Long Ways to Go Part IX

We followed a stream of water for a ways.  Petra was gabbling again and they turned up a short path that wound under some bushes.  There was a squawking noise and we froze.  After a few heart stopping moments, we kept on going.  We come up to a tiny clearing wehre we rested for a couple hours.  No one said anything.  Petra rose to his talons and shook that sleek head of his.  I saw a shadow flit from the top of a nearby tree.
Petra pointed his beak to the sky and squeaked a tiny noise.  He tilted his head slightly and his eyes were glowing at us again.  We followed him up the trail only he could see.  I was hoping that I wasn’t leaving any tracks as it was a mite hard to tell where I was stepping.
We walked til the sun was just coming over the hill.  Petra squeaked that tiny noise again.  Uncle motioned me forward.
“We’re stopping for a couple hours.  Petra needs to rest.  I’ll be going back down to check the trail.”
He handed Petra the last of the soup bags.  He was gone without another word.  I collapsed to the ground right where I was.  I watched Petra for a bit.  I hadn’t had a good look at him for days.  He was taller than uncle and covered with dark brown feathers.  His wings were folded on his back.  I knew he had talons but I was surprised to see arms with three tiny talons on them.  Uncle had put a poultice of some sort on his shoulder and it started to bleed again.  I checked the bags for another and didn’t find any.  I folded up a piece of my shirt and held it against the poultice.  When the bleeding stopped, I relaxed against a tree.
I studied the land around me.  I could see the river was off in the distance, a little silver flash in the morning sun.  We were high up on a hill.  Looking down, I could see why we were tired.  Aside from the wounds we both had, it was mostly uphill.  Cept for the last bit, it wasn’t even noticeable during the night.  Green, many different shades of green, were all I could see below.  Above, the sky was changing from the first colors of dawn to the blue of the early morning.  The sun was completely over the horizon by the time Uncle got back.
“We’ll have to get to the other spot.  Petra gave me directions already.  We lost them.  Tracks are leading up the hill further down the trail.  Hopefully, we’ll be under cover by the time the Fliers get here.”  He frowned at my shirt setting on Petra’s shoulder.
“It quit bleeding.  I didn’t want to move it til you got back.”
“Ahh.  By evening, you’ll know more about the care of wounds than you really wanted to know.  The dragons are more touch and go than we are.  Long as the bleeding is stopped, we’d better move.  The next rest will be halfway from where are are now.”
I must have rolled my eyes or something cause he smacked me on my shoulder.
“Wake up.  If you guys weren’t hurt, we’d have been there already.”
I dragged myself into a sitting position.  Hadn’t known I laid down.  Must have dozed off a bit.  Sure was glad he hadn’t come then.  Think I might have been wishing to be home, or that this was all a dream.  We commenced moving on the trail underneath the trees.  Uncle had tied my shirt with a piece of leather, grabbed a drink of water and led off carrying Petra.  I picked up the rest of the stuff and nearly dropped it when a large shadow flew overhead.  I froze.  Uncle and Petra looked up.  That strange noise warbled out of Petra’s throat.  I hurried to catch up after they left me standing there with my heart in my throat.