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“Are you ready?”
Lena looked up from her phone. Webby was standing there grinning eagerly as she wrung her hands. Lena had to fight off a smile that threatened to spread across her features at the sight. She had an image to maintain and the moment she expressed enthusiasm in anything, even Webby, was the moment she’d be expected to be enthusiastic about everything going forward. She didn’t have that sort of energy to waste.
“Ready for what?” Lena asked, sliding her phone into a pocket.
“Rock climbing!” Webby happily shouted. “I was so excited when you said yes last night that I got out all the gear for a safety inspection and I planned out a route that I think you should be able to handle and—”
“Wait,” Lena said, holding up a hand as if to stop Webby’s ramblings. She instantly fell silent. “Last night I agreed to… rock climbing?”
“Mmm-hmm,” Webby hummed, nodding. “It was while we were watching Terrorfirma 4, during the scene where they were racing up the cavern wall to escape the lava flow. I said ‘we should go rock climbing’ and you said ‘yeah totally’ and I said ‘great.’ Because it is great! I can’t wait to share one of my favorite outdoor activities with you!”
“Webby, every outdoor activity is your favorite,” Lena sighed. She vaguely remembered this now. She had been ragging on the B flick’s shitty CGI last night, partly because it really was terrible, partly because the commentary made Webby laugh. She hadn’t really caught what Webby had said and just assumed it had been in the same vein when she had agreed. Now that assumption was biting her in the tail feathers.
“Are you sure this isn’t something you’d rather do with Vi or the boys?” Lena asked. “They’re like athletic and shit while I’m pretty sure I don’t actually have muscles? My movement is powered by magic and shadow, not whatever muscles need.”
“Potassium is one of several essential components to muscle contraction, but that’s not important right now,” Webby said. “What is important is that you said you’d go climbing with me. Sure, I could wait until Violet and Huey were back from their Junior Woodchuck jamboree or see if Dewy isn’t too busy dewying something else, but I don’t want to go rock climbing with them right now. I want to go with you. We rarely do things just the two of us anymore and I thought it would be nice.”
Lena felt her resolve dissolve faster than a newspaper in a thunderstorm. As much as she hated physical excursion, the siren call of alone time with Webby was too great to resist, especially if she was also missing it. These days all their hangouts seemed to also involve Violet, or the boys, or May and June, which was the worst because they were entirely too perceptive to have not picked up on Lena’s feelings, but lacked enough social graces that she lived in fear of one of them—June, it would be June—blurting out her crush on Webby. At least Violet only made oblique references and Louie could be silenced with petty payoffs.
The point was Lena missed having Webby’s attention focused solely on her. She craved it, even if Webby’s intensity had made Lena feel a bit like a bug under a microscope in the past. Learning literally everything about you was just how Webby showed she cared and luckily Lena had way less secrets to keep these days. Really there was only one she didn’t feel comfortable sharing and even that Webby would accept with good humor if she ever did find out. Lena just didn’t want to deal with the ensuing rejection.
“I have zero upper body strength, Pink.”
“That’s okay. Core and lower body strength are just as important. A good climb is all about balance. We can compensate for your weaknesses.”
“Great, because this is all weakness,” Lena said, vaguely gesturing toward her entire body. “If you take me rock climbing I will be literal deadweight.”
“And that’s okay,” Webby insisted, wrapping her arms around Lena’s waist and burying her face in Lena’s shoulder. “I’ll carry you up the cliffside if I have to! It’d be a good workout for me.”
Lena huffed and hugged her back. It was like a crime or something not to hug Webby back. Webby twisted around so that she could look up at Lena as she gently rested her bill on the other’s clavicle.
“Please, Lena, go rock climbing with me?”
“Fine,” Lena groaned, rolling her eyes. She couldn’t say no to that face.
Lena regretted giving up so easily as she stared up at the literal wall of rock in front of her. It went up what had to be a solid two hundred feet and appeared to be a sheer cliffside. Lena genuinely didn’t have a clue how they were supposed to climb this thing.
