SOrry fer the long wait...
This chapter might not be in its prime 'cause inspiration has been a bummer for me...
Enjoy...
Hefting Stranger was hard work for Umi and her frail body that had to carry the extra weight.
The sky grew a dark slate-grey, and whisps of cloud began to flurry away from the sky, revealing a jeweled night.
She whipped an arm across her forehead, panting tiredly, while lugging Stranger's heavy arm on her back.
He grunted, limping his hurt legs behind them, trying to keep most of his weight off the human's back.
Stranger panted, falling to his knees.
Umi was dragged with him, falling on to one of her knees.
She glanced up to Stranger, her mouth open, and heaving breaths.
"What's...what's wrong?" she said hastily.
Stranger grinned down to the human, unwrapping his arm off from her back.
"You don't...need's to carry me, no more, kid," he nodded.
"You's gonna be too tired to go on the rest o' the way..."
Well...neither you..." Umi frowned.
He snorted gently, lifting an opened hand on to her head, and gently rubbed.
"I can manage meself..." he grunted.
"Yer too weak to walk, Stranger," she shook her head.
He wobbled straight on his legs, his muscles pinching tightly again, but gave a confident smile down to her.
"No..." he shook his head back.
"I'm fine..."
He popped his arms under her legs, and lifted her up in his arms, her head resting back on his bicep, staring in shock up to him.
"But...yer the one that needs to be carried,"
"But-but-b"
He placed a finger on her lips, silencing her from protesting.
"It's ok," he purred.
"I'll go on until I feel like we're done,"
Umi frowned skeptically up to him, but allowed him to walk.
He grunted from the muscles making him limp painfully, but stared hard up ahead to ignore the wincing pain biting in his four camouflaged legs.
The full moon hit the tops of the jagged peaks far out, Stranger still continuing forward forcefully, and dogged the urge in his mind to stop for the night.
I know we're close... he frowned.
Umi sat up in his arms, placing a squeezing hand on his bicep.
"Let's stop, Stranger," she nearly pleaded.
"Yer causing yerself more pain than anything,"
"No..." he grunted.
"I'm not done yet,"
She quivered at his stubborness, staring ahead of the narrowing plateau stretched out.
She squinted ahead, the light of the moonlight shining off the ends of the grass blades sticking up
But the light curved off a point flat of the plateau.
Umi grinned, pressing against Stranger's chest.
"Hold it," she said, then pointed ahead.
He slowed to a stop.
"Is that the edge?" she asked up to him.
He squinted ahead, his vision a bit of a blur from the pain.
"Prolly..." he grunted.
Umi slipped out of his arms, slowly approaching where the light bent.
"Careful, Umi," Stranger cautioned.
She took slow steps ahead, until she got on her knees, and crawled, pressing her hands examining the grass for the edge.
As she came up to the light, her hands curled around a dropping of the land, a rocky feel coming to touch.
She gasped, slipping her hand lower, and knowing what she felt.
"We found it," she said.
"We got to the end,"
Stranger limped up to her side, his nightvision sight staring down the steep fall.
"Yup," he grunted.
"We'd better get started,"
Umi winced back up to him in disbelief, her mouth dropped near her chest.
"You're...joking, right?" she told.
Stranger blinked to her.
"Did I...sound like it?"
"Don't say that," her face scrunched scoldingly.
"What did I say?" he turned innocent.
"We're not climbing down tonight,"
"Oh, yes we are," he said firmly.
"No we're not! You're not in any shape to rock-climb!" her arms extended out to him.
"Well, my decision is final. C'mon," he whipped a hand over his shoulder.
She grabbed his arm, forcing him back to her.
"No, Stranger," she pleaded.
"What if you fall?"
He turned back to her, slipping his arm gently from her.
"Don't worry about me," he carelessly said, kneeling down from the cliff, and digging the tip of his boot securely in to the soft rock of the cliffside.
"BUT I DO CARE ABOUT YOU!" she shouted.
"THAT'S WHY I'M BEGGING OF YOU TO NOT CLIMB DOWN!"
He coughed rashly.
"That's begging," he grinned up to her.
"Caring would be tryin' ter stop me,"
"But that's what I'm doing, ya numbskull!" she griped.
He continued to move slowly down the steep cliffwall, digging in his claws now, and chucking out his boots, and digging in again.
"Get on my back," he told over the edge, the top of his eyes showing over the edge.
"I got's a free hand 'ere to grab yeh,"
"Please reconsider, Stranger," she frowned.
"Not gonna 'appen, kid," he told.
Umi huffed irritated, turning over the cliff's edge, and placing her feet on his shoulders, and slowly slipping down on his back.
