05-18-2008, 03:19 AM
[html]
Giuseppe's heart skipped a beat, a distraction that checked his forward progress. Were it not for the burden he bore, the Italian male might have taken a tumble; but fortunately, the added weight kept his mind in the present. A bit of the old panic returned to his voice, "Lei sa Maria!? Quando lei l'ha vista? Dove?" He turned to face his concious traveling companion, desperation in his face and eyes. At this point he had little hope of being understood or understanding the reply, but plunging blindly forward seemed as best an option as any. The same logic kept his feet moving, less the hot wind at their backs come any closer than it already was. He coughed again in another futile attempt to clear clogged airways, and continued "Il Maria è mia moglie."[/html]
Panic and relief washed over Giuseppe in equal measure. Relief because he now, finally, had proof beyond the sailor's word that his lady-love and their child had come this way. There was some odd comfort as the eighty percent certainty slid into the hundred range. Panic followed hot on relief's heels, for if she were here, then they were all caught in this hellfire together. What if they didn't get out? Giu would lose them all over again, something he wasn't sure he could survive.
The compact luperci paused long enough to turn and look behind. For a moment, he hesitated putting down - Phoenix, was it? - and plunging back down the trail into the flames. If he had known for sure Maria and Beppe had perished, little could have stopped his suicide quest. But hope is an odd, stubborn, and fickle thing, and it had not abandoned Giuseppe quite yet. They might have made it out, and he might be able to find them. Perhaps Skoll might know where to start looking, if they could manage a way to communicate. With a sigh that turned into a smouldering cough, he returned attentions to the trail they were following. One weary foot in front of the other, forward into the grand -- and unburnt -- unknown.