“Ah Pink, doesn’t rock climbing require something like geographic features to hang onto?” Lena asked. ”The indoor walls are always covered in those colorful blobby things.”
“That’s because those are indoor walls that don’t have any real features,” Webby laughed. She had been carefully tying some sort of complex knot to the front of Lena’s harness. But now she stood up straight and patted the cliff side. ”This baby’s chock full of hand and foot holds, along with chalk and shale. I mean, there’s other rocks in there too so it’s plenty sturdy and won't collapse on us.”
“Your geology lesson is filling me with confidence,” Lena drawled, tugging on her harness. Webby had yanked it up over her hips before tightening the straps. It seemed firm now, but there was nothing on her upper body. Could she slip out if she got flipped upside down? That wasn’t supposed to happen, but she was about to go climbing with Webby. Anything was possible.
“Sorry, I was just trying to explain that we will be fine. This is the cliffside Granny taught me to climb on,” Webby explained, smiling faintly at her memories. “You can still see a number of the anchor points she drove into the rock for me. I thought we’d take the easiest route to the top since this is your first time.”
“This is a lot more difficult than I was expecting,” Lena said, though grimly she realized this was exactly what she should have expected. “What happens when I inevitably slip and fall?”
“A dozen foot drop then a firm yank when you run out of slack,” Webby answered promptly. Lena gave her a flat look. Webby responded with an encouraging grin. “Come on Lena, Granny started me climbing when I was six. I’ve fallen loads of times and the worst I’ve ever suffered is scraped hands and knees. I promise I’m an excellent belayer and I tie off frequently. Plus I carry a mess of trad gear so I can make us anchors on the fly if there’s something wrong with the permanent ones. Granny trusts me.”
“Tea Time is also an experienced climber.”
“Lena, between my more than a decade of experience and your shadow magic we’ll be fine. I promise,” Webby said, squeezing her shoulder. She gestured at the rope running between their harnesses. “Your success is literally tied to mine. I won’t let you fall. At least not an unsafe distance.”
“Deadweight, Pink,” Lena said, tapping her own chest.
“Never,” Webby beamed.
Before Lena knew it Webby had her far enough up the cliffside she would not enjoy a fall to the ground. Not that Lena was looking down toward the ground much. Her field of vision had narrowed to no further below than roughly where her feet currently were and three feet above her head. The below cut off made perfect sense to her—Lena wasn’t afraid of heights, but this was the worst time to develop a sudden paralyzing phobia from seeing just how far she could drop—however the above cutoff had caught her off guard. It was entirely Webby’s fault. Because if Lena looked up much further she’d start catching glimpses of Webby’s rippling calves and thighs, not to mention the dozens of back and arm muscles straining to propel her upward defying gravity.
The first time Lena caught sight of Webby’s everything left her completely gobsmacked. The tank top and short shorts left little to the imagination regarding Webby’s musculature, but sent her thoughts spinning wildly in other directions. Lena’s pretty sure she forgot to breathe and she definitely forgot to move. At least until her weak ass hand strength gave out and she took her first tumble. Luckily they had just secured her to a new belay point, so she only fell a couple feet, but Webby did notice and attributed the slip to fatigue. She even kindly offered to pull Lena up to the first rest point, but Lena declined. She didn’t think she could handle watching Webby’s biceps bulge as she hauled her up.
So Lena climbed with a limited field of vision. Not that she’d admit it, but parts of this climbing junk were kinda fun. Sure, what passed for her heart was beating wildly in her chest and something was surging through her arms—was she having an adrenaline rush, was there even adrenaline in her system—and her breathing had deepened into a pant, but she also felt kinda good. Like, she was physically propelling herself up the side of a mountain. Not Webby, Lena was doing it herself. She was finding holds, figuring out how to place her feet, and continually leveraging herself upward. Sure her wrists and forearms were already protesting her efforts and she figured she’d be sore in strange places for days after this, but Lena would be willing to call this activity fun for a certain mileage of the word.