"Is this...such a good idea?" she quivered, looking down at the englufed darkness below her wrapped feet.
"I dunno," he grumbled.
"Let's figure out,"
He continued his spider-crawling motion; digging in his boots and claws, moving down an inch, and repeating.
Umi clung tightly around his back almost to the point his breathing was cut short.
The moonlight shone off the ridges of the rocks burrowing and sticking out, but didn't shine off to the eternal darkness far below.
She dug her face back in to Stranger's spine of his poncho, daring not to look back down.
Why does it have to be the nighttime rock climbing at its worst?
His leg wobbled again from the muscles pinching together, as he dug his toe in to the rocks.
His boot slipped from the ridge, sending inertia heavily down his body.
Umi slipped from his back down to the mid-section of his back.
She quivered fearfully, holding tighter around his stomach.
"It's ok..." he panted.
"I'll get yeh if you fall,"
That's what I fear... she blinked open.
He continued again, only to grunt from the pain from a torn bullet hole in his arm.
Umi glanced back up to him, his arm hanging loosely by his side.
"Maybe we should go back up," she suggested.
"No," he grunted.
"Not how far we've gotten to,"
He swung his arm back in to the cliffwall, and grappled down further.
Just as things seemed to get better, the rock beneath his boot gave out, sending his legs dangling loosely down with only one arm to support.
The inertia gave out to Umi again, sliding her all the way down to the tip of his boot.
She hung there with one hand wrapped around his boot, keeping her eyes shut tight.
It's a dream...I know I'm not hanging from Stranger's boot down from a very...very steep fall...
Her eyes slowly peeked open down below, knowing that her thoughts were feign.
"Stranger!" she screamed.
"I know! Hold on!" he shouted down.
He attempted to swing his hurt arm up in to the rock again, but it just dangled.
Moving it just a bit would cause him pain.
And causing him pain wouls loosen his grip around the stone he hung from.
Her fingers slowly slipped under the rugged leather of his boot.
Her lip quivered, and tears formed in her eyes.
I'm gonna die...I'm gonna die...
That was all her mind was racing with.
She glanced back down at the still darkness below, a tear that had rolled off her nose dropping down, and engulfed in to it.
"Hurry, Stranger..." she hastily quivered.
Knowing that he would have to, he couldn't.
He strained his arm up to the wall again, wincing from the torn muscles forcing it back down.
Her fingertips was all left holding on the leather, she now digging her claws through the crumbling hide.
"Oh no," her eyes widened.
The last slip of her fingers sent her tumbling down from the cliffwall.
The sudden change in weight shot in to Stranger's mind.
"No," he gasped, snapping his head down to where Umi last dangled.
"NO!"
The echo of Stranger's roar rolled down with her.
She extended her arms out to the face, feeling the brush of rocks slip passed her fingertips.
But the wall seemed to curve out more, bringing her closer to reach.
She felt a shine of hope fall on her.
The wall curved out further, until she felt the rock skid across her arms.
She brought her legs closer to the wall, and slammed in to the rock, her fall slowing down as she dragged her feet and hands across the wall.
Her hand caught against a stuck boulder, jerking her to a stop quite painfully.
She sighed in great relief, feeling her upper half body hugged to the cliff face.
But her legs dangled loosely.
She glanced down, now to see that she dangled from a concave crater in the wall.
And as her excess weight brought down her legs, she felt the boulder she held on to nudge from its hole, inch by inch.
Time was now of the essence to guarantee her survival.
"Stranger!" she screamed up.
"Hurry up! I'm down below!"
His ears suddenly shot up, hearing the echo of Umi's voice bounce to him.
Just hearing the voice of the human brought enough strength back for him to crawl down.
He lifted his hurt arm back up to the ridges again, and dug his claws deep, along with his boots.
But in his mind, he was going to try something different...
Something that would either save them, or kill them.
He swung around his body, so he would look face-down against the wall down to Umi.
His arms were arched above the rocks, but his legs were straight out.
He began to crawl spider-like down the cliff face, careful to not knock any loose rocks down below to the dangling human.
"Hurry!" Umi screamed, feeling her fingertips roll off the jagged edges of the boulder.
He grappled further down the cliff face, feeling the wall suddenly concurve out under his belly.
His nightvision scanned down to Umi, seeing the place she was at curving down steeply under her belly.
"I'm almost there..." he grumbled loud enough.
She dug her nails now in to the stone, only to feel her nails grind against the grainy feel of it.
The boulder nudged greatly from its place again, sending a shock down Umi's stomach.
Stranger stopped inches near her arm, and reached his hand down to her.
