Derrix frowned and looked at Sana, “I’m homesick.”

“Between my tasks I wait to go home,” his voice had changed back to one of thought, “and if I can help as many people as I can before I rest by the fires of my homestead and feel the comfort of my own bed, so be it, all will be better for it.”

"I can't pretend to know what that feels like," Sana admitted. She never truly had a home or a place like one. Growing up she traveled and at nights they slept in wagons and even the wagons were like a house on wheels she had left that life a long time ago. There were moments where she longed for the sound of a violin and times she missed certain members of her family she had not seen in so many years but she wouldn't call that homesick by any stretch of the imagination.

"What is your homeland like?" she asked, slightly intrigued to what it was like since it was somewhere she had not ventured to before in her life.

"Perhaps we may find the crystal coasts of the seas to the North." Vaeri said, playing along with his persona of being a idealized hero who did this sort of adventuring regularly. "Or find a magical grove filled with creatures you only hear of in legend that can teach you the secrets of nature. Or we will come upon a dark cave containing a savage hydra. At first you would be nearly overwhelmed by the many heads, but you soon figure out that by slicing off each of the heads and burning the stumps that the beast will fall. The lead is yours, Sir Tobias." Vaeri slyly smiled when Tobias apologized and mentioned that city girls loved his romanticized words of high adventure and treasure.

Patiently, she waited for Tobias to finish his improvised brick of questions before turning back to answer Melvus' question. "Is it really so odd for me to be helping out humans? I am a woman of faith, our races do not matter to me. A person in need is one deserving of my aid." Vaeri paused for a moment before continuing.

"Perhaps you were asking about the reason I am even traveling. I'm on a mission from god. I'm looking for a man with two right hands." Vaeri raised both her hands in the air for emphasis. "My goddess commanded me to go out and find him. And so I have been for the past 3 decades. I hope that answers your question satisfactorily." Vaeri turned around to face Tobias again, taking a deep breath.

"And for you, the man on the white steed is named Derrix Nightbane Herchiv. I had an extended conversation with him last night. He appears to be a secretive man, but one with a deep understanding of spirituality. I do not believe he is concealing anything malicious, but that is a thing we can never really know. He does not look the type to share his past. I am almost certain he has no connection whatsoever to any dragons we may come across. I myself do not know what a Mist Dragon is, but Melvus' definition sounds correct. Most dragons are classified by their color whether it is a plain color like red or a metallic one like bronze, so your point about calling it a light blue-grey dragon is moot. If you had the chance to talk to the dragon, I believe you would be robbing the dragon, but no doubt you managed to escape his terrible breath attacks with cunning on your part, narrowing avoiding it's gaping maw with plenty of its gold in hand. Perhaps a few precious gemstones? However, I will keep your advice in mind if I meet another dragon on my travels. I believe Sana left Arianna with Sister Agnes while we're traveling. After all, it will be dangerous, and no place for a young girl like her. I would rather not think about a youngling getting injured or killed because of our carelessness. I am sure you would be a caring parent, but I doubt that most others would want such virtues imprinted on her. Although I wish I were so talented as to be able to teach people arcane magic, I lack the head for it. My magic is divine in nature, not well, natural. I'd only be able to mentor one with a faith like mine." Vaeri paused for only a moment to take a breath.

"I would guess that lunch is in about 4 or 5 hours. I do not know your term for it, but we have a similar thing in my village that we called vasa'loki. It translates roughly to 'A serpent of food.' They are great on occasion, but it gets old and wasteful if done too often. I think kings and queens simply have their servants prepare a meal of what they want to eat instead of creating long lines of food they won't eat all themselves. I find palaces too stony for my taste. I prefer to stand on and be surrounded by earth and flora, not cut rocks. I assume the king's crown contained a magical gem that unjustly gave him the power to rule, and by taking it, you freed the people from his tyrannical grasp. Such would only be fitting of a man of your caliber. Anything else you would wish to discuss, Sir Tobias?"

Hugh was deep in thought, his pipe still firmly placed in his mouth while he puffed away at it. His retreat from reality was suddenly interrupted by the presence of Fiona, the warrior woman. He looked up, nodding in acknowledgement of her offer.

