Chapter Text
"Come on, Liv!”
Tula’s voice was snatched away by the wind across the cliff-top. Liv could see her if she craned her neck, up and out, her fingers clenched tightly against the rock-face. She was doing cartwheels, giggling with adrenaline across the sandy plateau above them. Liv hurried to catch-up. Foot, hand, foot, hand, testing the purchase before she moved.
“Come on, Liv! Why are you being so slow?”
Her father’s voice, steady behind her, “It’s ok Livvie, no need to— woah!”
A split-second forever moment of free-fall. Right foot pushing against empty air, fingers scratching and scrabbling. A strong hand at her back, shoving her forwards, tangled in the back of her shirt. Her chest hit the rock face, her foot scrabbling for the ledge she no longer trusted. She breathed hard and squeezed her eyes shut.
“It’s all right, Livvie, I’ve got you.” Her father’s voice was low, just for her. “Take a breath.”
“Liv!” Tula panic-shouted from the cliff-top.
“We’re fine. Just give us a minute, Tula love.” Back to her, “Have you got your footing Livvie?” She nodded. His fingers relaxed in the back of her jacket. His hand stayed, warm and reassuring. “No time to be flying like a bird, eh?”
She shook her head and gingerly opened her eyes. A dusty rock-face rose in front of her, Dad’s orange shirt on her left, Tula’s face peering over worriedly a few feet above. Her fingertips were scratched and painful.
“Next step, then?”
She shook her head tightly, “I’m scared.”
Dad moved his hand in slow gentle circles on her back, “It’s ok to be scared, Livvie. I’m scared too.”
“Of falling?”
“No,” there was a soft laugh within his words, “Too busy being afraid of you falling for that.”
She smiled, bashful but a little pleased, “Sorry.”
“So what are we going to do with this fear then? Are we going to let it stop us? Or are we going to accept it and keep going anyway?” He raised an eyebrow at her, keeping her in their little bubble, just the two of them and the rock-face, no room for the infinite empty air behind them.
Liv took a deep breath, counting in and out, like he taught her. She shrugged, “Keep going, I guess.”
“That’s the spirit.”
Her right foot slid gingerly forward, scratching and scraping on lose rubble. It slipped, a pebble skipping down the cliff-side. Her finger tips stiffened, whitening.
Dad shook his head, gently chastising, “Uh uh. You know what you’re doing, Livvie. Do it properly. Just because we’re scared doesn’t mean we forget everything we know.”
“Ok.” It was a rush of air forced out. Breathe in. Step by step. “Ok.”
She lifted her foot, found the next ledge, tested it. New handholds, a little higher. Pulled herself up. One limb at a time.
“There we go. Keep at it.”
She climbed upwards, one step and then another. And then she was scrabbling up the final slope and Tula was grabbing her hand and they were running across the plateau, spinning and whirling under the endless blue sky.