Several more days were burned away as they camped by the lake. The deer never came back after Nikolai blundered with Lana's bow. In his own words: it had been "too stiff". They ended up having to settle for the small rabbits Lana managed to shoot while Nikolai scoured (very much to his reluctance) the bottom of the rather shallow lake. When light became scarce in the evenings, Nikolai stopped the dives to rest for the night. The search came to an end on the fifth day.

"I can't believe there's nothing here," Lana muttered, staring out into the water.

"What? Excuse me?" Nikolai said with the most sarcastic tone he could muster. "I can't hear you with all this water STUCK IN MY EARS."

Lana rolled her eyes. "No need to rub it in --"

"There is every need to rub it in." Nikolai snatched the machete off the ground and tied the scabbard around his belt. He paused before rummaging through his pockets. When his fingers closed around the body of his trinket, he breathed a sigh of relief. It was still there. "We don't have the luxury, alright?"

"I know --"

"You know? Then STOP making me do stupid things!" Nikolai snapped. "I already said it's not the water. It wasn't the herbs. It wasn't the meat. If we had a thousand foot tall mountain, you'd probably say we should check the peak."

"I'm just being thorough --"

"I can't afford to waste time," Nikolai groaned, throwing up his arms. "Can't lose my mother too."

Immediate regret followed that sentence but the damage was done. His eyes darted to Lana; whose face turned red quickly.

Nikolai held his breath as silence came over them. The sound of the running river did help alleviate some of the tension, though it wasn't quite enough to remedy the situation. Now, if only a deer or two would enter the scene...

Lana pressed her lips together, avoiding his gaze. She turned and walked away. Nikolai sighed. Whenever she did that, it was best to keep his mouth shut until she decided to say something. He adjusted his clothing slowly as he watched her leave. She had gone quite some distance from him before he began to walk.

Lana's cold shoulder was perhaps the only thing guaranteed to knock Nikolai into a sudden phase of self-reflection. One session could last between several hours to (if he was unlucky enough) days. It had only happened four times so far in the course of their friendship -- and it was four times too many. There was once where she refused to talk to him for a week because they had an argument about herbs. She had been sure that hers was the right type needed for cooking while his; when cooked, would result in a terrible stomachache.

Despite his careful nature, he had been wrong about the herbs. And while he was the one who suffered from the gut pain, he had to also brave through Lana's icy treatment. Despite that, he was grateful that she brought to him her own concocted medicine: the Frostmelon... which she made sure to place at the furthest corner of the room away from his bed.

Sometimes, Lana just infuriated him with her constant worrying and inability to move from difficult situations, though he also knew she was only the way she was because she was concerned.

He watched Lana's back as she trudged across the forest floor. It was true that she became considerably more paranoid ever since the plague took her family. But then, who wouldn't have been affected? Both parents and a younger sister. And all three of them were taken within the first two weeks of its arrival.

He closed a hand tightly around the body of the pocket watch in his pocket. Its soft ticking pulsed through its gold exterior against his skin, mimicking the beat of his heart.

At least he still had his mother... A month ago, when he discovered his father had succumbed to the plague, he felt a void tear into his heart. It was like an invisible weight crushing him. The village people had always called him "competent" simply because of his slightly better hunting skills. But if he compared himself to Lana, what with the three family members she'd lost almost all at once, could he really still be called that? Yes. There were many things he had said in the past without thinking. This time, however, he admitted that he had been rather insensitive.

Nikolai hastened his steps. When he was within reach, he grabbed Lana's wrist. Without looking at him, she tried to pull away but he held on tightly.

"I'm sorry," Nikolai said. "Lana, I'm sorry."

The young woman stopped struggling but still she refused to face him. Her arm remained stiff.