She had run from not something, but someone.

To his surprise, she did not outright ignore him, instead opening her eyelids and clutching the coat tighter around her, pulling it upwards to her chin. She gazed at the fire as if she was in a trance.

“Do you have family in Koiki?” He asked, supposing this would be the last question he asked as not to make Ms. Allie feel as though this strange man was far too curious.

She nodded.

“… A friend,” she finally answered.

She shivered to which Noah wondered if it was out of fear of the cold breeze of the wind, so hard the fire flicked, making him wonder if perhaps it was an ill-thought idea to light one.

“Are you cold, Ms. Allie?” He asked with a concerned expression.

The thunder had grown louder, however the cave seemed to keep most of the noises out, besides the howling of the wind.

When she did not reply, closing her eyes once again, he stood up, picked the coat up, and moved to lay it next to her. Allie’s eyes opened immediately, sensing his presence as he reluctantly sat down next to her, her shoulder touching his upper arm. He had positioned himself on her left side, closest to the opening of the cave.

“I apologize if I make you feel uncomfortable… The wind chill is entering the cave, it will be warmer if we are to be near each other.”

As he peeked at her, he gave a small smile, as if to ease her beating and frightened heart.

Noah turned his head back once to check on Sara, who seemed to have relaxed a little where she stood near the cave wall. She was an old horse, causing him to fret often over her. Her golden mane was likely damp from the rain. Thinking of it, Noah touched his own long hair which he had pulled into a bun earlier, it felt damp itself. He wondered how long they would be stuck in this cave. It was no longer visible outside through the small cave opening as the fire seemed to flicker.

Next to him, Allie trembled as the wind grew stronger. Noah presumed perhaps to distract her with his clumsy use of small talk.

“Once I knitted a scarf so hideous my mother used it to clean the floorboards.”

He laughed awkwardly, noticing the young woman next to him seemed preoccupied by his words.

“She stopped teaching me such things after that. It was quite dreadful now as I ponder back on it.”

Allie held her head in her glove-covered hands as she listened to him without reply, growing anxious as the storm raged onward just outside the cave. She closed her exhausted eyes and then sleep took her quickly.

When Noah realized she was sleeping, he breathed a worried sigh as she leaned against his shoulder, considering who she was running from, and how far behind they were from closing in.