Follow Mairr dangerously near the Graciles

Mairr strode out of the gate of the Robust town, towards the foothills where the tree she needed for the tool she wanted to make grew... and towards Gracile territory. Her mind was curiously quiet – not buzzing with worries and plans for what she would do if a band of Graciles tried to attack her, or even with plans for how best to cut down the tree and drag it back to her shop. Instead Mairr felt only a vague sense of anticipation, like the electrical tension in the air before a thunderstorm. In reality it wasn't stormy at all, it was a beautiful summer day – bright blue sky with just a trace of clouds here and there, birds singing, bugs humming, and a slight cool breeze to offset the warmth of the sun. It was only inside Mairr that everything seemed to hang in a tense balance. It was not that Mairr was afraid that she might encounter some Graciles. She truly had no fear of them; it had been love at first sight when Mairr first saw a Gracile, and it's hard to be afraid of something you yearn to have the chance to love.

Instead Mairr knew she was doing something stupidly risky, and she was afraid that if she let herself think about it her common sense would order her to go back to town. But Mairr was not going back to town. She was lonely, her life was going nowhere, and being sensible would only keep her trapped in that dead-end rut. So if doing something a little crazy gave her half a chance at really living – which Mairr defined as falling in love – then she was damn well going to do it. Since she was determined to do it, there was no point telling herself she was being an idiot, because that wouldn't change her mind, only darken her mood. And since she had no idea what might happen, there was no point trying to plan for it or worrying herself over possibilities that probably wouldn't happen. So she didn't think, she just walked, enjoying the light exertion and the weather and the anticipation that something different was going to happen.

Unfortunately... what happened was that Mairr found her tree. Of course, ostensibly she had been looking for the tree, but... Mairr heaved a sigh. Well, why should today be any different? She had felt the same sort of anticipation before she had gone to deal with the Gracile traders for the first time, and absolutely nothing had come of that. She really shouldn't be surprised that her life showed no sign of suddenly throwing off its harness and running free, but instead was plodding stolidly onward just like always. But she couldn't help feeling piercingly disappointed. She sighed again.

As Mairr had done with her nervousness before, now she refused to think about her disappointment. Instead she opened her pack and began laying out her tools for felling the tree. A rope, an axe, two wedges... The familiar work helped her regain her mental equilibrium. She told herself that it was silly to be disappointed. Maybe nothing interesting had happened, but in a way today had been a victory, because she had been courageous and taken a step out of the safe normalcy of her life, and even though it hadn't worked, she wouldn't quit now, she could just try something else even more outre next, like... maybe asking a Gracile trader if the Graciles had such things as heat houses and hired heat companions, and what the price for such a thing might be? Contemplating this possibility, Mairr tied the rope into a lasso and tossed it over the top of the tree. She snugged it tight and walked the end over to a much bigger and sturdier tree. Leaning all her weight on the rope, she tied the rope around the bigger tree so that it was pulling her little tree in this direction, the direction she wanted it to fall. Then Mairr walked around the other side of the tree to pick up her axe.

Suddenly a faint cry echoed through the air, then was gone as quickly at it had come. Mair froze. “What on Down was that?” Maybe it had only been a bird but... it had sounded pained. She strained his ears, listening for the noise to come again. For a long moment there was nothing, but then she heard a low groan. That was no bird, that was unmistakably a dragon, an injured dragon! Was there some other, less willing Robust being **** right over there?! Or maybe someone had been attacked by a tree-cat?! Without sparing time for thought Mairr grabbed the axe she had been planning to use on the tree and hurried as quietly as she could in the direction the noise had come from. It was difficult to be quiet though, because the area was full of underbrush, and Mairr had to shove some of the bushes out of the way before her big frame could fit through. Where had that painful cry come from?