He scratched his chin for a moment, then reached out his hand, stretching it out as much as was required. "Thank you!" He plucked it from her hand and bit into it. "Delicious."

She then granted him some comforting words, which would fall short, as he wasn't worried about her safety. He was perplexed by how she was seemingly ignoring him. He hadn't any idea, but he kept mulling it over in his head. "It's not her safety." He sighed, "I'm just confused why she didn't speak to me. Barely even acknowledged me." He said it all in a rather glum tone, monotonous and depressing sounding.

With a quick thought, he took his pipe from his mouth and reached it over to Fiona, "Would you like some? It's good tobacco!" He said with a friendly smile. It was not completely forced, but his thoughts were definitely disturbing him for the moment.

Meanwhile, he would take small bites from the apple as he waited for her response to his offer.

So she did hear me... “A mission from god, you say? To find a man with two right hands? That does seem rather interesting… I should like to see this man… Perhaps inquire about his dual appendages - are they both on his right side? Or are both of his thumbs on the left? Speaking of which, does he also have a left hand?” He took a breath, hoping that he wasn’t prying too much, it could probably be seen on his face. “Though you may not have been provided all of this information....” He thought for a moment, about nothing in particular, but he thought none the less. “I, myself, have been searching for my family for a long time…”

The wizard felt that one who traveled so much could perhaps shed some light on their whereabouts. “About fifteen years ago my entire village disappeared with the exception of myself, there may have been others, but if there were, they were gone before I took notice of them… I’ve been searching ever since. Losing them… it changed me… I usually am not the type to go on talking like this… But I thought I’d ask if you could possibly have seen anything like this before? In your travels… An entire village, three-thousand people, disappearing overnight…”

Fiona let a short "uh" escape her upon being offered the pipe, before she found herself reaching out to accept it, feeling for whatever reason that it would be rude to not accept. It was a habit of hers, really, being unable to politely refuse people that were trying to be kind. Taking the pipe, she puffed on it briefly, immediately revealing that she didn't make a habit of smoking by the way she coughed lightly, and then handed it back, a bit of an embarrassed smile in place on her lips.

"Thank you," she managed, taking a moment to collect herself, and give his response some thought. This was difficult ground to be treading on, unsure what would be too far to assume, too far to say. But it was obvious enough to her that he was in some kind of pain, and Sana clearly was, too. Fiona didn't have much experience with relationships; none of hers thus far had lasted all that long, nor did they have much adventure involved, given the lack of it in village life. She didn't know if she could help, but she could try.

"Well... she went through a lot yesterday. She told you, didn't she? After the fight with the Anti-Paladin?" Fiona didn't remember it perfectly, but she thought she'd seen the two of them converse after the fight. And they were together through the night, so surely he learned at some point what had happened to her. "I think it's understandable, given all that occurred, for her to be more preoccupied with other things than showing affection." Fiona had to figure that by now, however long they'd been together, that both knew that the other cared deeply, and didn't need constant acknowledgement and attention to prove that.

"On top of everything, she's had leading this group dumped in her lap, and she's doing her best with that. Most people would've quit after what happened yesterday, but obviously Sana's not most people." Fiona gazed out ahead a moment, clearing a few strands of red hair from her face when the wind pushed them in the way. "My guess... she needed some time to think about things. And if it's not too bold to suggest, I think it would be wise for you to have a conversation with her when you two get a chance."

She sighed softly. Discussing relationships wasn't really something she thought she'd be doing when she woke up that morning, but she did want to help. "You know... make sure she's okay. Talk about what you want to be doing. I'm just pretty sure that acting like everything's alright isn't going to make everything alright." Frankly, Fiona thought it was a bit selfish for him to be expecting acknowledgement and attention from Sana right now, when it was her world turned upside down yesterday. But she expected she didn't really have to say that.

“It is cold out by the mountains, warm inside the fiery hearths and homes, and trees dominate all but the central plains, where the field is as unending as the blue sky,” Derrix described contently, picturing it all in his head, and smelling the icy wind of the mountains that often pooled into the plains.

“The biggest and strongest horses are born there, and their wit and intelligence is unmatched as far as I’ve seen.” The man reached down and patted his white destrier, and the massive horse snorted in response, as if agreeing.

