An early morning beam of light shown through the narrow slit that counted for a window in the small inn. "Wake up! It's morning! Go time! Up, up, up!" Cetus's chipper voice in her head and soft paws on her face woke Anaphora.

The girl groaned, waving Cetus away. "Alright, I am awake. You have too much energy so early, my friend." She had not slept well. She would have liked to leave in the night, but Cetus needed more time to recover. "How is your wing doing? Your cuts look like they are already healed."

"Oh! They good! Squawls heal fast. Wing still hurt. But better." He moved his wing experimentally, the splint holding it stiff. "Tomorrow, mostly healed."

"Excellent, let's go then. Before anyone really gets going." Anaphora shouldered her pack and slipped out of the tavern. She wanted to run, put as much distance between her and the jongleur as she could; however, she forced herself to walk until she left town. Someone running out of town never looked right. In a small town like this, if someone spotted a stranger they would assume theft. When she first ran away, she found this out the hard way. She had been desperate for food, so she had raided the kitchen of a small tavern and ran for it. An early riser had seen her through a window, called after her and woke the town. People in places like this did not have much to lose but needed what they had.

Once out of the town, she started to jog. The sky was clear, leaving Anaphora plenty of light to see by, but the air felt heavy. "Rain today!" Cetus chirped from her shoulder.

Anaphora modded. Since this village was so small, she decided to follow a well-worn path through the trees. Not many people, if any at all, would be travelling. From the last time she was in this area, she remembered that the town called Gepierreci was a couple days away. Unless something had happened, she estimated that she'd be able to stay for a couple of days, at least, gathering supplies and money before leaving once more.

The pair had been on the road for maybe an hour when the rain started. For only a few moments, it was spitting, before it became a downpour. Soon, Anaphora was soaked to the bone. As cold and miserable as she felt, she was thankful for the rain as it would cover any tracks she left behind.

"Cold! Cold, cold! Why is rain so," Cetus trilled, snuggling against Anaphora's neck.

"Yes, no doubt you were right about the rain earlier. With any luck, it won't last long. It'll pour for a while then lighten up before we know it," Anaphora replied, scratching the squawl behind the ear.

They hadn't travelled much further when the rain started to come down even harder. The trail they had been following became muddy and slippery. Anaphora almost slipped into the mud several times before turning off the trail in a huff, "so much for it getting better. I think we'll have a nasty storm on our hands, Cetus. Let's go further into the bush and make camp. I want to wait this out."

Pushing through the undergrowth, she found a somewhat dry spot under a gathering of deciduous trees. She dropped her bag from her back, unpacking what she needed and taking stock of what was soaked. Thankfully, her herbs and food were kept in a water-resistant hide bag. It was one of the first things she had pilfered from a wealthy fur merchant. Back when she was first on the run, she got tired of the rain ruining her food and having to go hungry until she could find her next meal.

With a sigh, Anaphora looked around for small twigs and dead grass that hadn't gotten too wet yet, chatting aimlessly with Cetus. After finding enough, she lit a small fire, hoping to dry out her clothes and supplies a little bit.

"I'm hoping this storm won't last for long. It'd be nice to get more distance between us and that village. With any luck that guy won't notice we're gone until tonight," Anaphora said to Cetus. They sat silently for a while, trying to dry out, enjoying each other's company. The girl reflected on how quickly she got accustomed to the furry presence and how empty her life was of friendship before.

The day wore on with no end in sight for the rain. With nothing else to do, the two companions dozed lightly, the constant rain lulling them to sleep.

***

Sometime in the evening, Anaphora jostled herself out of her rest, some sixth sense tugging at her. She nudged Cetus and tried to listen to what was around her, but the rain was too loud. Suddenly, a tall, lean figure stepped out from the trees. A hood covered most of the person's features, but when he spoke, Anaphora knew immediately who it was.

"Finally, I was hoping I would run into you soon. It was almost too much trouble to keep pushing through the brush with this lovely weather, but you know…" Sojourn was cut off sharply.

"Quit your claptrap! Leave the way you came and leave me alone." Anaphora threatened, her hand drifting to her hip, where she usually carried a dirk. It was not there. She had taken it off when they stopped for the day.

Sojourn spread his hands in a peaceful gesture. "Oh come now, it's pouring rain. Can't you share your meagre shelter with a fellow traveller?"

"I told you to leave, I won't tell you again."

"Please, I just want to chat. That is an awful lot of threat for an unarmed girl. These are bad times. No one should be travelling alone."

Anaphora felt Cetus clamber up her back up to her shoulder, his chipper voice in her head, "Want gone? Tell me when! Healed enough!" Cetus's claws seemed to dig further into her shoulder, almost as though they were being extended like cats.

Her eyes flitted to the furry being then back to Sojourn, "Who gave you the idea that I was alone?" She paused, letting him think about that statement. Brows furrowed, he glanced around the clearing attempting to see another human or presence besides the little animal. It was then when Sojourn looked away, Anaphora shouted, "Cetus, attack!"

Without hesitation, Cetus launched himself the short distance. Powerful muscles in his limbs propelled him quickly towards the jongleur's face. Teeth bared and claws fully extended; he scratched and bit at the exposed flesh of Sojourn's face.

Sojourn shouted in surprise, falling backwards at the force of the soft body. He raised his hands to tear away the squawl, only to receive similar wounds on his hands. Panicked and desperate, he rolled, momentarily dislodging Cetus with the sudden movement. Scrambling back as quickly as he could, he yelled out to the girl. "Please, stop! Call it off! I don't mean you…" Cetus sprang, stopping him mid-sentence. Sojourn rolled again, barely dodging the gleaming claws. "I don't mean you harm!"

