The Oncoming Darkness [opened]

[Red Daghul]

Red fell alseep quickly and the night turned for the worse as the snow began to fall from the sky and painted the ground in white snow.

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Red awoke the next morning as a chill swept in from the morning sky into the hut. Shaking his head trying to shake the sleep from his body Red pulled one of the skins over his body to keep him warm. The fire had died down to a low amber burn giving off almost no heat, so Red reach over a began to work on feeding the fire to life.

Looking over towards his bed Red gave a quick look over to Ker to make sure she was still there part of him expected her to move on she seemed to be a free spirit. "Daghul you awake? Red sent already sure the bird was off hunting "how are the skys?".

"The skys are cold, brother, a storm is brewing though" the sound of Daghul's scretch let off right out side and his head poped his head in the hut dropping a small rabbit.

"nicely done Brother" Red said giving the bird a small grin as the bird dissappeared back into the morn. Grabbing the spit Red prepared the rabbit for a meal they will need a good meal to get through to wind reach today. Looking over at Ker he started to wonder what had pushed her to leave the safety of wind reach. Yes, she had told him she was bored with no one to play or work with, but there musty be something deeper...must be.

Red started cooking the Rabbit slowly turning it letting the heat cook the meat.

[Ker]

When Ker awoke, it was very cold. Sitting up, she rubbed her eyes, and looked around the hut wearily. As she inhaled, the delicious aroma of cooking rabbit hit her nose, making her perk up. Ker looked at Red and blinked, all thoughts turning to hunger. "Food?" She stood and stretched, then walked over to the other Inarta. "Food?" she repeated, then realizing that she may have sounded rude, continued, "I mean, err, is that breakfast?" She stared at him, a hopeful look on her face.

[Red Daghul]

Red had just finished cooking the small game when Ker started to stir, and he was already getting a little bit eager to get on the road. With the snow they had last night, and the looks of another storm coming he wanted to try and get Ker back to wind reach on foot before the pass closed up. If this plan failed he would fall back on flying her in, but with the wind in the sky calling for a storm he rather not risk the girl. Being Endal ment it was up to him to protect her, and he would do so.

Ker stood out of bed with a questioning look "food?" Red gave her a quizing look as she asked again "food?" a strange way to ask were the thoughts of the Endal.

With a gentle voice Red answered "yes, sit and eat we need to be off before to long" and with that he passed her a bowl and stood starting to collect the things he needed for the trip packing them in his bag. In his mind he played through the trail they needed to take to get to the pass, and quickly took a moment to peer outside to get a good idea on the weather. It was snowing again time was against them.

"How fairs the skys?" Red sent to Daghul who reply "they are getting worse, you need to move soon". Red looked to Ker and said "Ready?"

[Ker]

Ker shoved the last of her food into her mouth, and gulped it down. "Ready!" said, grinning foolishly. She was excited! How many Yasi got to travel with an Endal? Ker was so happy that she even began to hum absentmindedly.

[Red Daghul]

Red packed the last bit of his supplies in his pack and gave the hut one last check to make sure he had gathered all his stuff then turned towards the door. Red was dressed in a wolf skin coat, pants and fur cover boots which help keep him warm. Red's talon blade hung across his back, and his bow was strung in his hand with a arrow ready. "Follow closely" Red directed at Ker as he started to make his way through the snow.

The morning had revealed itself to full extent now with snow lightly falling at the moment, and it's wind sweeping through like a wave on the shores of the great seas. The snow made the air dense to the eyes, so much that one could only see a small ways away in the weather. Red couldn't smell much as the cold made his nose numb and kept the scent of the forest from him. Red didn't much like the snow it kept him from what he enjoyed most. Freedom to experince the world with out hinder.

As they moved Red seemed to enter a daydream state longing for the sun to bath him as he moved through the woods feeling the spring wind in the air. Oh, the spring wind bringing it's sweet scents of life as the trees and flowers grew. The light of the day full of sweet joy.

Red shook his head as he found himself moving through the cold snow, and brought himself back to the moment. Looking back to Ker to make sure she was still with him then started on again as the snow started to fall harder.

[Ker]

Ker found it very difficult to do as she was told due to the weather. It was becoming increasingly windy, blowing more and more snow into her face and drastically impairing her ability to see. Quite a few times this caused her to stumble or run into a branch, slowing her down even more.

Despite these setbacks, Ker was determined to keep a positive attitude, and imagined that the snowy terrain was an obstacle course. Though this helped at first, it soon took its toll. Tired and blind, Ker tripped on a particularly large log and fell face-first into a bush. She let out a cry of pain.