“I’m really proud of you,” Webby said after Lena caught her breath at the first rest point. “You know that, right?”
“Sure, Pink,” Lena wheezed. Honestly it was a little absurd how much this climb was affecting her. Oxygen wasn’t deeply critical to her continued existence. Yet here she was gasping for it like she’d suffocate without.
“I mean it! You climbed fifty feet all on your own. I couldn’t do that on my first climb.”
“Weren’t you also like five?” Lena asked, intentionally fudging the age. She remembered every bit of personal information Webby ever told her and a lot of the technical info as well, not that she’d ever admit to that. “You probably couldn’t reach half the holds.”
“I was six. And children are naturally the best climbers. They’re light, flexible, have a high weight-to-strength ratio, and are open to learning. My point is I had to learn what to grab, how to grip it, and perceive an ascending path. Lena, I think you’re a natural, since you were able to just climb.”
“Not really?” Lena demurred. “Shadows naturally fill in cracks and crannies, but I’m just following your route. That kinda deletes any false starts, you know?”
“Whatever, I’m still proud of you,” Webby insisted, suddenly latching herself in a tight hug around Lena’s middle. Suddenly oxygen was optional again.
Climbing resumed soon after, though Lena was disheartened to learn they were only a third of the way up the cliffside. Webby assured her the last hundred feet would be a breeze, but she wasn’t sure her arms would hold out, not even if they took another rest break. Noodley was an apt description of not only her overall form, but especially her limbs. There were times when she wondered if the only muscle she actually had was her tongue. Everything else was extremely squishy.
Still, Lena had learned long ago to put her faith in Webby. Considering how much faith the other girl placed in her as well, maybe that meant she could see something in her that Lena had never noticed. It was either that or Webby was going to end up hauling her ass up half the cliff after Lena hit her limit. Lena wasn’t actually sure which she’d prefer.
To her surprise it wasn’t Lena’s wrists or arms that gave out first. Instead it was her back when it suddenly spasmed in pain badly enough that she nearly lost her grip on the rock face. However, it wasn’t an interior pain like she’d expect from over straining what passed for her muscles, but a surface one. If she didn’t know any better Lena would say something had raked its claws across her back. She twisted her head and glanced down to see if there was any sign of this imagined injury. To her shock there were four gashes running diagonally down her back radiating pain through her system as they oozed the black tarry substance that passed for her blood. For once the pain wasn’t all in her head.
“What the fu—” she began, but her words were cut off by a piercing shriek. Looking up she saw a griffin furiously beating its wings not twenty feet away from her. She could feel the breeze it generated and wondered how she hadn’t noticed its presence before it injured her.
“That sounds like a Greater Malaysian Griffin!” Webby exclaimed, cranking her neck around to search for the mythical beast. “Unlike the standard griffin the Greater Malaysian Griffin has the head of an osprey, instead of an eagle, but ostensibly they’re the same as the standard griffin, including their territorial nature. The name is a bit of a misnomer because the Greater Malaysian Griffin is found worldwide, much like the osprey, but was named that because it was initially discovered by Isabella Finch on a trip to Malaysia.”
“I don’t think we’ve got time for a full history lesson at the moment, Pink,” Lena growled, flinching when the griffin, which indeed had an osprey head attached to a body that looked far more like a black panther than a lion, dive-bombed her again. This time she narrowly avoided the claws. “This thing wants my blood. I doubt I’m remotely nutritious, you bird brain!”
“Don’t say that, you’re the most wholesome person I know!” Webby insisted. That was such an absurd statement Lena’s attention left the terrifying predator to stare up incredulously at her crush. Webby smiled sheepishly at her. “You know what I mean.”
“Do I? Because I’m pretty sure I’m like everyone’s example of what not to do in life.”
“I mean, I always feel more whole when you’re around,” Webby said, stumbling over her words.
