Auren walked the narrow game trail between towering pines, his cloak brushing tangled ferns and dry leaves. The morning sun was a pale glow behind mist drifting like pale silk among the trees. Birds flitted overhead, darting through streaks of golden light, wings flicking shadows across the forest floor.

Every few steps, Auren tilted his head to glance behind him. He wasn't checking for beasts-or bandits. He was checking for Kaele.

Sure enough, there she was, a few paces back, boots crunching softly in the leaf litter, her spear slung over one shoulder like a walking stick. She wore a faint grin, and her dark eyes glimmered with a teasing glint.

"Awh, why are you looking back all the time? Did you already fall in love with the likes of me?" Her voice lilted in that sing-song, annoying way that scraped along Auren's patience like a file on steel.

He clenched his jaw. Said nothing. Kept walking.

Leaves rustled overhead. A red squirrel leapt branch to branch, chittering curses in its tiny language. Somewhere deeper in the trees, a woodpecker drilled into bark with a noise like distant hammer blows.

Kaele picked up her pace and fell into step beside him, giving him a suspicious sideways glance.

"Seriously. You keep peeking back like you're expecting me to vanish. Or... are you just admiring my hair? It's the hair, isn't it?"

Auren shut his eyes and sighed. "Shut up, Kaele."

"Awh... so sweet. You're shy." She twirled around him once, the shaft of her spear nearly whacking Auren in the face. "You're shy and mysterious and broody. I bet the girls back home were swooning over you."

He ignored her, ducking beneath a hanging branch. "Kaele, watch where you're swinging that thing."

She lowered the spear, grinning. "Why? Afraid I'll poke your pretty eye out?"

Auren snapped, "Yes, actually."

They kept walking, weaving through thickets where fat blue mushrooms bulged between tree roots and the smell of moss rose up like damp cloth. For a long stretch they were silent except for the rhythmic crunch of their boots.

A gust of wind sent a swirl of golden leaves fluttering between them. Kaele stuck out her tongue, trying to catch one like a child, and Auren couldn't help the slight upward twitch at the corner of his mouth.

It didn't escape Kaele's notice. "HA! He smiled! He's human after all!"

Auren immediately scowled. "No I didn't."

"Liar."

The sun climbed higher, turning the mist into silver threads. The forest brightened but still felt endless. Ancient trunks soared upward, dark and straight, their lower limbs bare, leaving shadowy vaults beneath the canopy.

The deeper they went, the more the trees seemed to lean inward, crowding close as though eavesdropping.

By early afternoon, Auren's stomach gave a loud, ugly growl.

Kaele stared at him. "Was that a bear?"

"Shut up."

"Awh, does the mighty swordsman need lunch?"

Auren stopped in the trail, rubbed his forehead. "Oi, Kaele. Go fetch some food, would ya?"

Kaele perked up immediately, rolling her shoulders like a fighter stepping into the ring. "Hah! Thought you'd never ask."

She unslung her spear, planted her feet apart, and shut her eyes.

Auren squinted at her. "So... are you gonna go find a deer or just stand there getting sunburnt?"

Kaele hissed, "Shh! Let me concentrate."

He crossed his arms, tapping one foot on the forest floor. "Seriously? You're not gonna find dinner by standing still. We're not summoning Vysria here."

Kaele's brow creased as she drew in a slow breath. Auren opened his mouth to tease her again-

Suddenly, Kaele's eyes snapped open. She twisted to the left and hurled her spear in a blur of motion.

WHOOSH.

A beat of silence.

Then a ragged cry burst from a thicket as leaves exploded outward.

Kaele dashed forward. Auren followed, half expecting her to have speared a bush by mistake. But when he reached her side, she was already tugging her blood-soaked spear free from the chest of a young deer.

The creature slumped into the ferns, eyes glassy, blood steaming in the cool air.

Auren blinked. "Woah."

Kaele wiped the spear on the grass, chin lifted high. "Told ya I'd get us food."

He gave a grudging nod. "Okay... that was actually impressive."

Kaele puffed up with pride. "Of course it was. My father taught me well."

They dragged the deer back to a clearing, Kaele practically skipping. She knelt and set to work with her belt knife, cutting hide and muscle in quick, sure slices. Auren helped collect fallen sticks, and together they built a small fire.

Soon flames crackled beneath a spit where venison sizzled, juices dripping onto glowing coals.

Auren chewed thoughtfully on a strip of meat. "Not bad."

Kaele smirked. "You're welcome."

For a moment, they ate in companionable silence. Auren found himself studying the firelight flickering across Kaele's face. Her hair, always a tangle, glowed auburn at the edges, and there was dirt on her cheek. He realized she looked a lot like her father in that moment-stubborn, relentless.

He looked away quickly, scowling at the flames.

After the meal, they stamped out the fire. Auren pointed south again. "Come on. Let's keep moving."

They hiked until the sun hung low behind the branches, shadows stretching like dark fingers over the forest floor. The air turned chill, scented with pine and distant water. Birds fell silent.

Auren stopped and began clearing a patch of ground, arranging sticks in an arrow shape pointing south so they wouldn't lose direction come morning.

Kaele cocked her head. "That's clever. Did my father teach you that?"

"No. I taught myself."

Kaele gave him an appraising look. "Not bad."

When the arrow was finished, Auren made two mounds of leaves and pine needles for bedding. They lay down side by side, weapons within reach.

Kaele shifted to look at him in the dark. "Hey... are we gonna spar tomorrow?"

Auren turned his head, eyes half-open. "We'll see if I'm in the mood."

She punched him lightly in the arm. "Scared you'll lose."

He snorted. "Please."

A soft breeze rattled the leaves overhead. Stars winked through gaps in the branches. Somewhere distant, a wolf howled.

Auren stared up at the starlight, thinking of Roderic, of Northbound's blacksmith forge, of the blood in the snow. A small voice in his head whispered that maybe Kaele was right to follow him. Maybe it was good not to be alone.

But he said nothing.

Eventually, sleep crept over them. Kaele shifted closer for warmth, mumbling something about venison stew. Auren let out a weary sigh, closed his eyes... and drifted into uneasy dreams of wind, steel, and blood.