Vaeri turned towards her right, facing Melvus again so she could face him when she replied to his many questions.

"I was not told more, but I would imagine in place of left hand is a right one. As it stands, it is still a difficult thing to try hiding, if you were to attempt doing so." Vaeri took a few seconds to think about Melvus' own plight. "It does not sound familiar at all. I cannot even think of any religious tales about such an occurrence. If I were to guess about what happened, I would have to pin it on perhaps some outside arcane force. I have heard tales of arcane magic going awry in terrible ways. I am no scholar of such pursuits, so I may be showing my ignorance here."

Sana smiled softly as she listened to Derrix describe his homeland, it sounded like it was a truly beautiful place but then again she had seen many stunning lands in her travels. What made the description so much deeper than what was on the surface of the words was how he spoke about it. There was a certain love that floated about when he talked about it, and it helped her to understand, even if only a bit, what it meant to have a homeland. It was something Sana had never had but she could understand the draw. Perhaps his homeland to him was like her love of song and music. It was just something that the heart could beat to. Whether it be to never ending fields or a single note held to be caught on the wind. Perhaps home within the soul, not within the mind.

"It sounds lovely," she said in a kind voice. Even though Sana and Derrix hadn't spoken much about what was bothering her, the general conversation had been pleasant and it helped to put her more at ease. He was mysterious but underneath that mystery was a kindness. It was something she could appreciate.

"And yes, your steed seems to be truly remarkable. Though I have to wonder if that is the horse or its master," she said as she looked over towards him. "Perhaps a bit of both," she added before glancing around and taking note of a path off the side of the road. "Hrm, I wonder," she muttered to herself as she pulled on the reins and steered Epona towards the forest.

After a few minutes of following the path she stopped and her lips parted as a soft "wow," escaped her lips. There just beyond the sight of the road was a natural formed cave that seemed to be cut into the rock face not by wear of weather but formed by a single large oak that grew above two cliffs and its roots formed the top of the cave itself. The roots spanned over the top and grew down the side of the rock to the forest floor where they met a small pond of water at the base. The cave floor itself was covered with a bed of lush green clovers.

"I think this will do for the evening," she said as she looked over towards Derrix. "What do you think?" she asked, wanting his input. The path was not as wide as the road but it was enough for the wagon to get through if they were careful and the cave opening was large enough for a nice sized camp beneath the roots of the tree.

Tobias could only stare as the elf sitting next to him deliberately, point by point, responded to every part of his diatribe. Even after she finished, he remained silent for a moment, his mouth opening and closing like a fish. That was new.

Fortunately, the conversation moved on without him for a moment, allowing the thief to adjust. Reaching into his pack, Tobias pulled out a red apple he'd saved from breakfast and took a loud bite of it, speaking with his mouth still full. "Sounds to me like a wizard did it," he said to Melvus. "Or demons. Zombies? Ancient curses? Or, hey, maybe they all went on holiday and you missed the memo? You should head back and check. This apple sucks. I knew a guy with that once, Vaeri - wait, no, it was two right feet. Much more normal. He could barely walk, though - tripped and fell in a well one day. Guards fished him out. Shame, kid had the fastest fingers of anyone I ever met, not counting me. Is someone smoking? Smells like home. Just add manure, garbage, and bodies and I'll be off on a nostalgia trip."

The thief was silent for a moment - long enough to hear snatches of the conversation between Hugh and Fiona. He cut in wryly, "I dunno, Hugh, not all men have a woman who'll completely throw out all her moral reasoning and principles and start acting batshit violent because their sweetheart got stabbed up. You're a lucky guy. Or, you know, maybe not. Depends on how you look at it. In any case, I'd be more than happy to assist if you need help wooing the fair maiden. You may be gruff, stern, and a little scary, but Tobias'll have you a good old-fashioned lover boy in no time."

Tobias took another bite of the apple, holding the reins with one hand and humming to himself as he looked down the road.