Lena blinked and opened her beak to press the issue, but the griffin shrieked and dive-bombed her again. Unfortunately that had to be the more pressing issue than whatever Webby really thought of her. She yelped when one of the monster’s hind claws caught her cheek. There just wasn’t enough give in the climbing equipment for her to successfully twist away from this thing and she didn’t trust the rope enough to let go so she could try her hand at a magical defense. For whatever reason the griffin seemed focused on taking her out. Lena hated being a sitting duck.
“Leave her alone!” Webby shouted at the griffin. The griffin didn’t even scream in response before diving at Lena again. To her horror, Webby launched herself off the wall with a kick flip onto the griffin’s neck. “I said, leave my Lena alone!”
Now faced with a greater threat the griffin clawed at the duck attached to its neck. However it couldn’t get a grip on Webby as she slithered about fighting the beast by punching and stabbing at it with some of her climbing gear. Suddenly it gave a strained squawk as all its limbs spasmed before going limp. This death throw had one unexpected side effect: the griffin’s claws severed the rope coming off Webby’s harness before they started plummeting toward the ground.
“Webby!” Lena screamed.
Without thinking about it Lena launched herself toward the other duck. The rope didn’t matter, her life didn’t matter, nothing mattered but Webby. She had never let Lena fall; the least she could do was return the favor.
Frantically swiping, her fingers finally met Webby’s and their hands locked together. Then Webby took control. Webby scaled Lena’s frame then launched herself upward to catch the rapidly ascending rope end before it could slide out of the last anchor point and send them plummeting to their deaths. She swung wildly, like an out of control yo-yo, and bashed into the wall a few times, but didn’t let go. Despite physics doing its best to work against her, Webby eventually found a foothold. Then everything stopped sliding. Lena found her own handholds again, but she was aware that she was physically spent and the climbing rope was the only thing preventing her fall.
From her lower position Lena could see Webby was struggling to brace herself against the cliffside, hang onto the rope with one hand, while using the other to slide the end of the rope through her tie-in loop, and attempt a figure 8 knot. In Lena’s opinion it was an impossible situation. Webby was singlehandedly supporting both their weights with only a makeshift simple pulley for assistance. She needed to drop Lena and free solo it the rest of the way up the cliff. Otherwise they’d both fall.
“It’s okay, Pink,” Lena said.
“What?” Webby glanced down at her.
“You can let go. It’s the safest option for you.”
“But you’ll fall.”
“I’ll… probably be fine? How much damage can a drop even do to blood and shadow? So just… let go.”
“Lena Sabrewing, I am never letting you go! So you can just get that silly idea right out of your head,” Webby growled. With great exertion Webby pulled enough rope through her tie-in loop that it yanked Lena several feet up the cliffside.
“Whoa, careful!” Lena yelped, trying to get a grip on the rocks again.
“Sorry.” Webby blinked and grinned. “Wait, I have an idea.” Before Lena could say anything Webby hauled her up until Lena’s chest touched her back. “Hold on.”
Automatically Lena wrapped her arms around Webby’s middle just above the climbing harness.
“No, to the rope, silly.”
“Oh. Right.” Lena transferred her grip to the rope and actually found a decent foothold so that the rock could finally do its job again.
Webby sighed in relief then leaned into Lena. Luckily Lena only froze from this unexpected touch instead of dropping the rope, which would have sent them both tumbling. Now that she was no longer supporting their combined weight, Webby re-secured the rope to her harness in a matter of seconds then transferred her weight back to the rock side.
“That’s better,” Webby sighed. She grinned at Lena. “Ready to finish our climb?”
Lena barked out a laugh and shakily pried a hand off the rope. It tingled, completely numb, and visibly shook. “My hands are totally shot. I don’t think I’ll be able to feel the wall with them, much less grip anything. Guess I’m deadweight after all.”
“I’d rather be climbing with you than without. Plus I promised I’d carry you if it came to this, so no worries. Just let me know if you need a break.”
“Sure Pink,” Lena agreed, resolutely deciding to keep her beak shut for the rest of the climb.
