missed you too," she whispered. "But..."

She looked up with her eyes now red, her lower lip tucked in to her upper lip. "I can't stay..."

Once again she hugged him tighter, before what strength she held in reserve failed her, causing her to slip to the cold stone floor, dragging Carriac with her.

"I don't feel very well..."

(to be continued...)