Dreamwalker's Bride - Chapter 331

Chapter 331: What’s in a name?
Ford watched as Mia approached the white curve at the edge of the new landscape.

“You think it’s dangerous?” Grandpa asked.

“Unusual, at the very least,” Mia replied. “Look, there. Puddles of water in it. It’s warm enough to melt, but shouldn’t it seep through the snow and into the ground?”

“Solid ice is water-tight,” Daniel put in.

“Then stand back a bit, will you?” The old man shook his head and raised one hand. A small swarm of flies moved out of the woods and across the plain towards them, zooming past and onto the short section of white that rose into the mighty cliffs.

Some of the insects landed on the surface, while some went to taste the water in the puddles. Others soared higher, as if to see if some airborne predator might be attracted to their presence in the sky alongside the cliffs.

Ford patiently watched the insects. Nothing seemed to happen. No catastrophic event, no collapse or instant death met the innocent flies.

“Well, that told us a lot,” Seth said dryly.

“You’d feel different if those bugs burnt to a crisp when they landed, or dropped dead drinking the water, or froze solid when they flew up the cliff,” Grandpa responded without missing a beat.

“May I touch it now?” Mia asked sweetly.

“We shouldn’t risk our guide,” Ford dismounted and came up beside her. “I’ll investigate.”

No one voiced any objection to potentially losing him, which hurt the barest amount. Ford ignored it.

He came to the very edge and knelt down.

“What’s snow like?” He turned and asked the group.

“Cold,” Daniel volunteered. “Very cold, and a little squishy, but it can freeze to be pretty hard.”

“I worry how deep it is towards the top,” Anaisa mused.

Ford held his hand just above the white surface. The temperature was… nothing. Just the same as the air around them. Carefully, he tapped the pads of his fingers against the surface.

“It’s not cold, or squishy,” He told them as he rubbed his fingertips against his thumb. “It’s almost like… hardened powder.”

Ford sniffed his fingers and then laid his whole hand against the surface. It was smooth, and roughly the ambient temperature of the air.

“Like powder?” Grandpa questioned, moving closer.

“Like a mineral deposit, but something like this… I haven’t seen it before. The color, the texture.” Ford shrugged. “It doesn’t seem magical to me, but it’s definitely unusual.”

“Then it’s safe?” Anaisa asked from atop her horse.

“It’s the safest, or only, path,” Mia’s voice held a slight edge, but the woman’s aunt smiled a little apologetically.

“Of course. We’re not turning back, so we might as well continue forward.”

“I agree,” Seth nodded. “We can figure out more about this later, if we need to. All we really need to know is whether it will harm us, and so far the answer seems to be ‘no’.”

“Will it cost much time if I walk for a while?” Ford glanced over his shoulder at the others. “I don’t understand what this is yet, and I’m… curious.”

“Probably wise, since we don’t know how the horses will take to walking on the new terrain.” Grandpa agreed. “It might do us all good to walk for a bit and lead the animals until we know how they’ll pick their footing.”

Ford smiled gratefully at the older man. It was nice to feel supported, to have his ideas endorsed by the patriarch of the family. Everyone not already on the ground dismounted, and Mia joined Ford, reins in hand as Harper followed her obediently.

She’d withdrawn her hand from his when she dismounted earlier, maybe her arm was tired of being held out? A sudden wave of insecurity made him hesitate, but he still offered his hand out to her in case she wanted it.

Mia blinked several times, and Ford’s unease deepened for the merest second before she slipped her hand into his.

“Thank you,” She said quietly.

Mischief crept into Mia’s expression as Ford took up his horse’s reins.

“Looks like someone has a little crush,” She observed.

“What?” Ford’s eyebrows rose and heat flooded the back of his neck. It was an uncharacteristically bold claim from the girl he’d come to know rather well.

“Your horse, and Harper. He’s been eager to be around her since I tended them all at the cave,” Mia glanced over her shoulder at the two animals. Ford followed her gaze, and his mount was indeed sidling very close to Mia’s.

“Ah,” He smiled tightly, trying to hide the discomfort he had felt. “Yes, I noticed that as well.”

“Denholm never did tell me his name. Have you given him a new one?” She began walking forward, her first steps onto the raised white ground tentative.

“No, I hadn’t thought about it. What would you name him?” Ford tried to push the toe of his boot into the powderlike land to see how far it would give. It was solid, like stone. Curious.

“Oh, no. He’s yours now. You should be the one to think of a name,” Mia countered.

“I never named anything before,” Ford shrugged.

“Never?” Mia’s eyes went round.

“No. We never had animals or anything,” He explained.

“You never had a doll? Well, I suppose boys don’t usually have a lot of dolls, but even so. You never named anything?” Mia’s incredulousness clearly wasn’t meant to shame him, so Ford rolled his eyes to tease her.

“Not a thing.”

“Well, then you have to start now!” She declared. “A proper name for your horse.”

“He isn’t mine,” Ford frowned at her. “He probably has a name already.”

“But we don’t know it, and Denholm doesn’t deserve such a sweet creature,” She blew a few kissing noises over her shoulder, and Ford’s horse nickered in response. “Come on, give him a lovely name.”

“A lovely one?” Ford looked at the beast, who seemed like any other to him.

“Sure,” Mia encouraged. “Anything you want. Something that makes you happy.”

Ford considered a long time before speaking again. He thought of names of rocks from the mines, like copper, but there were no fond memories there. Something that made him happy?

He looked back at the horse, whose black coat was mottled with grey.

“Storm.” He decided after a time. “His name is storm.”