Blood turned the snow red. Ker shifted her head slightly, revealing a deep cut that went from her bottom lip to the underside of her chin...

[Red Daghul]

Hours seemed to pass slow as they two moved through the tough terrain at a easy pace, but with the snow falling harder by the second it was making things harder and harder. The tempature was droping faster then he had thought it would, and Daghul was not giving him any good news as he reported more heavier snow fall ahead.

Red was just about to call Daghul to find them a way around the storm when he heard a small cry from behind him. Turning on his feet arrow knocked pulled back to his cheek bone ready to loose at the first sign of danger, The Endal only found Ker on her knees blood running down from her mouth. Red lowered the bow from it's threating stance and moved over to the girl "are you alright kid" he bent down to one knee and took a look at the cut. It was not a terrible cut, but it would bleed. Pulling out some bandages from his pack he instructed her "hold this to the cut, we will..." Red stoped talking as his eyes swept pass the girl to the limit of his vision.

Something was moving. No, there were more maybe five or six "we need to go now" he grabed the girls hand and started off "Daghul, we need to hide. We're being hunted".

Daghul answered shortly later "not much farther up there is a cave" a picture formed in Red's mind and he quickened his steps as he lead Ker quickly "can you shoot a bow?" he asked as they started the race up the mountain.

[Ker]

"I'm... fine," she replied shakily, taking the bandages from him. She was about to tell him that it was painful for her to talk (as she couldn't move her jaw properly due to the cut), then stopped herself. Red had seen something, and it certainly wasn't a naked Kelvic female (Naked Kelvics? What is wrong with my brain today? she thought, mentally hitting herself). He told her that they needed to get moving, then grabbed her hand and started to run.

Sensing the increased urgency of Red's movements, Ker quickened her pace. Where are we going? she thought to herself as they began up the mountain. And what is happening that even the storm doesn't seem important?

Red asked her if she had any proficiency in archery, and she shook her head, still holding the bandages to her chin. "My knowledge in that area is very basic. I can barely even hold the bow properly."

[Red Daghul]

Red didn't even look back at her as she answered his question not because he was not listening, but because he was giving everything he had to find a place to hid. It was becoming increasingly clear to him that he had underestimated the coming storm, for with every step he took it felt like the snow fall increased seven fold. The limit his eyes could see became less and less till he could only see ten feet in front of him. Behind him Red was almost sure he heard the howling of the wolves that he was sure hunted what they thought a defenceless prey stuck in the cold.

"Daghul, can you reach us?" Red sent starting to worry about the bird from the abence of reports, and when no reply came the Endal's heart started beating harder. Pushing through the gathering snow Red kept pulling Ker hoping that the next step would show there refuge. Each step was becoming harder as the wind sent frozen air into his face, and the cold air making breathing harder. The storm had come to show it's power, and it was not happy.

Pulling Ker another ten feet Red almost fell in relief as the cave in which Daghul had seen came into view, but not with out it's own danger as a howl of hunting wolves rang out loud. Moving into the cave Red felt another stab of pain at the missing voice of Daghul, but he made sure not to let his worry show. Pulling the bow off his back Red handed Ker the bow "It is time to learn you may need it in the time to come".

Red knew there was no way he could teach her all the ins and outs of archery, for not even he knew all there was to know. It might though be the difference of life and death if she knew how to weild it even the slightest. The worry that the wolves might take sheltor in this cave brought Red even more reason to teach her. "Watch closely to how I hold the bow, and how I pull it back" Red said holding the bow in his right hand, and then taking the arrow in his left and knocking the end to the string. Pulling the string back with his left hand he straightened his right arm till his left hand met his cheek bone.

"use your cheek bone to mark where you pull back the string too, and keep your right arm straight" he then nodded down the shaft and instructed "looked straight down the shaft to aim, then take a breath and let it go, then release with your left hand fingers" he then handed her the bow and added "give it a try".

Red then went to trying to cover the cave entrance with a fur blanket he had hoping it would help keep them hidden, and all the time trying to watch Ker to see if she was uderstanding how the bow worked. There was much more to the bow then he had told her, and even then it would take months of practice to reach a level of shooting that would give them more of a chance if they were attacked, but it was all Red could think of.

[Ker]

Ker lifted the bow carefully and put the arrow in place, then looked around for a suitable target. Seeing a large piece of tree bark a few feet away, she aimed, pulled back, and let go. The arrow landed five feet to the left of the wood. Trying again, she aimed too high, then too low. She continued practicing for fifteen minutes until she finally hit the wood.