"Okay, Cetus, stand down. I think you've done enough." Anaphora waited as Cetus bounded back to her, beady eyes never leaving the stranger. "Now leave us, or I will not be so kind." She had taken the time to grab her discarded weapon and brandished the blade for emphasis.

"I'm sorry," Sojourn began, grinning despite the wounds dripping blood on his face. His upper lip was torn, causing his smile to look broken. "But I won't be leaving. I really don't mean you harm."

Anaphora's mouth curled into a snarl, "then what do you want from me. Mind what you say, if I don't like it, you'll regret not leaving."

"That's the spirit! Now we're acting civil!"

"I said," Anaphora snarled, Cetus on her shoulder also showed his fangs. "What do you want?"

Sojourn's grin widened, his light eyes glowing like a cloudless day, "I want to help you, and maybe you could help me."

"What?"

"I just want to help. I mean, a young girl travelling by herself, sticking to the shadows. You are either hiding from the law or running away from something bigger," he chuckled softly after saying the last part. "It seems like you could use someone on your side. Let me tag along."

Anaphora narrowed her eyes at the man, "I don't need help. I've made it this far on my own, don't want baggage. Now leave me."

"Ah, you forgot about the part where you help me," Sojourn wiped the blood from his forehead before it could drip into his eyes. He paused, hoping the girl would reply. She didn't. Instead, she started to throw things into her bag, eyes never entirely leaving the man.

Sojourn pressed on, "as you know, I am Sojourn, a jongleur. Stories are my profession. Since I first saw you, I thought you'd have a story worth telling."

After having shoved everything into her pack, she slung it over her shoulder, "if you don't leave, I will. I'll help you by leaving the fire for you to use."

Cetus chittered at the man as they left, saying that he was lucky to be alive and that if he ever showed his face again, he wouldn't be so nice. All Sojourn heard was the chittering, as Anaphora pat Cetus on the head, telling him he was an excellent squawl, "Glad we got rid of him, Cetus. Thanks for your help."

Cetus trilled, leaning into the pet, "happy to help! But why send him away? Why no help?"

"Bad things happen to those around me," Anaphora sighed. "I had a partner in the past, but they're gone now. It was my fault, so I decided right then and there that I wouldn't put anyone else at risk. Even having you around makes me nervous."

Cetus made no reply other than to put a soft paw on her cheek. Silence elapsed, and Anaphora thought they had enough distance between them and the man, provided he had actually left. That was until they heard muffled footsteps and branches breaking. Anaphora cocked her head to listen. It sounded like a large animal. There was no way a single human would make that much noise crashing through the brush. Anaphora groaned, looking around for somewhere to take cover. She settled for gracefully climbing a sturdy elm tree, planning to get the drop on the creature if it proved dangerous.

Mere moments later, was the creature visible. It was a horse; its silky coat dark brown everywhere except for a white patch, dotted with the dark brown, on its rump. A misting of white tainted its narrow face, around the eyes and down the nose. It was a beautiful creature, and Anaphora wondered for a moment what such a horse was doing in these woods. That was until she saw who was riding the animal. She grimaced, watching the pair. The man was looking at the ground, following the exact path she had made. It took only a moment before he was looking at the tree Anaphora was hiding in.

He grinned, retearing his split lip, "well, hello again, miss. I think you must realize, by now, that I'm going to follow whether you want me to or not. Care to come down and chat?"

"Chat? Chat about what?" Anaphora asked, not moving from her vantage point.

Blood dripped down his chin, none of the wounds were deep, but there were enough to allow the blood to accumulate. He wiped it away and spoke with a flourish, "oh, you know, this and that. The weather, our recent experiences, our hopes and goals in life," he listed. Then added casually, "why a young girl with your abilities would be travelling by herself. You know, the normal stuff strangers tend to chat about."

She was about to give a snarky reply about chatting in silence and going opposite directions when Cetus spoke to her. "Ana, we go. Now! Bad smell back!"

Anaphora's eyes turned to the squawl and whispered, "you mean what hurt you?' His little head bobbed up and down in response. "But we cannot go with him. Dark things follow me."

As she finished her sentiment, something large rammed into the tree, sending her gracelessly from her vantage point. A branch struck her back, flipping her around, causing her to land face first in the mud, winded. She coughed, trying to get back her breath when an alarm rang in her head, telling her to roll. Barely missing her face, a black, hard leg slammed into the ground, the mud suctioning it in place. Her gaze followed the long leg to a dark purple orb that served as a joint and up further to a round body created from darkness. Motion to her left tore her gaze away from the looming monster.

The horse had reared in panic at the initial impact, but Sojourn slipped his feet out of the stirrups and slid from the saddle in one smooth movement. Frightened, the horse fled into the dense trees leaving Sojourn to face the monstrosity.

Eight limbs extended from the body. The purple orbs gave the legs extra mobility as they spun freely in the sockets. Without rigid joints, the creature flipped its body, leaving its leg stuck in the mud. Each of its eight eyes, now closer to the ground, were focused on the girl.

Sojourn withdrew his stiletto daggers from within his sleeves. With a well-practiced movement, he threw it at an orb connecting an attacking leg to the body of the monster. The blade made contact with the intended purple sphere, causing it to explode in purple smoke. However, despite Sojourn's lightning-fast reflexes, he was too slow. The limb sent Anaphora sprawling across the mud then fell lifeless

Head ringing, Anaphora tried to stand, only to collapse to the ground. The darkness of unconsciousness was slowly taking over, the edges of her vision fading. She could do nothing but watch. There was another glint as Sojourn threw his other knife diving towards the creature, scooping up his first blade. Another burst of purple and a second leg fell, causing it to stagger, only having two legs on one side to support its weight.

A last thought fought its way through the fog, where is Cetus? One more shine of metal, a corresponding explosion, then nothing.