It was always magnificent watching Webby exert herself. There was a natural fluidity to her movements as her muscles rippled under her feathers. Lena had always been mesmerized watching Webby in her element. Be it featuring her physical prowess on an adventure or shouting out a convoluted theory as she slapped string onto a corkboard with magnetic passion. Lena was pretty sure the feelings Webby evoked in her could be described as religious devotion. Wherever Webby went Lena would gladly follow.
Which explained her current position being dragged up the side of a mountain.
“You doing okay down there?” Webby called. She had made a point of regularly checking in on Lena since resuming their climb.
“Never better,” Lena assured her.
It wasn’t exactly true, but it wasn’t any less true than it had been for the other status checks. Besides, it wasn’t like Webby could do a thing for her nausea until they were off this cliffside. Physically Lena didn’t think she was any worse. Sure she’d smacked her face into the rock a few times, but the experience of Webby essentially carrying her was otherwise pleasant. If she wasn’t sure her still numb hands would drop it in an instant, she’d have her phone out recording their climb for posterity. Her dads always wanted her contributing more to the family holiday letter.
“We’re almost at the top. I’d say maybe twenty more feet.”
“Then let’s just get this over with.”
Webby nodded and kicked up her pace. This jostled Lena more than her steady climb had, but she’d gladly trade a little discomfort to be on solid ground again. Soon Webby had reached the top and was crawling onto the plateaued surface. Even she couldn’t make the process look graceful, but Lena was relieved she was no longer likely to plummet to her death on this climb. By the time Lena had been dragged onto the ground as well she just wanted to lie there in a heap. Maybe take a nap if her eyes would stay shut. She was willing to give that a shot.
A hand running through her bangs made her eyes open again. Webby was peering down at her smiling fondly. She had already stripped off her climbing gear. Lena felt herself smiling back.
“Ready to get out of that harness and let me treat your back?”
“If you must,” Lena sighed. She offered no protest as Webby peeled off the harness then gently rolled her onto her belly. Once she was still she heard Webby suck in a deep breath as she assessed her injury. “Take a picture. It’ll last longer.”
“I don’t like it when you get hurt and this looks bad, Lena.”
“It doesn’t hurt that much,” Lena shrugged then regretted it.
“And that makes me worry about nerve damage.” Webby lightly traced a finger along the edge of one of the gashes. “It’s not that bad at the ends, but they get deep in the middle. You need stitches.”
“Fine. Whatever floats your boat. Am I still actively bleeding?”
“No. It’s sticky though.”
“I can live with that.” Lena sat up with a groan. “Please tell me there’s a way to get home without climbing back down.”
“Yeah, we can contact Launchpad or one of the boys for a ride,” Webby assured her. “Can I borrow your phone? Mine’s still in the cheep.”
“’Course,” Lena smirked, fishing it out of her pocket. When she went to unlock it she accidentally activated the camera in selfie mode. While she looked like shit, Webby was still cute and there was a glorious sunset behind them, which was perfect framing for a photo. So she snapped a couple before handing the phone over.
“Was that necessary?” Webby asked, already typing in a text.
“It is if I want to tell Instagram I went for my first rock climb and you killed a griffin with your bare hands.”
“I’m pretty sure I drove a trad into its neck and that’s what actually killed it,” Webby said. “Or else that paralyzed it and the fall killed it.”
“Whatever, it was kinda hot,” Lena laughed.
“Really?”
“Fuck, I don’t know what I’m saying. Pink, I’m tired and hurt and I want to go home.”
“I’ll get you home. I promise.”
“I know you will. You’re good about that,” Lena smirked.
“Did you sustain any head injuries?” Webby asked, carefully scooping Lena into her arms. “You sound a little off.”
“I don’t have any witty barbs to dazzle you with nor the energy to make them,” Lena admitted. She pressed her face against Webby’s chest. “Can I just stay here? I feel safe.”
“Always,” Webby promised.
That was the last thing Lena remembered before she passed out.