"Would a man with two right feet not have learned how to handle his deformity since he's lived with it his whole life? Barring that, I believe he would use a walking stick to give himself the ability to maintain balance." Vaeri stared at Tobias, unable to hide the bemused on her face as he tried to console Big Brut Pally Hugh over his apparent issues with Sana. She had noticed her treating BBPH differently today than she had the day before, but the relationship issues of others was not something she made a habit of concerning herself with.

"So how about you, Sir Tobias? How did you end up traveling with a woman as young and spry as Fiona? Perhaps she is your protege, learning the art of noble thievery and adventuring from you?" Vaeri did the best she could to avoid laughing or smiling too wide as she said this. There was only so far she could take the charade before cracking after all.

Derrix looked over the extremely convenient lush bedded cave and then back at Sana, “I advise we examine it closer. It looks comfortable to me, and in nature I can only assume I’m not the first to think so.”

The man trotted Charroux slowly up to it before swinging off his tall horse and tying his long lance to the saddle, palming the pommel of his sword instead. The moist air started to dew his metal armor as he slowly approached the cave. A slow rasp sounded as he released his ashen colored blade from it's trapping scabbard.

Sana nodded in agreement as she swung a leg over and slid down, her feet landing softly in the bed of clovers. Pulling the hood of her mantle back she undoing her bow from her back and nocked an arrow into place; keeping the tip of the arrow aimed low she approached the mouth of the cave. Her eyes darted about as she looked around, it seemed to go deep enough back before the clover bed stopped to be able to keep the group sheltered.

It kept going back as the green gave way to the grey and brown of pebbles and dirt. No sounds other than the dripping of water from the roots into the small pond seemed to echo through the space. Glancing up, Sana noticed that the roots seemed to be tightly wound together, letting no light break through.

"Well hopefully when the rain comes it will keep us dry," Sana said as she dropped her arrow back into its quiver. Looking back over to Derrix she pursed her lips some before shrugging. "Guess it is as good a place as any," she remarked before turning and slinging her bow back into place. Taking Eponas reins she led her over to the pond to get a drink.

"I can start gathering wood for a fire. Mind heading back to the main road and keeping an eye out for the rest? I'll yell if anything shows up," she said as she glanced over to him. "Or I can go wait and you can gather the wood, either works for me."

Derrix slid his sword back into its scabbard as the serenity of the cave surrendered to his senses. He pulled his helmet off, polluting the fine forest air with his lavender scent and teasing his golden eyes with the sight of the mystical area. Silently he walked past Sana and back to Charroux, thinking.

He sat the helmet on the horse’s saddle as he unhooked the lip of a bow holster strapped to the beasts rump, opposite of the supply bags. His nimble fingers quickly received a small composite recurved bow from the holster as well as a handful of arrows.

Derrix sucked in the forest air, inflating his lungs with it’s long sought after flavor, and hooked the bow around his shoulder before turning to Sana, “I’ll stay here and set things up, the group will recognize you before they do me.”

The man turned to his horse and nodded, “are you with me here or do you want to help the lady?”

The stallion snorted at Derrix and walked over to the small pond before dunking it’s large white head in with gluttonous vigor. The helmet balanced on the horse tumbled off onto the wet soil surrounding the water with a clank that caused the man to roll his eyes.

“Lazy,” Derrix said, his lips forming an unamused line.

“Very well, I will be back with the rest of the group,” she said before giving Epona a gentle pat. Turning she left her steed there at the cave with Derrix and began to walk back towards the main road; figuring Epona could use a rest from carrying her most of the day. Glancing up at the sky she sighed slightly, it was going to be a long and dreary evening but hopefully the morning would bring about a brighter day on many levels. Pulling the hood of her mantle up, she tucked loose strands of gold beneath it. Thunder rolled through the country side as she pressed through the forest, down the path that lead back to the main road. The wind whipping through the leaves as the chilled air was brought down from the atmosphere to the ground below; a shiver running through Sanas senses as she pulled her cloak tightly around her form.

As she reached the road she glanced around, it would be sometime before the main part of the group caught up with them. Looking towards a tree, she placed one foot in front of the other; making a quick sprint before she leapt; fingers reaching up and wrapping around the lower limb of a maple, her body arching to pull her around and up. Releasing her grasp she landed softly on the branch, the movement of leaves unnoticeable due to the winds already cutting through them. Sliding down the trunk of the tree she rested down on the branch, letting a leg dangle freely as she sat there and leaned back to get comfortable. It was as good a place as any to keep watch, allowing her a clear sight of the road without exposing her own presence.

