They work together... kind of

"We should climb up, together. Better to have two sets of eyes up top." Hilda hoped she sounded more confident than she was.

It hardly mattered to the submissive drow, who simply nodded and wrapped her spindly arms around the tree trunk. There weren't any low-hanging branches, so the pair struggled to get off the ground. Their hands and feet slipped on the bark, finding no grip and hitting the ground again. After crawling a few feet up the trunk, almost able to grab a low branch, Hilda's toes slipped and she landed flat on her butt. She pouted and groaned. "It's no use, this tree is too tall." She looked at the fat on her arm and whimpered. "And I'm not strong anymore. I'm just a stupid, chubby wimp."

Silvia, curling her fingers and toes to try and hold the tree, looked up at the insurmountable height she'd yet to ascend. The human had a point; they couldn't just climb up. That it, unless...

The drow slipped back to the ground and looked to the despoiled knight, crying to herself on the ground. "M-mistress..."

"Bhuh?" Hilda sniffled, tears running down her cheeks.

"What if we tried to pull each other up the tree? Like," Silvia held out her arms and pantomimed climbing the tree, "we hold hands to keep ourselves upright and walk up the tree from either side. Together, we might make it farther up."

Hilda thought about it. She'd never tried something like that before, so she wasn't quite sure how it would work. She didn't like the prospect of getting splinters on her footsies, either. Still, it was a better idea than sitting and feeling sorry for herself. "B-okay." She wiped her nose and stood up, brushing some dirt off her butt.

Silvia and Hilda stood on opposite sides of the big tree and grabbed each other's hands, forming a ring around the trunk. Hilda put her left foot against the tree and Silvia did the same with her right. "On the count of three, we step off the ground. Ready?" Silvia nodded as Hilda counted down. "One... two... THREE!"

Both women slammed their feet against the tree trunk, gripping each other's hands tightly to keep themselves aloft. While their muscles were straining and their limbs were shivering, they hadn't fallen down, yet. Silvia peered around to look at Hilda, who smiled weakly and nodded. At the same time, they each took a step up the trunk, Silvia with her left and Hilda with her right. Slowly and steadily, they matched each other's pace and walked up the tree, keeping their hands firmly clasped. They made tiny steps, and each footfall made their arms more weary. As the sun dipped further down, eventually, Hilda's arm brushed against an outstanding branch.

While it wasn't the thickest branch, Hilda was able to wrap her leg around it and pull herself up, sitting with the branch firmly lodged between her butt cheeks. It wasn't comfy, but it was better than holding herself up with her legs. She pulled Silvia over to her side of the tree, and the spindly drow squirmed to get a grip on the branch. Both girls let their bodies go limp from tiredness as the tension in their muscles relaxed. The plan had worked, but it wasn't fun. "I don't want to do that again." Silvia wheezed.

"Yeah," Hilda agreed. "Let's just climb the rest of the way normally... after we rest for a minute..."