“How long do you figure we have before they try to attack us?”

Neira looked back at the knot of men lounging on the far side of the road, hungry eyes glinting in the dusk light.

“Not much longer.” Dyric grumbled “And something tells me they aren't going to come knocking at the front door either.”

Tawny padded by outside, her tail flicking irritably. Neira watched her pacing, wicked beak giving the occasional snap. She looked from the Sak to the would-be intruders and chewed at her thumbnail, an idea festering.

When darkness fell the strangers struck like jackals, creeping in from all sides. Greedy eyes glinting in the dim light of the torches. Half the men split off to one side, slinking around to cut off any retreat from the back of the house. The remainder moved in toward the front with baited breath and wicked grins. A crack from a stick underfoot startled the group.

“Keep quiet,” the one in front hissed “We don’t want to draw any attention.”

“Shut up!” another grumbled “You’re the only one making any noise.”

A cry of agony tore through the night air and froze the pack of interlopers.

“What was that?”

A collective shudder passed through the group as an eerie wail rose. More anguished cries followed close behind, each louder and more horrifying than the last. A scrawny fellow at the back of the group clutched at his dagger with trembling fingers, a whimper escaping his lips.

“Hush!” The man in front snarled “It’s probably just a trick. Lets keep moving.”

The scrawny man shook his head, dagger dropping to the ground. A glowing pair of amber eyes rounded the corner, a blood soaked monster moving toward them in slow motion. Something warm gushed down his legs and he stumbled backward.

Shrill screams tore through the group and they scattered, trampling over each other in their desperation. Tawny fell on the slowest, her claws sinking into his leg. She shrieked, ripping a chunk from his throat and leaping onto the next victim.

The road was close. The survivors fled with panicked intensity. A wall of flame erupted ahead of them, stretching around the house in a circle. They skidded to a stop, looking from the flames to the creature, ripping open the fresh corpse of one of the slower men. The door to the house opened and several armed men stepped through, torchlight casting demonic shadows over their features.

Heat from the fire grabbed at the back of the scrawny man, eating away the sensation in his skin. His eyes followed the glinting swords of their attackers as they rushed forward. He turned back, scrambling into the flames, the screams of his fellows driving him forward. The fire bit at his flesh, leaving angry blisters and wheals as he broke through the far side and ran, never daring to look back.

Blood spattered across the barren ground as Dyric slaughtered the last of the bandits within the confines of the fire. Akua pulled his blade free of another body, breathing heavy. The flame barrier around the house died out as fast as it had appeared.

“Did we get all of them?” Dyric looked around at the carnage surrounding them.

Akua shook his head, leaning on his blade with a huff of exhaustion.

“One got away.”

Dyric looked over the fire demon sagging in front of him with a frown.

“Why don't you head in and rest? The rest of us can bury the bodies. I’m sure using all that power at once really wore you down.”

Akua gave another nod and a weak smile and made his way back inside. Neira met him in the doorway, her brow creased.

“Are you alright? You look terrible.”

She reached out to help steady him.

“Aw, don't say that.” He wheezed, eyes glinting. “you'll hurt my feelings.”

“Oh quit! You know what I meant.” She fought back a smile and shook her head. “Come on, let's get all that blood off of you so you can rest.”

Once the intruders were disposed of The group gathered by the door, all looking filthy and fatigued.

“That was a highly effective plan you came up with Neira.” Dyric laughed, flopping back against the wall. “You should have seen their faces when we came outside!”

Neira looked down at her hands with a small smile.

“I'm just glad we're all safe.”

“For now...” Tiernon glanced out toward the road, his voice small. “I don’t like that one of the bandits got away.” He rubbed at the dirt on his fingertips, eyes flicking from the road to Akua. “Not that I blame you of course. It just makes me uneasy.”

“It’s less than ideal.” Dyric agreed “But there’s little to be done about it now.”

“We could take it in shifts to keep watch through the night again.” Neira said with a half shrug. “I’d be willing to take the first watch.”

They all agreed on shifts and dragged themselves off to sleep, exhaustion clinging to each of them like a petulant toddler. Neira settled in for her watch leaning up against the wall beside the front door. Tawny padded over next to her, blood still spattered across her beak and paws, and set to work cleaning herself.

“Good girl Tawny.” Neira ruffled the feathers on top of her head. “What would we do without you, huh?”

She looked back out at the road ahead of them and up at the quiet sky, a dark expanse pierced with countless burning stars. A cold breeze swirled through and left her shivering. She hunkered down on the ground beside Tawny, curling inward with a chuckle.

“Guess I should have worn more layers.”

“How about a blanket?”

She looked back at Akua, standing in the doorway with a small woolen blanket.

“I thought you were headed to bed?”

Akua draped the blanket across her shoulders and sat on the ground beside her and shrugged.

“I wasn’t really that tired.”

Neiras' face scrunched and she shook her head in disbelief.

“You could barely walk.”

“The cold water was very bracing, woke me right up.”

Neira raised a skeptical brow and said nothing. Akua tried- and failed- to stifle a yawn and looked back at her with a bleary grin.

“Fine, I’m exhausted, but I just couldn’t sleep for some reason.” He looked down, his fingers laced together across his lap. “Maybe I just felt guilty that you’re out here in the cold, all because I let that bandit get away.”

“So that’s why you brought me a blanket, huh? And here I thought it was because you cared about me.” She fought back a grin and gave him a playful shove. “Come on, it wasn’t your fault. You put up a huge wall of fire and fought off a group of armed men. If anything it’s my own fault since it was my plan.”

Silence settled in around them for a while, soft and comfortable as her wool blanket. Neiras' body grew heavy, her eyes stinging as she stared out at the empty space before them. She shook her head and sighed.

“It feels like it’s just been one calamity after another lately. I keep wondering how much longer it’ll be before it catches up with me.”

Tawny licked away the last remnants of carnage from her claws and nestled her front paws and head onto Neiras' lap with a chirrup. Neira stroked her head with a drowsy smile. Akua leaned closer, ruffling the feathers on her neck.

“I don’t envy the calamity that catches up to you while she’s around.”

Neira giggled, her eyelids drooping heavily.

“It’s good to have friends like you two.”

She leaned her head against Akuas shoulder with a sigh and drifted off to sleep. Akua looked down at her, his heart thumping loudly in its cage of bone. Her scent danced around him, carried up by the whispering breeze, it was earthy with a subtle sweetness. A bit of hair had fallen across her face, swaying lightly with every breath. He reached a tentative hand and tucked the errant black whisps behind her ear once more. His fingers gently traced a pattern down the warm skin of her cheek, almost moving on their own. A sigh slid from his lips before twisting into a groan.

“I’m in trouble, aren’t I Tawny?”

Tawny chirped, staring up at him with unblinking eyes, and settled back onto Neiras' lap. He looked back out at the quiet night, even the stars twinkling with mirth as he leaned his head onto hers.

“Definitely in trouble.”