Resting her head back, she watched the road; the wind kicking up the dust of the trail as the storm rolled in. A deep breath and she could taste the oncoming rain; it would be there before the rest of the group arrived unless they hurried their pace. Sana used this time alone to think about the past day and the events that occurred, attempting to figure out where her life would go from here. She knew no matter how much she thought on the subject it would not change the path set before her yet a blind path made for tense travels. Sighing deeply as her hands rested in her lap, gently fiddling with the lace of her corset she hoped for the best but prepared herself for the worst. There was nothing more she could do right then.

The golden eyes of Derrix watched Sana disappear on her way back to the main road. A leaf rustling wind broke his gaze, and he turned to watched a few green leaves flutter to the ground. A simple smile crossed his face and he turned to his horse, who had submerged the first half of its muzzle into the pond.

“Don’t work too hard,” Derrix humored before falling flat on his butt with a loud clank of metal. Between the lullabies of the birds, the serenity of the grove, and the lack of sleep, a numbing exhaustion shook his senses.

He shook off his metal gloves and stretched his bare and scarred fingers, letting the cool breeze of the storm rejuvenate them. Sleep was tempting, but Derrix quickly shook the very idea as quickly as it came. Truth be told, the man wished he could say to himself ‘I don't remember the last time I ever slept”, but he knew the exact day and hour, and it was no where close to where he was now in time.

He vaguely remembered the shock of sleep, and how it slowly envelops the body and mind until suddenly the eyes break open to a new day, almost as if magically traveling to a new dawn. Derrix remembered the tiny visions the sleeping mind would make to amuse the conscious and strike conversation in the morning. But mostly, he remembered why those type of nights were gone.

A frown captured his face and he groaned almost as silently as the wind to himself. He raised his hands and clasped them together, threading his fingers around each other until both his hands formed one big fist. With a grunt, he shifted onto his knees, and laid his forehead against his fists, and closed his eyes.

Derrix’s lips moved silently as he whispered very familiar words. As he whispered, a soft light began to form in the center of his clasped hands, like a baby ember ready to be nursed into a fire. With each breath he breathed from his whispered word onto his hand, the small light grew brighter and brighter, until eventually with a rush of wind and pulse of light, the light caught a white flame like a bonfire and spread down his arms and up his shoulders and neck, before surrounding his head in a brilliant glow.

As the final words were whispered, the light dissolved into nothingness and Derrix opened his golden eyes and unclasped his hands. All was the same, except for an abundance of new energy that coursed through the man, as if, he figured, he had a full night’s sleep.

“Time to gather wood,” Derrix quietly reminded himself as he slowly stood up, sliding his gauntlets back on.

Hugh took the pipe from her hand, slightly amused by her lack of experience with tobacco. It wasn't anything to be troubled by; not everyone enjoyed the leaf as much as Hugh. It always had a calming effect on him, especially when his mind was anything but at peace. "You're welcome." He said, placing the pipe back in his mouth and puffing away.

The next thing was to listen to what she had to say. Not something he was usually intent on was listening to someone far younger than him, but the practice was never harmful. Of course, he kept phasing in and out of listening to her, catching the first part about what Sana had told him yesterday; something which, because of her demeanor at the time, he had subconsciously dismissed the idea of comfort. It hadn't come into his mind, as she had ended how she spoke of the die by laughing, then quickly plopped the question of how his day had been.

Normally when people expected condolences or something they don't tend to end their sentence with laughing or completely throwing one off by putting a question in. Hugh had been put in the unfortunate circumstance of both of those at the same time. There was that; he'd messed up. No mercy. Time to pay penance.

Hugh would be more than obliged to speak with Sana as soon as possible, though she seemed to have prior engagements pertaining to scouting and a conversation with Tobias the thief, which he hadn't a clue as to the subject.

The old fighter happened to tune back into the conversation just in time to hear her say "I'm just pretty sure that acting like everything's alright isn't going to make everything alright."

