Lethies
World of Fire

It was predawn when she awoke, despite the late night she'd just had. Leithie got up quietly and striped. She located the sunfiltering contact lenses and gingerly, put them on her eyes, she was still unfamilar with putting in contact lenses. Getting a large pot of goop, she smeared the black slimy but tacky substance over her entire body. Then she reached for the body suit. The body suit was designed to filter the worst of the suns rays. She pulled it on and fastened it, the only thing the suit left uncovered were her eyes.

Walking slowly down the hall past the bedroom Shahn had set up in she headed through the kitchen to the garage. Here she unhooked the walking suit off the wall, it was large and bulky. First she stood in the feet holes with the rest of the suit flayed out on the ground around her. Then she clumsily, hands already in the body suit and gooped, pulled first one piece off the floor and fastened it, starting at her ankles and working her way up the entire body. When she got to the head she carefully inserted the viewing screen and pluged the wires into their ports.

It was a lot of work and she did not know why she did it yet, but something called her and so the last couple of mornings, before the full force of the sun hit she had gotten up and gone for a walk.

She finished the final fastening on the suit and paused to get her breath. Leithie looked at the door for a minute more steeling her self to walk out the doors, it was still kind of freaky to step out without a solid car around her for protection. Pushing the button to the left of the door she waited as it opened. The early light of dawn greated her on the viewing screen, she winced as the light fell across her foot, still half expecting it to wither before her eyes. Once the door was open fully she took a deep breath and stepped out.

The day looked bright and clear on the monitor and she walked for a while till she reached foot of the cliffs, at the top of which there were a few scrubby bushes. She had seen them the morning before from down on the beach when she had walked out from under the covers suited up, and decided to come check them out.

Scanning the cliff face she looked for a route to take which would get her to the top. She ended up taking a hazardous start for what looked like an easier end.Her foot felt for the first purchase on the cliff face. The clumbesome suiting made it difficult to feel when she had found a foot hold and it took her several attempts to get off the base, and she wondered if she was crazy attempting this.

The sun had risen low on the horizon. She looked down at the beach and spotted a figure walking out from under the sun filter nets. They had no protective wear on that could only mean it was one person, she swung her legs back from, and rolled away the edge hoping she had not been spotted.

"Blast that man" she cursed under her breath. When she was far enough from the edge she stood gingerly and walked into the knarled trees. Leaning against one of the less scrawny trees she sighed a sigh of relief. After some moments she straightened herself up and started walking through the scrubby trees. Stopping by one which looked differnt than the rest she picked a leaf, placing it in a carying pouch in the side of the suit, it would be interesting to see it for real, when she got back.

She came to a natural clearing and spun round slowly taking in the whole vista. On her second spin round she though she saw something moving in the trees a way back. Surely not she thought, annoyed. Not taking any chances she, moved off quickly hoping it was nothing, but wanting to put as much distance as possible bewteen her and the nothing as possible. This was her private time and she wanted it to stay that way.

However her annoyance increased as she found herself walking fast past many trees and not looking at them properly in the hurry to put distance between her and that dratted man. Coming to a rock outcrop she stopped and rested her back on a flat surface. I have had enough of this she thought, if he's there let him catch me. Leithie chest heaved from the exertion of the pressed walk in the heavy suit.

Minutes passed and no one came. Leithie cursed her imagination, really, she thought a hard headed businesswoman like yourself should know better. I fshe acted like this in business she wouldn't have accomplished half of what she had. A plan started forming in her mind.

She stayed leaning against the rock until she caught her breathe, the suit was hot and slippery from sweat and goop, she would have to take the long way back, it would be dangerous to climb down the cliff. Leithie stood and stretched before carrying on. The trees ahd thinned and she was now in a open area with a few plants scattered here and there low to the ground. The plants seemed to grow in the rockiest places which intrigued her. She walked along being careful to avoid stepping on the delicate looking plants. Exhaling and relaxing as she went. It was weird, she thought, how getting out in a hot confined suit seemed to hold such a facination. She stretched out the length of her walk and settled down to a ground covering pace. A largish flat rock caught her eye and she walked towards it. As she arrived at it she sqatted down and placed her hand on the top of the rock half expecting to feel a coolness from it but the suit did not let her feel the temperature.