When Lena awoke she was lying on her stomach in her own bed and her back hurt. Like a lot. Kind of a throbbing pain that she was pretty sure was the reason she had awoken in the first place. She groaned, not looking forward to the task of crawling to the bathroom for pain meds.
“You’re awake,” Violet said. Lena heard the familiar sound of her sister shutting a book. “Webigail will be disappointed she missed your return to consciousness.”
“Webby’s here?” Lena croaked.
“Our fathers just forced her downstairs to eat something. This is the first she’s left your side since Dewford picked you up from your adventure.” Violet shook out a couple tablets from a bottle and helped Lena take them with a glass of water. “Mrs. Beakley had to convince her that under the circumstances her hand was the better choice for stitching up your back.”
“She didn’t need to do that,” Lena mumbled, feeling guilty.
“Under the circumstances she felt she did.” There was a clatter on the stairs. Violet rose from her seat. “I believe that is her now. I’ll leave you two in peace.”
“Vi, you don’t have to—” Lena was cut off by a high-pitched squeal as Webby launched herself at her. However, just before a collision occurred Webby stopped herself by grabbing onto Lena’s bed frame.
“You’re awake,” Webby said.
“Yep,” Lena agreed.
“I’m so sorry I forgot Greater Malaysian Griffins have venomous spurs! That’s the other key difference between them and the standard griffin; most griffins aren’t venomous.” Webby brushed a hand across Lena’s cheek. “We’re so lucky Dewey had a generalized anti-venom in his truck’s first aid kit.”
“Eh. No biggie.”
“You nearly died!”
“Not the first time that’s happened.”
“You nearly died again for me,” Webby whispered.
“Eh, you’re a pretty good cause to die for.” This time Lena remembered not to shrug, but Webby smacked her shoulder, which hurt far worse.
“You shouldn’t be dying for anyone!”
“Webby, if you’re referring to the first time I basically died I’d do it again a million times no question. As for this time, yeah, I’d refuse to go climbing with you if I had known griffins were going to be involved. I can admit that,” Lena said. “Next time we’ll pick an activity with a near zero chance of death, so can we drop it already? I’m expecting at least three lectures from my family about reckless decision making once I’m back on my feet. I don’t need one from you too.”
“Sorry.”
“We’re cool, Webby, I promise,” Lena sighed. She just wanted to rest, but Webby was still fidgeting and kept glancing at Lena then looking down at her hands. Clearly there was something on her mind. “Spit it out.”
“You said I looked hot fighting the griffin,” Webby blurted out as she met Lena’s gaze. “Did you mean that or were you delirious from the pain?”
“Shit Pink, I…” Lena trailed off, unsure how to answer. The safe easy answer was to take the out Webby had provided her. But she’d been taking the easy route for years and it had never improved Lena’s situation. Maybe she needed to tackle the harder one; stop being deadweight. “Yeah, I did.”
“As in artistically pleasing? A prime example of subduing a larger opponent?” Webby said, trying to puzzle out Lena’s meaning. “Something else?”
“All of that,” Lena agreed. “But also I think you’re stunningly attractive. Especially when you do pretty much anything and I’ve lost count of how many times you’ve saved my life. I’m soft for you.”
“Really?” Webby asked, preening. “You really feel like that and this isn’t some sort of joke?”
“Pink, anyone who jokes with you like that should be punted into the sun,” Lena said flatly. “Also, this is me. You know I don’t like talking about my feelings, but if I tell you something it’s the truth. I learned that lesson the hard way a long time ago. You’re too precious to me to lose with a lie.”
Webby flung her arms around her in a tight hug. It was painful, but Lena wouldn’t have turned it away if that had been an option. Lena hugged her back to the best of her ability. “I like you too,” Webby mumbled into Lena’s chest.
“As in romantically?” At Webby’s nod Lena smirked and kissed her forehead. “That’s what I wanted to hear.”
“Can we be girlfriends?” Webby asked, looking up with an earnest grin.
“I’d like nothing better,” Lena said, lightly peaking her beak. “Just promise me one thing.”
“Anything!”
“Never make me go rock climbing again.”