He gave her a confused look, not sure how to respond after that last nugget of wisdom. He ended up dropping it and allowing his features to return to normal. "Yes, I was planning on talking to her. It just seems like she's making herself distant on purpose. Makes it harder to start the conversation." He simply said. "But I will."

After he had finished his words, more words followed, but from another source other than Fiona the fighter. It was Tobias the thief, bestowing his nuggets of wisdom upon Hugh.

They were greeted with Hugh's usual politeness, with the added awkward smile and a nod along to his words.

His smile became more sincere and entertained, after Tobias's last words. It was the closest to laughing at something someone said to him for the longest time, and by far brightened his mood.

"I'll be alright, but thanks for the offer." He said, with his cheerful smile stretched across his face.

“I did not expect you to know… I thought asking could do no harm.” Perhaps I will never find them..? Melvus closed his eyes and stopped thinking for a moment. He could hear nothing but the clopping of hooves and the rocking of the cart as it bounced along the rough dirt road. Slowly he began allowing other sensory input to fill the void. Birds chirping, the faded voices of his companions as they talked and he didn’t listen, the sound of the trees rustling in the wind. Perhaps I should find a purpose..? I lost my previous one when Efrida became Queen of Drisbane… I could find a new lord after this… this… Melvus opened his eyes and saw the dark clouds in the sky, turning the day to night.

What should I do next? The wizard didn’t know. He never did… most of what he did was based on his current situation. If he had to guess, after the quest he should find another to take his mind off of the impossible and back to the reality of the world. Life goes on… What’s meant to soar will soar and what is meant to die will die… My village, my family - they’re dead and I need to put an end to this decade and a half, fruitless, search… The vagabond shifted in the cart to a more comfortable position.

No… I can never end the search… not until I find them… or their corpses wherever they may be... Yes… whatever dies will die, but what is lost must also be found or it will remain lost and forgotten forever… I am no god, I am a man and I will do this… No matter how long it takes… I will find them… Garth pulled his hood over his head, hiding it from the world and its distractions. It didn’t take a minute for him to fall into the world of dreams.

Fiona had struggled to hide a cringe when Tobias chose to butt in on her attempt at speaking with Hugh. She had no idea how that would go over with him, and here she'd been trying to do her best at being gentle and avoiding anything that might be a touchy subject. As it turned out, she didn't need to be worried, as Hugh seemed to brush it off easily enough. That was good.

However, he didn't seem very interested in hearing anything she had to say. She thought she caught him checking out mentally for most of what she said, which left her feeling a little awkward. The effort had been made to help, at least. If he didn't care for her opinion, that was his choice. She supposed it was foolish of her to expect otherwise. She was still too young, or something along those lines. At least he was going to talk with Sana, now that she'd taken the time to hopefully clear her head. It wasn't Fiona's problem, and she had no intention of making it her problem.

Moving back alongside Tobias and the cart, she caught the end of Vaeri's question and prepared to roll her eyes at Tobias's response. The actual answer wasn't so bad, though she doubted Tobias would provide it.

"We should pick up the pace a little, I think," Fiona suggested, looking out at the looming clouds. "If we want to find shelter before we get drenched, that is."

And The Group Finds Each Other Once Again

The minutes ticked by every so slowly as Sana sat perched in the tree, one leg pulled her to chest with arms wrapped around it. Sanas head resting upon her knee as she kept ever vigilant to the road to the south; waiting, ever waiting for them to come into view. Her other leg swung to and fro with the wind, the clouds blocking out the sun as the darkness of the squall grew. The rain began a gentle rapping against the leaves; tap tap tap could heard percussionning against the tender canopy above. The pitter patter of droplets falling to the ground below, the light cream color of the road quickly turning to a rich mahogany hue as the rain saturated the grains of dirt. Sana tilted her head back as she pulled the hood of her mantle away, letting the water drip to features. The storm seemed to be emulating the maelstrom within her and her mind drifted to a tune from so long ago as the sounds of the rain were carried to her ears.