"Umi!" he shouted.
"Grab me!"
Umi's head shot straight up, seeing the glow of Stranger's outline shine off from the silver moonlight, along with the glow of his hand close to her wrist.
She flung her loose arm up, the boulder she held on to broke from its place even farther.
If the boulder is misplaced, that would be the only thing that would support her.
She writhed her fingers up to the glowing slivers of Stranger's fingers, grappling her fingers tighter around the boulder.
It nudged again from the weight she put down on it, her body jerking down further.
She gasped sharply, slamming her chest on the wall again.
"Keep tryin'!" Stranger told, continuously trying to extend his arm out passed its limit.
She slid her arm back up to his, prickling her fingers to reach for his.
Stranger slid a fraction on his belly to her, but refrained from sliding even more to lose his place with his hands and boots.
The tips of his claws almost poked her, when the boulder she held on suddenly gave away under her.
Her arm that held the boulder slipped away with it, feeling her body roughly slide down to the concave curve in the wall.
She felt her stomach fling up in to her throat, as she soared down the wall with her arm still reaching up for Stranger.
Her screaming felt eternal, feeling the darkness of the valley below swallow her up.
A cold touch shriveled up her legs, and tingled up throughout her body.
But...a shine above glimmered on the wall, approaching quickly.
Her eyes blinked in fascination of this sparkling thing, coming cloer to her arm...
A jolt shook her out of her trans, she slamming back on the wall, and a tight wrap around her wrist.
She glanced back up in shock, noticing Stranger's brilliant-green eyes locked on her determined.
His fingers were locked down in the rock again, rolling Umi back up to him.
She followed along with him, he taking her under his chest, and held out his arms over the wall, staring down with a glimmer in his eye.
She glanced up to his jaw, noticing now that he was grinning.
"Stranger?" she quivered.
"What crazy idea d'you have now?"
"Nothin' that I'll announce..." he grumbled.
"'cause you might hate me fer this,"
She stared back down, only to come back up to Stranger, then snap back down again.
"Stranger...don't you dare..." she cowled.
"I'll skin yeh if you do..."
He only chuckled, the rumble in his chest intimidating Umi.
He popped his boots out from the open ridges in the wall, and loped ahead on the wall.
He jumped off the concave lip of the cliff, soaring now in to an open free-fall down towards the valley of darkness, face-down.
Hugging the screaming Umi tightly to his chest, he stared down beside the steep wall, and seeing through the shroud of darkness the valley below beheld.
"Damn it, Stranger..." Umi griped to herself, her fingers rolled tightly on his poncho, while staring upside down to the darkness she saw through her human eye.
The fall seemed endless, Stranger watching and calculating carefully when to end their falling spree.
His eyes widened, suddenly turning back up to the wall, and gradually gaining closer to it, holding his arms open with his feet spread out.
Easy... he thought, as he jerked his body closer to the wall.
His claws gently glided over the rough rock, aloong with the soles of his torn boots.
Just as he felt the brush of the rocks his the fleshy top of his fingers, he latched his fingers and boots in to the wall, creating a friction that slowly calmed their fall.
But, even though helping them, it caused the most excruciating pain that rubbed harshly against his fingers, filing his claws and tearing away his boots.
He growled in remorse, but held his pose strong for longer.
His face cringed down upon Umi's scalp, pressing his nose on her head to keep the tears from falling.
They felt their fall come slower, but still coming down fast enough to kill them.
Stranger raised his head up, his eyes tightly closed, and his teeth clenched tightly together.
Umi clung to his stomach, feeling his pain run off to her, feeling fear singe through her.
He let out a sharp exhale, and popped his feet off the cliff, along with his arms.
They soared out above and away from the wall, Stranger flipping backwards down to the valley.
He spun back to his feet below him, his body suddenly jerking from the shock he took in to land on the ground.
Umi fell off his stomach, laying back down on the grass. panting fearfully up to the sparkling night sky.
She kept laid like that, taking in the feel of the gentle winds wafting over her face, and the cool bubbling rush of a water source swiftly moving beside them.
She knew now that they were alive.
Alive and on the ground, at last.
"Stranger?" she shot up.
His back was hunched down, holding up his skinned hands up to his face, staring at the complexities his hand held.
His fingernails were roughly filed down to the ruby-red skin of his fingers that bled sorrowful.
Stinging tears were held back, but he couldn't help but to let his lip quiver, as he babied his hands gently.
Umi crawled up to his lap, tiredly panting, while looking up to his torn fingers.
She hissed with his pain, looking up at his pained neon-green eyes shaded under the brim of his hat.
"Maybe...you should go wash that off," she recommended to him.