Lexy

Lexy panted as she climbed. Not far now, she told her aching muscles. With one last heave, she hauled herself on top of the mountain.

"Help!" 

Lexy paused, confused. That was Kaitlyn's voice.

A cold shiver ran through her as she realised: Kaitlyn was about to slip.

She edged as close to the drop as she could. Some loose stones clattered down, and she stiffened. That could have been you. Lexy pushed the thought away.

As she peered over the edge, she shuddered with fear for her sister. "I can't reach you," she called, "you'll have to jump." 

Her sister said something back, but Lexy couldn't hear her. 

Kaitlyn's muscles bunched up, and she sprang upwards in an attempt to land beside her sister. 

Lexy gasped. Her sister wasn't going to make it.

Without thinking, she lunged forward and grabbed her sister's scruff. Her muscles tensed at the sudden added weight. Her heart thumped painfully against her chest, and her breath came in fitful gasps, but her sister was all that mattered.

•••

Lexy whined. What was wrong with her sister? Kaitlyn's heart was beating and she was breathing, but it was as if she were in a permanent sleep. She just wouldn't wake up.

Lying beside her sister in an attempt to warm her up, Lexy pushed away her negative thoughts.

What if she gets too cold?

What if she never wakes up?

What if -... "No," she growled to herself loudly.

Kaitlyn twitched, muttering something incomprehensible.

This gave Lexy a new hope. Vaguely remembering something her mother had told her about not letting shock set in, she poked her sister and yipped loudly. When Kaitlyn growled and patted the ground around her, Lexy's heart lifted. She could do this!

She yowled loudly in her sister's ear and clamped her jaws down on her tail. She pushed away her guilt with a shake of her head. She was helping her sister.

With a growl, Kaitlyn leapt to her feet. Confused, she looked around her. "Lexy?" She asked in a small, vulnerable voice that was very unlike her. 

Lexy nuzzled her sister relentlessly. Purring warmly, Kaitlyn flopped on the ground and curled up, shivering.

"Kaitlyn! No!" She yowled. "Kaitlyn. Do not go to sleep!"

Kaitlyn whined piteously. "But I'm cold. And I'm so, so, tired. Please, Lexy! I need to!"

"Listen to me, Kaitlyn. If you fall asleep, you won't wake up. Kaitlyn! Kaitlyn! Please. Don't fall asleep. I love you, Kaitlyn. Don't leave me!" She begged.

Kaitlyn uncurled weakly, looking at her sister with tired, sulky eyes. "Why can't I sleep?"

"Get up, Kaitlyn!" Lexy commanded. Guilt twisted in her stomach, but she pushed it down. The only way to make Kaitlyn listen was to be firm. With an enormous effort, she pushed all emotion from her face. "Get up!" She commanded again, this time with a forceful growl.

Kaitlyn's face contorted with confusion and hurt. She rose to her paws unsteadily, trembling with shock. "I nearly died," she said horsely. Still shaking, she teetered away from Lexy, whining sulkily. Her body racked with uncontrollable shivers.

Lexy slunk after her, feeling wretched. She rubbed her thick fur vigorously against her sister in an attempt to warm her up. "I'm sorry," she whispered in her sister's ear.

"I nearly died," Kaitlyn repeated again, her voice raw and husky. 

"I know," Lexy told her softly, offering a reassuring lick on the ear. Her sister submitted without a reaction. "I know," she told her traumatised sister, "but you're alive. You're here. Look at me, Kaitlyn!"

As Kaitlyn met Lexy's eyes, Lexy noticed the tears glistening around their edges. 

"You're alive, Kaitlyn," she whispered. Kaitlyn shivered with cold, and Lexy rushed to her side. 

"I want to go home," Kaitlyn said in a small voice. 

Lexy grimaced. "That's the problem. We'll have to climb back down..." She trailed off. "...Are you up to it?"

Kaitlyn shook her head meekly. 

Her sister sharply drew in a breath. "There is another way, but we'll have to be careful..."

•••