Reaching up her hand wiped away the moisture that clung to her exposed skin as a sigh whispered from her lips, cringing as her hand ran over her burns; a pain she would have to learn to live with. So, this was what it meant to embrace a part of you that had been locked away she thought to herself. Everything triggered a memory, a song and caused an unyielding need to release it. Rolling her eyes in frustration she pulled her covering back up into place and let her hands clap against the limb she sat upon, echoing the natural sounds already surrounding her. A gentle hum resonated from her throat as she watched the rain fall, her head bobbing in time with the beat of the storm as it fully arrived to the area. Dusty lips parted as the words began to flow from memory into the present, a beautiful tune flowing from her into the winds.

“When tomorrow comes, will I be on my own? Feeling frightened of things that I don’t know when tomorrow comes?” she sung hollowly, the last two words echoing through the forest around her. Her head tilting back to look up as the storm began to rage on, sheets of rain falling to the earth below from the heavens above; vision being cut to nothing but a few feet in front of her eyes. “And though the road is long I look up to the sky and in the dark I found lost hope that I won’t fly and I sing along,” she sung, the words continuing to echo in harmony with her own voice as the note bounced off rock, stone and brush. A gentle light started to emit from her form, a soft slate hue began to whip around her in the wind, catching her notes and carrying them like a beacon to cut through the darkness and the murky dusk.

“I got all I need when I got you and I, I look around me and see a sweet life. I’m stuck in the dark but you’re my flash of light. You’re getting me though the night. Kick start my heart when you shine it in my eyes. I can’t lie, it’s a sweet life. Stuck in the dark but you’re my flash of light. You’re getting me though the night, ‘cause you’re my flash of light,” she continued, her tune breaking through the claps of thunder and rolling with the thunder; the beam of light from her flowing and tearing into the clouds above, a pillar of light that could be seen from far away to guide the rest of her group. Light and song calling out to them to bring them safely down the trail as the crash from the crying skies bellowed about.

“I see the shadows long beneath the mountain top. Be not afraid when the rain won’t stop ‘cause I’ll light the way,” she sung as she grasped the softened bark of the tree, pulling herself to her feet and standing tall there on the branch that swayed with the storm; the wind and light thrashing her cloak around her, it billowing up in the fuming gust. Sana did not fight again the song and just let it flow through, each note becoming easier to control as she accepted her newly unlocked ability.

“I got all I need when I got you and I, I look around me and see a sweet life. You’re stuck in the dark but I’m your flash of light. I’m getting you through the night. Kick start your heart when I shine it in your eyes. Can’t lie, it’s a sweet life. Stuck in the dark but I’m your flash of light getting you through the night,” she caroled again and again, letting the verse repeat like the echoing thunder. Each time the last verse repeated it grew in intensity and power as it broke through the storm.


As the group came into the view from behind the curtain of the storm a content look fell over her features, it had worked and that was one thing she could be happy about. Stepping forward she jumped off the branch that had been her home for a short time; her boots landing with a soft splash into the puddle below her. “Don’t be afraid when the rain won’t stop cause I’ll light the way, a flash of light getting you through the dark of the night,” she sung as she stepped out from the tree and along the side of the road next to the path that would lead to the camp. Pulling the hood of her mantle back she stepped into full view of the group as they drew near, a gentle smile playing on her lips as the light still poured from her. Though the light was bright enough to break through the storm and the rain it was nothing more than a gentle and comforting glow to behold.

“This way, we found shelter,” she spoke in a kind voice that still carried on the winds, the light fading from her form and the beacon fading away; her cloak slowly falling from the winds it had been caught up in and wrapping back around her. The rain clung to her soaked hair and cloak, rolling down her form and dripping from the edges of her clothing to the ground below as she motioned towards the path. Stepping to the side of the path she motioned in the direction they needed to go. “Be careful, the path gets narrow in parts,” she said looking at the group and waiting for them to continue on.

Looking towards Hugh, she felt a knot form in the pit of her stomach. She knew the needed to speak but she dreaded the conversation. Not about finally being able to speak, to hopefully come to an understanding and perhaps seeing what ever it was she was missing but that her fears may be truly founded. Either way she needed answers and she thought he might as well. Whatever the outcome it needed to happen. Taking a breath she looked up at him on Rodger and gave him a small nervous smile, but it was a true smile this time and it was not forced.