Falling slow, that's how we came down.
A slope. No track. Only a sharp incline draped with shifting stones and random rocks, tilted near forty degrees, dropping three thousand feet under two miles of sky. Walking it on two legs? Impossible. On four paws? Still heart-pounding. Yet possible.
Barely touching the hill, Sage sprinted forward without caution. Down went balance, gone in an instant.
Down she slipped, feet slipping on wobbly rocks. Weight pulled harder. Not moving fast now but dragging, nails scraping at surfaces that cracked under each step. Everything leaned sideways. Blue sky mixed with gray stone in a rush. Headfirst she went, rolling, just seconds from slamming into solid rock -
Something deep inside her snapped awake. Everything around seemed to drag. Seconds felt longer. The huge stone moved like it was stuck in syrup, yet Sage turned while still dropping, pushed off the surface with both front legs, then bounced clear above instead of crashing headfirst into it.
